Last night, Jason Smith was crowned the season 13 winner of Food Network Star, but nothing was announced regarding his future on Food Network. Today a press release was put out that he will be a "featured judge" on a new series called Best Baker in America. The show is scheduled to premiere in September, but there is no official date or time yet.Jason was a winner on Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship, so it isn't surprising that he would be put into a show about baking. Plus it seems like there are plenty of baking shows popping up on Food Network. Whether Best Baker in America (with Jason as host) was planned before Food Network Star was filmed is only known by Food Network insiders. It appears that those who want to see Jason on his own cooking show will have to wait.
The press release that mentions Best Baker in America is below:
"Food Network Crowns Its Newest FOOD NETWORK STAR in Season Finale
Jason Smith has been named the newest winner of FFOOD NETWORK STAR, beating out 12 other finalists as the season came to an exciting conclusion on Sunday, August 13th. Through 11 episodes of arduous challenges testing both culinary and on-camera skills, Jason impressed mentors Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay, along with special guest judges over the course of the season, with his cooking prowess, his bold outfits and his off-the-cuff sayings. Jason's culinary chops combined with his ability to translate his culinary point of view to the camera eventually earned him the ultimate prize, the title of Food Network Star! Jason will make his Food Network debut this September as a featured judge on new series Best Baker in America, as well as be part of the tenth annual Food Network and Cooking Channel NYC Wine & Food Festival in October.
"Off the bat Jason wowed Bobby and Giada, and viewers at home with his star quality in front of the camera, his cooking skills, affable personality and of course, his signature outfits," said Courtney White, SVP Programming, Scripps Networks Interactive. "Jason's determination and hard work are a shining example of how dreams do come true, and we know he will make an excellent addition to the Food Network family."
Leading into the finale, this season's FOOD NETWORK STAR had been seen by over 25 million viewers, while landing in the top 5 among cable during its airings in the Sunday 9pm time slot, averaging a .7 rating among P25-54. FOOD NETWORK STAR has also engaged across all platforms, including FoodNetwork.com, where show content generated more than 10M page views. FOOD NETWORK STAR season 13 finalists resonated with the audience on and off screen, as the finalist content pages totaled 1.6M. Associated content also performed with 50M video views overall on Facebook.
Jason Smith, a school cafeteria cooking manager and caterer, is known for his modern, elevated recipes that not only taste delicious, but are also budget friendly. Currently residing in Grayson, Kentucky, Jason is a self-taught chef and baker who previously competed on and won Food Network's Holiday Baking Championship."
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UPDATE - Best Baker in America will premiere on Wednesday, September 27th at 9pm and will be six episodes long - Press release about show.
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