Gina Neely Is New Spokeswoman For George Foreman Grills

Source - Gina's Twitter

George Foreman Grills is promoting a weight-loss challenge and will be using Gina Neely as their celebrity spokeswoman.  The announcement is expected tomorrow, but Gina tweeted out this picture (to the right) of herself saying, "You're looking at the new face and body of The George Foreman Grills...Gina Neely!"

The weight-loss competition will run 4 times each year, and one entrant per competition will win $2,500 and a $500 credit for Whole Health products (link).

I guess Paula Deen and her family aren't the only ones on the Food Network losing weight these days.

Preview of Worst Cooks In America Season 4

Photo - Food Network

The Food Network has posted a 5 minute video previewing the first episode of Worst Cooks In America.  The video starts with all of the competitors competing in a 'baseline' challenge, where they are each given a bag of basic ingredients and have to put together a dish with those ingredients in 45 minutes.

Highlights of the video, which is after the jump, include:

• A competitor deciding to make a 'mole sauce' with M&M's and sauce.
• A competitor touching raw chicken and not washing her hands, who is then unable to pronounce salmonella.
• A competitor making 'oatmeal, fruit mush.'
• Anne Burrell calling someone Poindexter because he is wearing glasses and a bow-tie.
• A competitor making 'ride or die' enchiladas, who then is missing a fake nail, which could be in the enchiladas.

Chef Wanted With Anne Burrell Tuscan Kitchen Contestants

Season 2 of Chef Wanted with Anne Burrell is set to premiere this Thursday at 10pm, and the first episode will be looking to hire a chef at Tuscan Kitchen in Salem, New Hampshire.  The four contestants on this episode are Jonny Giordani, Anthony de Palma, Scott Brandolini, and Valarie Carlone.  You may recognize some of them from appearing on previous shows on the Food Network.  Lets take a look at the backgrounds for the chefs set to appear on this episode:

Play Golf With A Chef At South Beach Wine & Food Festival

The Food Network South Beach Wine and Food Festival (SOBEWFF) is scheduled to take place in Miami Beach from February 21st through February 24th this year.  The list of events can be found here, and while a lot of events are sold out, there are still many available.  Pretty much all of the Food Network chefs are participating in some sort of event, and the full list of Food Network chefs participating can be found here.

This year, there is a new event hosted by José Andrés, which is a Celebrity Chef Golf Tournament.  The chefs participating in it and bringing their 'athletic talents' include: José Andrés, Michael Anthony, Cesare Casella, Todd English, Nadia G., Alex Guarnaschelli, Linton Hopkins, Edward Lee, Tim Love, Giorgio Rapicavoli, Jeremy Sewall, Ming Tsai, Mark Zeitouni, and Southern Wine & Spirits' own Kevin Fennessey, Brad Vassar and John Wittig.

Food Network February 2013 Programming Highlights

The Food Network has put out a press release detailing the programming in February on the channel and some of the highlights include:

• Only 2 more episodes to suffer through of Rachael vs. Guy (one is during the Super Bowl, so ratings can't be good on that one.)  The season finale is Sunday, February 10th with the winner getting $50,000 for their charity.

Guy Fieri Related Tweets Of The Week

With Guy Fieri's 45th birthday on Tuesday and the news breaking that he plans to enter the wine business, there was a lot of action on Twitter about Guy this week.  Lets take a look at some of the more humorous tweets about Guy Fieri this week:

1. @ComicJimBruce

Rachael Ray's Husband Has Supposedly Visited A Swinger's Club Without Her

The National Enquirer is reporting that Rachael Ray's husband, John Cusimano has been spotted at a Manhattan swingers club (Checkmate) with an escort both before and after they got married.  The alleged source said John was 'romping around with women at the club and that 'he’d always stop by the club’s buffet before closing to grab a few bagels for the road.'  I guess that's his version of a 30-minute meal.

Sapori D'Italia - Restaurant Impossible Update

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine is going to the Sapori D'Italia in Fountain Hills, Arizona to provide help to a family in desperate need.   The restaurant's customers have been replaced with sounds of fighting, and Robert needs to fix a broken family to fix the restaurant.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about the Sapori D'Italia to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews and comments are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Paula Deen Loses a Family Member

Photo - People Magazine

Ok, not literally, but Paula Deen revealed to People Magazine how her whole family got fit over the past year.  Paula lost 40 pounds, her husband Michael lost 60 pounds, and her sons Jamie and Bobby lost 45 and 33 pounds, which totals up to 178 pounds.  I would say they lost a whole person's worth of weight.

Paula has repeatedly said that the key to her weight loss nothing drastic, but just eating in moderation.  Hopefully they can all keep the weight off and continue their healthy lifestyles.

