Anyone else watching The Next Food Network Star? I finally caught this week’s episode – it didn’t record Monday, long story – so I figured I’d throw some thoughts out there.
First, the format: The show is little short of a hazing. The contestants are asked to do some ridiculous things, like cooking brunch on a moving train or throwing together a potato dish that is “personal” in thirty minutes with zero advance notice. The connection between the tasks and an actual cooking show is tenuous at best.
Also, there is way too much crying. Stop crying. All of you.
As for the contestants, they’ve whacked some pretty clear not-going-to-win-anythings so far, although they still have some serious weeding to do before they get down to the legit contenders. Here’s who remains after Jeffrey – whose delivery is all wrong for TV, and whose mouth appears to naturally form a frown, even when he’s smiling – was eliminated in week 3, ranked from worst to best:
7. Nipa. Pro: Sounds like she can actually cook. Con: Her range is limited to Indian cuisine. She never smiles. She’s not inventive in her cooking. And if she’s not a wicked little witch, she should sue the show’s editors for making her look like one. The whole took-all-the-cayenne thing? If I was Aaron, I would soak Nipa’s entire wardrobe in cayenne water … and her sheets too.
6. Lisa. Pro: Appears to have some solid food ideas and be willing to go outside the box; she’s got a reasonably well-articulated culinary vision. Con: The vision doesn’t always sound appealing. Incredibly weird looking. Squints when she talks to the camera. Has a nose ring.
5. Jennifer. Pro: Big on comfort foods, which are always marketable, and she wants to keep it kid-friendly/family-focused, which is also a great niche. Con: Totally boring on camera. Mashed potato pizza is a disgusting idea, too.
4. Adam. Pro: High-energy. Camera likes him. Into guys’ food (his dishes in week three were bacon cheese fries and, in the “make your own jarred product” contest, a barbecue rub). Referenced Alton Brown in this episode. Con: Dorky, but maybe in a passable way. Served raw food each of the first two weeks. Not sure he’s much of a cook.
3. Kelsey. Pro: She’s very cute. High-energy. Pretty good food concepts, although I can’t figure out why she thought she could cook a gratin in 30 minutes. Con: Comes across as too polished, on which the judges really hammered her this week. No one is going to tune in to see a cute girl cook if she’s fake.
2. Shane. Pro: I think this kid – he’s 19, the youngest ever on TNFNS, apparently – can really cook. He’s good-looking and the camera likes him. Con: Very unpolished, and gets nervous easily; I think both of those can be fixed with training. Tried to do vichyssoise in 30 minutes without stock, which was just a bad judgment call.
1. Aaron. Pro: Can flat-out cook; he’s won plaudits for everything he’s made on the show, and his ideas are rock-solid. Also seems to get time management. Very charismatic; the camera loves him and he presents well. Con: His delivery could use some polishing, and he can trip over his words sometimes, but that’s very fixable. He’s my pick to win.
haven’t seen that show yet, but have you seen top chef? i’m a big fan of that show, and probably all the cooking reality tv i can take for the moment
Keith, I don’t know about you, but I have been able to pick the winners and losers just about episode just by the way they edit it. Top Chef and Iron Chef at least keep you guessing until the final judgement. Plus, you forgot to mention Nipa running out of the judgement room in tears and basically quitting.
So Shane’s the Rich Porcello of the show? or maybe the Jarrod Parker or Jason Heyward?
I’ve never watched Top Chef. This year it conflicted with two other things we were recording.
Michael: Yes, they give a lot away by the editing. As for Nipa, I’m convinced that on all of these shows, they make sure that one really bitchy, rude, or obnoxious participant sticks around until at least the final four or so. My wife watches Top Design and Design Star, and on the last season of each, they pulled that stunt (Carisa on TD, Rob on DS). It has to be deliberate, to try to create drama and keep people watching.
I agree with you on Aaron being the favorite Keith. He seems to be very genuine and also knows how to cook. I would rate Shane lower. He is just so bad on camera and has had a couple of cooking errors as well.
I have to say whatever you think about the Food Network, I find this show pretty addictive.
Keith: A bit off topic, but in your chat yesterday you responded to a question on Hank’s rant against the pitchers having to hit/run the bases when they play in NL parks. I agree with you on the issue of pitchers hitting; I too think it is boring and it makes the managers make more stupid decisions than they already make. However, I think the thing that bothered most people about Hank’s statement was his righteousness and opining on an issue that as an AL owner isn’t really his business. I despise interleague and pitchers hitting as much as anybody, but those are the rules, and Hank knows them. Maybe he should have been more concerned with the fact that his pitcher can’t run 360 feet without injuring himself, or that he was sent home so aggressively with an 8-0 lead.
top chef has lost its luster the past couple seasons, with its producers trying too hard to concentrate on drama rather than the talent of the cooks. bar none though, top chef prob gets the most qualified chefs to be contestants.
Wife and I both watch the show. Maybe you (or your wife) can help with a question we have about Lisa… has she had a facelift? I dont think so, but cant be certain. Also, her makeup is crazy, is it permanent? I never knew permanent makeup existed. Ask you bride for details. I can’t figure out why anyone would want to do that to themselves, but perhaps it’s not tattoo-permanent, more like hair-color dye permanent.
Jennifer doesnt seem incredibly knowledgeable to me, but perhaps her calling the potato pizza “low carb” was just due to nerves.
