Food Network Star Winner Crowned Tonight

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Tonight at 9pm ET on Food Network is the season 13 finale of Food Network Star where the winner will be announced. The final three contestants are Cory Bahr, Rusty Hamlin, and Jason Smith. On the episode tonight, we will get to see each of their full pilots as well as the top moments of the season. A poll on this website reveals that people are overwhelmingly rooting for Jason to win with approximately 80% of the vote, followed by Cory at 17%, and Rusty at only 3%. Judging by the comments on that post, it seems that while people are rooting for Jason, people either love him or hate him.  Also, remember the winner is no longer determined by viewer voting, so it could be anybody that wins.

There is no guarantee that the season 13 winner of Food Network Star will get a show, so we will have to see if anything is announced for the winner on tonight's episode.

I will update this post once the winner is announced and will also update the post with any information about the winner's show (if there is one).

Continue reading to know the winner (Spoiler):

Food Network Star Season 13 Winner - Poll

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Season 13 of Food Network Star is down to the final three contestants and each of them have produced their pilot. Cory Bahr, Rusty Hamlin, and Jason Smith all produced traveling show pilots and they probably didn't have any say in what to do for their pilot.  This was more of a final challenge than the contestants actually filming a show that they envisioned for themselves.

The full pilots will not be shown until next week's episode, so it is hard to even determine who did the best or what their pilot is even about.

There is always a poll on this site to determine who people are rooting for to win. So vote below to let everyone know who you want to win and feel free to discuss in the comments.  Last year Tregaye had the least amount of votes in the poll, but ended up winning the season.

UPDATE - Jason Smith ended up winning.

Food Network Star Episode 9 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

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On tonight's episode of Food Network Star, the four remaining finalists first had to do a live report on location while visiting popular food trucks.  Sabin Lomac was on hand to help Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis judge the first challenge.  The judges felt Matthew did the best and he got an advantage on the second challenge.

On the second challenge, the finalists had to film their own special called "Up Your Game (Day)" where they had to demo a special game-day dish while facing challenges along the way. Matthew's advantage was being able to pick the dish that he had to cook and also assigning others their dishes. ESPN's Jamele Hill and Jayme Sire (who will be a floor reporter on Iron Chef Showdown) helped Bobby and Giada judge the challenge.  Jason and Matthew were determined winners of the challenge and were safe from elimination.  In the end, the judges decided that Amy would be eliminated and sent to compete on Star Salvation.


On Star Salvation, David Rose, Cory Bahr, and Amy Pottinger competed for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here, and as is normally the case with the last episode of Star Salvation, there was a cliffhanger at the end.  David was eliminated, so either Cory Bahr or Amy Pottingeer will rejoin Matthew, Rusty, and Jason next week and will have a chance to be the next Food Network Star. 

Food Network Star Episode 8 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

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On tonight's episode of Food Network Star, the remaining contestants had to take some inspiration from Josh Denny and his show Ginormous Food.  They were each assigned a food to make and had to make it 'ginormous.' Amy won this challenge and got some extra mentoring from Bobby and Giada as a 'prize.'

The finalists then had to stream a 15-minute meal from start-to-finish while viewers were supposedly cooking along.  Alex Guarnaschelli (Alex1310) was there to try to follow along with the presentations and cook the same dish.  She also helped Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis judge the contestants.  Bobby and Giada declared Jason, Matthew and Rusty safe and Cory and Amy were up for elimination.  In the end, they decided that Cory did worse and he was sent to compete on Star Salvation.

On Star Salvation, Addie Gundry, David Rose and Cory Bahr competed for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here, and the judges eliminated Addie from Star Salvation.  Addie Gundry will not be rejoining the competition and will not be the next Food Network Star.

Food Network Star Episode 6 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

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On tonight's episode of Food Network Star, the remaining contestants finally got to do an individual challenge and had to make their best potato dish and then host a summer social for a crowd.  Amy won the first challenge and got to pick which summer social theme she would take and got to assign everybody else their theme.  Tiffani Thiessen was there to help Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis judge the summer social challenge.

The judges decided that Rusty and Jason did the best job on the challenge and they were considered safe.  That meant any of the five remaining contestants could be eliminated.  In the end, Addie Gundry was the one eliminated and sent to Star Salvation.


On Star Salvation Toya Boudy, Trace Barnett, and Addie Gundry competed for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here, and the judges eliminated Toya Boudy from Star Salvation.  Toya will not be rejoining the competition and will not be the next Food Network Star.

*This post was not sponsored by Lipton

Food Network Star Episode 4 Elimination - Plus Star Salvation

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On tonight's Food Network Star, the remaining contestants were divided into teams and competed in a "glamping" related challenge.  Each team had to use whatever camping food was in the back of their car to create a "glamping" meal.  The teams were pre-determined and were: Team 1 - Cory, Matthew, and Amy; Team 2 - Jason, Cao, and David; Team 3 - Rusty, Trace, and Addie.  Everybody also had to do a presentation in front of the judges that gave a useful tip.  Melissa D'Arabian and Andrew Zimmern were guest judges and helped Giada De Laurentiis decide the winners and losers of the challenge.  Bobby Flay was absent from this episode for some reason.