ABC's The Taste Premieres Tonight

Photo - ABC

The heavily advertised show The Taste premieres tonight at 8pm Eastern on ABC, and features two past Food Network personalities, Nigella Lawson and Anthony Bourdain, who are both Executive Producers of the show.  The Taste is pretty much a food version of The Voice, where each of the 4 judges will select a team of 4 to compete against each other, and there will be weekly eliminations.  The winner of the show will receive the prize of a 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid and $100,000.

Will you be watching The Taste?  Tell me what you think of it after it airs tonight.

Full Description of the show after the jump (from ABC):

Food Network News - Guy Fieri, Duff, Rachael vs Guy

Here are some updates from the past few days in Food Network news:

• Guy Fieri is getting into the wine business and if you read the comments from that link, people aren't too happy about it.  It is still in the early stages, but he plans on calling the wine "Hunt and Ryde" after his two sons.


• Duff Goldman and Charm City Cakes were responsible for baking President Obama's cake for the Inaugural Ball held today.

Giada In Paradise: Monaco To Air Sunday at 8pm On Cooking Channel

Photo - Cooking Channel

Back in October, I reported that Giada was in Monaco filming Giada In Paradise, but there was no air-date set for when the episode would air.  Now we know that the episode will air this Sunday night, January 20th at 8pm on the Cooking Channel.  Note that it is on the Cooking Channel and not the Food Network (there is a re-run of Chopped on at 8pm on the Food Network).  Also, Iron Chef America got moved to 11pm Sunday Night to re-run an episode of Bobby's Dinner Battle.

Here is the show description of Giada In Paradise: Monaco from the Cooking Channel:

Food Network and Robert Irvine Partner With Sysco

The Food Network, Robert Irvine, and Restaurant Impossible have announced a multi-platform marketing relationship with Sysco earlier today.   

 

The Key Components of the campaign include: 

• Media tie-ins, involving formal sponsorship of "Restaurant: Impossible," in-show product integrations and TV commercials;
• Digital integrations, incorporating Food Network, Chef Irvine and Sysco assets on foodnetwork.com, the "Restaurant: Impossible" page on foodnetwork.com, and sysco.com and Sysco's Facebook page and ChefRef app.
• Product promotions, including three, large-scale Sysco customer sweepstakes; and
• Consumer tie-in, including a consumer sweepstakes on foodnetwork.com.

Restaurant Impossible - Windseeker Update

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine is going to the Windseeker Restaurant in Dalles, Oregon to help the owner Vita try to turn the restaurant around.   The restaurant is suffering from bad publicity, negative word-of-mouth, and a hard to find location.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about the Windseeker to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews and comments are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Chopped Champions Tonight - Plus 200th Episode Filmed

Photo - Facebook

Tonight begins another round of Chopped Champions on the Food Network at 10pm.  Chopped Champions puts 16 past winners of Chopped up against each other for the opportunity to win $50,000.  It is a 5 episode competition with one chef advancing in each of the first four episodes to compete in the 5th and final episode for the $50,000.  The past winners of Chopped Champions have been Madison Cowan and Danielle Saunders.  Here are all of the competitors that are returning this season.

Alton Brown On The Layover Tonight with Anthony Bourdain

Photo - Travel Channel

Alton Brown will be on The Layover Atlanta episode tonight at 9pm on the Travel Channel.  Alton is a resident of Atlanta and actually filmed episodes of Good Eats there. He recently sold the studio in which Good Eats was filmed for $1.67 million.

In the episode, Alton and Anthony Bourdain visit the Clermont Lounge in Atlanta, which is a popular dive bar/strip club.  In the Clermont Lounge, they talk to a famous stripper named Blondie, who is known for crushing beer cans between her breasts.  So, if you want to check out Alton Brown showing Anthony Bourdain around Atlanta, tune into the Travel Channel at 9pm Eastern tonight.

Geoffrey Zakarian Vs Michael Chiarello Iron Chef Battle

Photo - Food Network

Tonight Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian went up against Michael Chiarello on Iron Chef America, where the secret ingredient was scotch.  Geoffrey and Michael were both on Season 4 of The Next Iron Chef: Superchefs, which is the season Geoffrey won to become an Iron Chef.

With the new format on Iron Chef America, after the first dish, Chef Zakarian was ahead of Chef Chiarello 12-10.  The culinary curveball was then announced, in which the chefs had to incorporate scotch bonnet peppers into one of their dishes.

Rachael Vs. Guy Season 2 Episode 2 Recap

Photo - Food Network

Tonight is the second episode of Rachael Vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off, however I do not think there is any reason to recap it anymore this season.  The show is pretty much unwatchable (and always has been), but I guess people are watching it as they continue to produce it. 