My pick from episode one has been Adam. But I think Kelsey will win. She’s not the most talented, but she seems to “get it.” She handles criticism very well.
One last thought: I hate Nipa. Anyone who walks off in tears, essentially quits, then comes back should be automatically disqualified. I realize she’ll be gone eventually, but still. Be a professional. Amy – from last season, and I think that was her name – did the same thing. Quit the show, somehow came back, and ended up winning. She doesn’t appear much – if at all – anymore on the network. Justice was served. (Served…cooking… food… get it? No?)
OK, I’m done. Sorry for hi-jacking the comments section. Keep up the good work, Keith, and thanks for settling the bet between the wife and I over the correct pronunciation of “Ricotta” in your chat a couple weeks ago. I won.
Top Chef is the way to go if you’re a true foodie. TNFNS doesn’t put as much focus on the food – there are a lot of other variables that go into a contestant’s success, while Top Chef is all about the cooking. Personally, I find TC to be much more entertaining – the challenges are better, the judges bring more to the table, and the contestants are much more talented with food.
Never watched the show…but in regards to the mashed potato pizza, a place in New Haven called Bar serves one with bacon. It is really delicious, give it a shot sometime…
Totally unrelated to food but I’m never online during your chats and couldn’t find an email address to use. VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION HERE!
As a scout, what are your thoughts on “The Good Face?”
Nipa is the Adam Dunn of the competition. She doesn’t care a thing about winning. Cayenne and sugar? Really? The week after getting called out by the judges?
Which I guess would make Kelsey the Eckstein of the show. SO MUCH PASSION FOR THE SHOW!
I’m not sold on cooking reality shows, though I do prefer TNFNS to Top Chef, for the following reason: You can’t taste anything that’s on TV. Top Chef is really focused on the food, which makes a lot of sense, but I can’t really pass my own judgment on how it tastes, and simply have to rely on the judges. TNFNS is about the food to some degree (I still can’t evaluate) but is also about presence and delivery, which I can. I like to be able to bring my own opinions about a contestant’s abilities to bear, and you just can’t do it that well with food. A show like Project Runway makes more sense to me, since fashion really is about how something looks, and that’s easily judged on a television. Too bad food is nearer and dearer to most of our hearts than fashion.
My wife loves Project Runway, so I ended up seeing big chunks of the last season. It did have the best line in the history of reality television, though, when the little guy with the ridiculous hairdo was talking about how the one remaining woman had made a strategic error, and at the end of his soliloquy, summarized it with a rapid-fire “Whatever, it’s her own fault.”
Funny stuff, MattR.
It’s a really entertaining show. I think Aaron is by far the best cook, but he’s not very articulate (though he seems like a really nice guy). No one else has really stood out, since they’ve all been up and down in the challenges. Nipa comes off more as an insecure brat than a bitch. I think it should be an automatic elimination when you walk out on the judges — doesn’t this just prove she’s not tough enough for this business? I kind of feel the same about Shane. This kid was bawling on the first show because his meal didn’t come out how he wanted to. I mean, it was the most awkward thing you’ve ever seen.
Speaking of TV shows: anyone watch “Hell’s Kitchen” on Fox? Has zero to do with food and everything to do with GR yelling at people. But it’s funny to watch simply to imagine one of these completely inept fools running one of his restaurants.
Keith, Jennifer does nothing to help her description from you (boring) in her Food Network bio. She’s boring on camera and seems to be boring in life too.
Favorite activities: Taking daughter to the park
Favorite music: Depends on my mood
Favorite movies: Too many to list
Classic!
This is the fourth season of TNFNS, but I don’t think this show is very much successful, as much as they think it would. All previous winners except Guy Fieri have gone after shooting a season worth of episodes(Last season’s Amy Finley was gone after taking six episodes and cannot find why anywhere in internet), and this seasons contestants don’t look promising collectively to me. In addition, they keep brining people from outside to make own show, and not sure they are all the appealing…
Top Chef is, in my opinion, a far superior show to TNFNS. The focus is on the food, the contestants are really good chefs, and people don’t cry (I mean come on), and to be quite honest I like the judges better too.
Bluexams and anyone who may be interested – acording to Wikipedia, Amy Finley turned down the chance to come back for a second season due to stress/obligations of being a TV personality. Guy has been the only one to last past 2 seasons and he’s more of a traveler than a chef now.
Aaron is far away the best on this show. He is lapping the field.
By the way, whatever happened to the one who won last year? The “Gourmet Next Door” girl? Her show aired like twice.
Keith, how can you not love Lisa’s Romulan hairstyle?
She actually loosened up a bit in the last episode. Overall, I’d also go with Aaron, although Adam might eventually show some skilz.
So do Bob Tuchman and the woman with curly hair 9Suzy?) bother you as much as they bother me? They gotta go.
Keith:
Re: Kelsey- No one is going to tune in to see a cute girl cook if she’s fake.
Ummm, have you seen Rachel Ray?
I have never seen Raechel Ray as fake. I don’t care much for her shows, but “fake” isn’t one of my complaints.
My wife and I have our money on Aaron. Unless Adam really wows the judges on the last episode and really shows he can cook, the “poor me, my restaurant is closed, I don’t have a job, this is my last chance, etc.” won’t get him the job. And, we positively can’t stand Lisa with her weird hair, evil eyebrows, squinting – and her Wilma Flintstone necklace and designer shades. Aaron is our favorite, he can cook, and with some effort, FN can help him calm his fear of the camera.