Food Network Related News and Links

Sorry for not posting in a bit, but here are some Food Network related news items from the past few weeks:

• Chef John Besh, who frequently appears on Food Network, was the subject of an 8-month long investigation by The Time-Picayune where 25 women claimed they were victims of sexual harassment at his restaurants.  The full story is here and is quite long,  with women describing  "a company where several male co-workers and bosses touched female employees without consent, made suggestive comments about their appearance and – in a few cases – tried to leverage positions of authority for sex."  John Besh was also involved in a sexual relationship with an employee.  
• After these allegations came out, he stepped down from his position in his restaurant group.  He released an apology (full quotes here), stating, "two years ago, I deeply hurt those I love by thoughtlessly engaging in a consensual relationship with one member of my team. Since then I have been seeking to rebuild my marriage and come to terms with my reckless actions given the profound love I have for my wife, my boys and my Catholic faith. I also regret any harm this may have caused to my second family at the restaurant group, and sincerely apologize to anyone past and present who has worked for me who found my behavior as unacceptable as I do"
• John Besh recently appeared on the first episode of Iron Chef Showdown, which angered some fans as it was after all of this came out.  PBS pulled his shows from their network. (Link)
• When the Harvey Weinstein allegations were coming out, Sunny Anderson sent out a series of tweets where she was accused of "victim blaming" for saying the women coming out were late and not brave.  She received backlash for this and later took down the tweets. (Link)
• If you were a fan of Ginormous Foods, that show is now on Travel Channel and new episodes air Mondays at 11pm. (Link)
• Jason Smith will be appearing on an upcoming episode of Best Thing I Ever Ate on Cooking Channel. (Link)
• Cajun Aces is a new show on Food Network that will begin on December 2nd and will follow chefs Cody and Sam Carrol as they explore Cajun cuisine and culture.  "Each week, viewers can tune in to see the chefs as they take the freshest ingredients from their family farm in Batchelor, LA and create brand new dishes at both of their restaurants." (Link)
• Bobby Flay will be opening his first airport location for Bobby's Burger Palace inside Atlanta's airport. (Link)
• Guy Fieri's new show Guy's Big Project has had low ratings for its first few episodes.  Sunday night shows usually have good ratings on Food Network and the numbers for Guy's Big Project are well below the normal. (Link)
• Alton Brown recently posted this on social media, "With the end of the tour rapidly approaching and my food network contract ending, I spend a lot of time pondering my next move."  It appears his Food Network contract will end soon, but who knows if he is renegotiating a new one. (Link)