Instead of recapping the show each week, I will update the post with who was eliminated in case you were wondering who went home.  Also, I will update the post with a link to Max Silvestri's recap on Grantland when he posts it (usually later Monday).  Here is his first episode recap if you haven't read it yet.  He does such a good job that you don't even need to watch the episode and can enjoy the show more through his recap than you would watching it.  Pretty funny stuff.

Upcoming Food Network Cookbooks - Giada, Anne Burrell and More

Photo - Giada's Twitter

Here is a look ahead some of the cookbooks chefs from the Food Network will be releasing this year.  Also, I have listed recent cookbooks of Food Network chefs released in 2012.

Giada De Laurentiis has said she is currently working on another cookbook and has posted pictures on her Twitter account of her working on it.  The picture to the right is of the pictures they plan to use in the cookbook.  No release date has been set yet for this cookbook, but I would assume this year. (Update - November 5th, 2013 is the release date)

Anne Burrell also recently stated on Twitter that she is shooting pictures for her new book, so look for that to come in 2013 as well. (Update - 10-15-13 is the date for Anne Burrell's cookbook release)

Worst Cooks In America Returns February 17

Photo - Food Network

The fourth season of Worst Cooks in America is set to return February 17 on the Food Network.  It will take over the popular 9pm Eastern time slot currently occupied by the train-wreck Rachael Vs. Guy.  This season is a rematch of last season, with Anne Burrell competing against Bobby Flay and has seven contestants on each team.  Anne Burrell is the 3-time defending champion after defeating Beau MacMillan in season 1, Robert Irvine in season 2, and Bobby Flay last season.

Do you think Anne can make it 4 in a row?

The Reason Alton Brown Isn’t Producing Justin Warner’s Show

Photo - Food Network

With Justin Warner’s show scheduled to film soon, I recently reported that Alton Brown would not be producing his show due to ‘having a lot on his plate.’  Now we may know what is exactly on his plate.

Ironically, the reason he is not producing the Next Food Network Star winner’s show, is because he will be filming the NEXT season of Next Food Network Star.  He recently stated on Twitter that he was preparing a trip to L.A. for Food Network Star.

Viet Pham Defeats Bobby Flay In Iron Chef Battle

Chef Viet Pham battled Bobby Flay this past Sunday on Iron Chef America, where the secret ingredient was ground meat.  Viet Pham defeated Bobby Flay by the score of 80-73 and really impressed the judges with his beef fat ice cream.  It looks like we are stuck with the new gimmicks of Iron Chef America - the 20 minute first dish, which is scored immediately, and the 'culinary curveball.'

Did you recognize Viet Pham from anything else?  Find out what other Food Network show he was on after the jump.

Rachael Vs Guy Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Food Network was the season 2 premiere of Rachael Vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off, which began with the celebrities being introduced along with the charities they are competing for.  The celebrities were then picked to form Team Rachael and Team Guy.

Team Rachael  - Gilbert Gottfried, Kathy Najimy, Hines Ward, and Carnie Wilson

Team Guy - Chilli, Cornelia Guest, Dean McDermott, and Johnny Weir

Alton Brown Is Not Producing Justin Warner's Show

Alton Brown revealed on Twitter that he will not be producing Justin Warner's new show, which is scheduled to begin filming very shortly.  A question was asked to Alton stating "when does the next food network star u produced going to air?"  Alton replied with his normal picture of a sticky note stating, "Justin's show is shooting in January.  Regrettably, I didn't get to produce it."

Justin went on to add that the reason was 'budget contraints' and that Alton 'christened the ship' and currently 'has a lot on his plate.'

Restaurant Impossible - Whiskey Creek Steakhouse Update

Photo - Food Network

Tonight on Restaurant: Impossible, Robert Irvine is going to Whiskey Creek Steakhouse in Keyport, Washington, which has been in business for about 20 years.   Owners Karan and Pat have said that their business has been as slow as ever and due to not having electronic records, it makes it hard to keep track of money and food.  As I normally do with Restaurant: Impossible episodes, I searched around the Internet to read stories, comments and reviews about Whiskey Creek Steakhouse to get an idea of how the restaurant is doing since Robert Irvine visited, and here is what I found (note - all reviews and comments are post Restaurant: Impossible):

Anne Burrell Is Engaged

Food Network Chef Anne Burrell announced on Twitter that she is now engaged.  She is engaged to Koren Grieveson, who she has been with for some time.

Happy new year everyone! Happy and healthy! And I'm engaged!!!!!!!!
— anne burrell (@chefanneburrell) January 1, 2013

The NY Post reported back in September that Koren Grieveson moved from Chicago to New York to be with Anne.  Koren is a James Beard Award winning chef, and left the popular Chicago restaurant avec when she moved to New York.

Congratulations to Anne and Koren!