The judges decided that Jason, David and Cao were the winning team and were all safe.  Matthew, Cory and Amy were also all considered safe.  The judges decided that Trace Barnett did the worst in this challenge and he would be sent to compete on Star Salvation.

Star Salvation returned this week with Suzanne Lossia, Toya Boudy, Nancy Manlove, Blake Baldwin and Trace Barnett competing for a chance to rejoin the competition. This episode of Star Salvation can be watched here, and the judges eliminated two contestants from Star Salvation - Nancy and Suzanne.  Nancy and Suzanne will not be rejoining the competition and will not be the next Food Network Star.

Food Network Star Episode 3 Elimination

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On tonight's Food Network Star, the remaining ten finalists were split into two teams of five and had to put together a five-course meal.  Each course had a different theme: Appetizer - Jungle; Pasta - Forest; Dessert - Mountains; Seafood - Beach; Meat - Desert.  Addie and Cory were the team captains and Addie picked Jason, Cao, Amy, and Matthew while Cory picked Rusty, Trace, David, and Suzanne.   Each team had 30 seconds to present their dishes on camera and had to convince people to try their dish over the other team's dish.  Tyler Florence was a guest judge to help Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis decide the winners and losers of the challenge.

The judges decided that Amy, Jason and David were the top three in this challenge.  The bottom three were Cao Tran, Suzanne Lossia, and Trace Barnett, and Bobby and Giada decided to send Suzanne home.

Suzanne Lossia will go on to compete on Star Salvation (which begins next week) with hopes of rejoining the competition.

Food Network Star Episode 2 Elimination

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On tonight's episode of Food Network Star, the 12 remaining finalists were split into three teams of four for a Beauty and the Beast related challenge.  Each team was assigned a room from the Beauty and the Beast castle and had to cook a dish and decorate a serving station drawing inspiration from their room theme.  The teams were: Amy, Addie, Cory and Trace (theme - afternoon tea in the library); Matthew, Nancy, Toya, and Caodan (theme - brunch in the dining room); Jason, Rusty, David, Suzanne (hor d'oeuvres in the ballroom).  Sandra Lee was a special guest judge along with Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis and she helped decide the winning team.  Also, for this episode, two finalists are eliminated.

The judges decided that the library team was the winning team and Amy, Addie, Cory and Trace were all safe.  The ballroom team was also determined safe, so that meant Matthew, Nancy, Toya, and Caodan from the dining room team were all up for elimination.  In the end, the judges decided that Nancy Manlove and Toya Boudy performed the worst and both were sent home.

Nancy and Toya will go on to compete in Star Salvation with hopes of rejoining the competition.

Food Network Star Episode 1 Elimination

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Tonight on the season 13 premiere of Food Network Star, we were introduced to the 12 contestants competing and the winner of Comeback Kitchen was revealed.  The two remaining contestants from Comeback Kitchen were Matthew Grunwald and Jamika Pessoa, and Matthew was revealed as the winner who would get to compete on Food Network Star.  Matthew competed on season 11 of Food Network Star and was on Comeback Kitchen the past two years, so this is three years in a row for him being on the show.  If you think you recognize some of the contestants this year, here is a post about what other shows they have appeared on.

For the first challenge of the season, the finalists had thirty seconds to introduce themselves to judges Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis.  After that, they had thirty minutes to make a dish that would showcase their POV.  The contestants then had a minute to present their dishes to Giada, Bobby and special guest judges Monti Carlo and Robert Irvine.

Food Network Star Season 13 Contestants - Where Have You Seen Them?

This Sunday at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network is the start of season 13 of Food Network Star. As is usually the case, you will probably recognize many of the contestants from other reality shows on Food Network and other channels. Here is a list of the Food Network Star contestants for this season and where you may recognize them.  Also listed is their POV from the Food Network Star Talk blog.

