Bob Tuschman Leaving Food Network

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Variety.com is reporting that Food Network Senior Vice President Bob Tuschman will leave the company at the end of the month.  It is unclear if he is leaving on his own or if he is being forced out.  Deirdre “Didi” O’Hearn is replacing him and will serve as senior vice president, programming and development for Food Network and Cooking Channel.  She joined the company in 2014.

Former Food Network President Brooke Johnson announced her retirement in August 2015, so there have been a lot of recent leadership changes within the company.  How this impacts the future programming remains to be seen.

Bob Tuschman was with Food Network since 1998, and regularly appeared on Food Network Star as a judge.  The 12th season of Food Network Star is currently being filmed, so it will be interesting to see if he has any role in the upcoming season.


(Variety.com)

Food Network Related News and Links

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

• Bobby Flay's apartment is listed for sale at $7.95 million, but you can also rent it for $22,500 a month. (Link)
• Trisha Yearwood will be playing the role of Mary in Fox's live staging of The Passion hosted by Tyler Perry.  The two-hour telecast is set to air on March 20th live on Fox. (Link)
• Giada Weekly, which was a digital lifestyle app by Giada De Laurentiis, has been discontinued and the last issue was released this week.  Here is the note about the last issue to the subscribers who paid $16.99 for a yearly subscription.
• This Saturday, Paula Deen is involved in an odd fundraiser called "Painting, Paula, and a President."  The event is in Georgia and costs $500, where you paint in a class with Paula Deen and former president Jimmy Carter and it includes breakfast and lunch.  You can also do a sleepover package for $2,000 that includes dinner and a room. (Link)
• Worst Cooks in America season 8 continues to get really good ratings, attracting over 2 million total viewers in recent episodes.  Besides Food Network Star, not many other shows on Food Network get ratings this high. (Link)
• All-Star Academy returns to Food Network in February with Robert Irvine and Andrew Zimmern as new mentors, replacing Bobby Flay and Michael Symon.  They will be joining returning mentors Alex Guarnaschelli and Curtis Stone.  Plenty more information about the show can be found here.

Michael Symon's Restaurant Lolita Closed After Fire Damage

There was a fire yesterday afternoon at Michael Symon's Cleveland restaurant Lolita, which caused significant damage forcing the restaurant to close.  According to Cleveland.com, the fire began near an oven on the first floor and spread to the second floor offices.  The first floor suffered mostly water damage and the second floor offices were almost completely destroyed.

After the fire, Michael Symon posted on his Facebook page,

"thank you everyone for kind thoughts about Lolita fire...most importantly staff is safe & unharmed...damage to restaurant appears to be pretty significant but we will be back strong that I can promise you!...last but certainly not least thank you to the Cleveland fire department who acted swiftly and limited damage as much as possible..much much admiration for the job you do daily...thank you, Michael"

 Also on the Lolita website, it says they are closed until further notice, stating:

"Due to a fire, Lolita is closed until further notice. We apologize for any inconveniences and hope to reopen as soon as possible. Please visit our other Cleveland area restaurant locations. Thank you to the Cleveland Fire Department for their quick response and professionalism."

Hopefully the restaurant is able to re-open soon and the employees impacted are able to find other jobs.

In other Michael Symon news, the second season of his show Burgers, Brew & 'Que is scheduled to begin this Friday on Food Network at 10:30pm ET.

Food Network Related News and Links

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

• Guy Fieri wants out of his Johnny Garlic's restaurant chain and his business partner is suing him to try to keep the chain open. (Link)
• Guy Fieri is a part of a Super Bowl tailgate with Erin Andrews, Aaron May, and Beau MacMillan with the tickets for the all-you-can-eat/drink being $700.  Also, here is the menu prepared by Guy, Aaron, and Beau.
• In February, Guy Fieri will have a show called Guy Fieri's European Vacation where he will travel around Europe with his son Hunter. (Link)
• Jeff Mauro's BBQ restaurant Pork & Mindy's is opening Friday, and despite it's first location not being open yet, a second location is already planned.
• Worst Cooks in America began this week and here is all of the information about this season's episodes and contestants.
• Alton Brown's new cookbook will only have pictures from an iPhone. (Link)
• Trisha Yearwood doesn't cook on the road, but does have a catering crew that cooks recipes out of her cookbooks. (Link)
• Food Network Star is filming in Los Angeles, CA again and is looking for extras in January. (Link)
• Giada De Laurentiis was spotted in a bikini with her new boyfriend on a recent vacation in Mexico. (Link)