• Cory Bahr (Monroe, LA) - Chopped season 12 (won). POV - seasonal, regional, as local as you can get. Just keeping it simple, stupid.
• Blake Baldwin (Flemington, NJ) - No previous reality television appearances.  POV - healthy cooking can be delicious without being difficult.  This is due to his weight loss after college.
• Trace Barnett (Brilliant, AL) - No previous reality television appearances. POV - budget-friendly, schedule-conscious and very consistent with Southern fare, but in a lighter, fresher way.
• Toya Boudy (New Orleans, LA) - Guy's Grocery Games: Impossible, also has a YouTube cooking channel.  POV - Cajun and Creole cuisine made simple.
• Addie Gundry (Lake Forrest, IL) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won Halloween special), Cutthroat Kitchen Time Warp tournament. POV - easy, elegant entertaining - all things food and beverage that are easy to make yet elegant to serve for any entertaining occasion.
• Rusty Hamlin (Atlanta, GA) - Rusty's RockFeast: Backstage With Zac Brown Band on FYI.  POV - Southern-inspired chef with Louisiana Cajun Creole roots who goes around the country and does what I call cooking off the cuff — whatever’s local and whatever’s coming out of the ground, the sea, the refrigerator, the cabinets is what we’re going to make an amazing meal with.
• Suzanne Lossia (Detroit, MI) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Also has authored a book.  POV - Turning Middle Eastern into American flare, turning it into an American way of looking at it.
• Nancy Manlove (Texas City, TX) - Cutthroat Kitchen (won), Cutthroat Kitchen Time Warp Tournament. POV - Nanna in the kitchen.
• Amy Pottinger (Honolulu, HI) - No previous reality television appearances, but tried out for Food Network Star season 11 according to this video. POV - Exploring new culinary worlds and growth is within anybody’s grasp.
• David Rose (Atlanta, GA) - No previous reality television appearances. Has done work with Big Green Egg and also has done local news food segments.  POV - French-Jamaican-Southern fusion.
• Jason Smith (Grayson, KY) - Holiday Baking Championship (won). POV - country bling - take old, dying country recipes, and I bring them back to life and make them modern, elevated and fancied up a little bit.
• Caodan Tran (Dallas, TX) - Cooks vs. Cons. Has also tried out Amazing Race and Food Network Star in the past (link).  POV - Vietnamese-inspired with kind of flavors and touches from California and Texas

You will obviously recognize the Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen winner as they have previously competed on Food Network Star.  If I have missed any appearances on any shows, let me know in the comments and I can update this post.

If you are interested in learning more about the contestants, their bios from the press release are available here.

As always, visit the site after each episode airs to discuss the episode and who went home.

Food Network Star Season 13 Premieres In June

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Food Network's most popular show Food Network Star will return for its 13th season on Sunday, June 4th at 9pm ET/PT.  Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis will once again be the hosts/mentors for the season.  

Also returning will be Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen.  This concept started last season and the show gives previous Food Network Star contestants a chance to compete on the upcoming season.  Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen is three episodes long and starts on May 21st at 8pm ET/PT, three weeks before the Food Network Star premiere.  Comeback Kitchen will be co-hosted by Tyler Florence and Valerie Bertinelli and the returning Food Network Star contestants are:

• Rob Burmeister (season 12)
• Emilia Cirker (season 11)
• Matthew Grunwald (season 11)
• Josh Lyons (season 8)
• Danushka Lysek (season 9)
• Jamika Pessoa (season 5)
• Joy Thompson (season 12)

Matthew Grunwald also competed in last season's Comeback Kitchen, which was won by Martita Jara.

The web series Star Salvation will also be included in season 13 of Food Network Star.  Jeff Mauro and Alex Guarnaschelli will be the hosts and eliminated contestants will get a chance to re-enter the competition on August 6th and become one of the final four contestants.

The contestants competing on the actual show Food Network Star season 13 are: Cory Bahr (Monroe, LA); Blake Baldwin (Flemington, NJ); Trace Barnett (Brilliant, AL); Toya Boudy (New Orleans, LA); Addie Gundry (Lake Forrest, IL); Rusty Hamlin (Atlanta, GA); Suzanne Lossia (Detroit, MI); Nancy Manlove (Texas City, TX); Amy Pottinger (Honolulu, HI); David Rose (Atlanta, GA); Jason Smith (Grayson, KY); Caodan Tran (Dallas, TX), and the winner of Food Network Star: Comeback Kitchen. 

If you are interested in learning more about the contestants, here are some bios. Also for more information on Food Network Star season 13, multivu has episode descriptions and images.

Below is the press release about the upcoming season.  I will do another post about the contestants closer to the season airing.

Food Network Related News and Links

Here is some recent news involving Food Network shows and chefs/personalities from the Food Network:

• Chopped judge Aaron Sanchez will be participating in the NBA All-Star Celebrity game this weekend in New Orleans.  Here are a few interviews he did about the game where he also answers questions about Chopped - SI interview, Uproxx interview.
• Bobby Flay recently celebrated his 1-year anniversary with his girlfriend actress Helene Yorke.  Bobby is 52, while Helene is 31.  (Link)
• Food Network Star is currently filming its 13th season in Los Angeles, and it looks like Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis will be the hosts once again (pictured right).  Eddie Jackson and Tregaye Fraser also posted a picture together on set, so look for them to be on an episode.
• Alton Brown posted a picture on Instagram that looked like the Chopped symbol with his name under it with the caption, "I've said too much already." (Link).  So look for him to be on an upcoming episode or a special Chopped.  
• Alton Brown has also released a few new podcasts of the Alton Browncast and one is with Duff Goldman. (Link)
• Guy Fieri recently surprised one of his old teachers with a cruise to anywhere in the world. (Link)