Mario is Back?

Seems that Food Network can't make up its mind.

“Mario Batali is still a major part of the Food Network family. He is currently in production on new episodes of ‘Iron Chef America’ and we are also still filming specials with him as well, such as last springs’ ‘Chefography.’ We support him in his outside endeavors and look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship with Mario. - Food Network Spokesperson”

Guess What Happens Next!

Maybe I’m a little slow on the uptake but I finally figured out Food Network’s planning. I didn’t figure it out when the Latino cooking show, Simply Delicioso, was introduced and Jag on the Next Food Network Star was axed (sorry, I meant to say resigned). I totally missed the connection in the announcement of the new show “Food Dudes” – Good bye Paul from the Next Food Network Star. The Next Iron Chef challenge will start in October. I thought that they just wanted another chef. Wrong, Mario Batili was asked to leave the network. All his shows have been cancelled. You can find him on PBS now.

I’m looking at programming in a new light now. How do they select the contestants for their challenges? Everyone knows that the Food Network has been looking to change their programming to attract a younger audience. How will the audience connect with Blacks, Latinos, Gays, French (by association), Texans (even transplants), tall, short, big or small? Apparently, Afro-Americans did not give a lot of feedback, they were both chopped early. The model from Brazil, they already had Giada, so looks were not that important. The hunk from Michigan, it worked in the beginning, but soon played out. Contestants that really knew how to cook – gone. Healthy cooking – they already had Ellie Kreiger and she is good.

Texans – Big and bold food (beef). Not this year.

Latinos apparently have a really big market share.

French cooking, it didn’t work last year and it almost didn’t work this year, but America voted. (The Next Food Network Star)

The Gay from L.A., the majority of fans loved Paul. (Food Dudes) (I was really hoping that Paul was one of the Dudes)

Everyone loved Tommy, I’m watching for a show called the “Big Happy Chef”.

Are more shake ups in the offing? I’ll let you know as soon as I know.

From now on when Food Network starts to advertise a new show, I’ll start looking for the reason why.

How Does "Iron Chef America" work?

Are you interested in how “Iron Chef America” works? Do the chefs have a million food ideas revolving through their brains at any given time? Perhaps, some of them do. But, the challengers do receive a list of five potential ingredients. They receive the list between one week and one month before the show. One reason for the list of five ingredients is that perhaps an ingredient will arrive unfit to cook.

The Iron Chef America pantry includes more than 200 basics for use on the show. But, what if they do not stock that exact spice which will make or break a recipe? The chefs also receive $500.00 to go shopping for the missing ingredients. Is there a catch to this? The $500.00 must be spent on a range of items, not just a few very expensive items. They must not buy a higher-quality version of the secret ingredient.

The chefs are allowed to bring special equipment with them. All pantries are checked before the show to make sure that last minute food items don’t magically appear. (It’s been done before.) Everyone must follow the rules. What are the rules? The rule book is based on the original Japanese show.

The magic of stop tape. Television is all about drama. If you don’t act surprised at the secret ingredient, don’t worry, you can keep repeating the scene until you get it right. Each battle has 10 hours of footage. With a snip, snip here and there, the show will be cut to 35 minutes (without commercials). The cooking battle itself is taped in real time. If you drop something on the floor, the whole world knows it. No stop tape here. There are some things that are set up ahead of time for the battle. Stock pots are already simmering on the stove before the competition starts. No one can make stock that quickly!

Stop Tape: The chefs receive extra time to plate their dishes for the judges and Kitchen Stadium chairman – Mark Dacascos.

Stop Tape: Each chef gets 45 minutes to present his or her dishes. The judges get 90 minutes to evaluate the dishes.

This year, 24 episodes were filmed over a 20 day period in January. Talk about ‘no rest for the weary”!

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Filming the "Next Iron Chef"

The Next Iron Chef competition has filmed three of its six episodes at the Culinary Institute of America In Hyde Park, New York. The CIA takes an annual summer break, when the students moved out, the Food Network moved in. They commandeered six of their kitchens and started to tape 7 days a week.

"More than 70 people are here on site taping," CIA spokesman Stephan Hengst said. "It is by far the largest scale Food Network production that the CIA has ever been involved with."

Qualifications that the Food Network was looking for - Applicants must have a minimum of 10 years of culinary experience including at least five years at the Executive Chef level, and must be currently employed in the culinary profession in some fashion. Different cuisine styles are encouraged and candidates must have strong, competitive personalities that are appealing to viewers.

Programming Strategy for the Food Network

Instructional programming will be aired during the day and weekends, cooking-based reality series will air at night. They are also targeting younger viewers. One example is “Food Dudes”. Two young chefs from Hollywood struggle with their catering business. (When I first heard the premise for the show, I really thought that they had found a place for Paul from “The Next Food Network Star”, but no such luck).

The ‘Food Dudes’ may not look the part, but they are serious cooks.
They prepare such dishes as duck breast with pickled watermelon and seared tuna over jicama salad. They are committed to cutting edge cruisine. If Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo look similar to you, you may remember them from an Iron Chef challenge with Cat Cora back in September of 2006. Look for comedy and drama.

The Food Network is Full of Competitions

Name: America’s Best Recipe
When: First quarter of 2008
Who: Everyone
What: Original recipes sent in to compete for best in category

The field will be narrowed down to nine contestants, who will prepare their original recipes before a live audience in Las Vegas

Iron Chef Competition Starts October 7th

The Next Iron Chef will air on October 7th at 9:00p.m. This competition will be different from other reality shows, as each of the contestants are already well known chefs. The prize – the chance to join the ranks of Bobby Flay, Cat Cora, Mario Batali and Masaharu Morimoto.

Bob Tuschman (Food Network's Senior VP of Programming and Production) says:
"We have chosen a group of chefs who we believe to be at the forefront of the culinary landscape, each of whom could stand proudly beside Bobby, Mario, Morimoto and Cat as a new Iron Chef,"
"In our quest, we are looking for an individual to complement the current group and bring a unique blend of innovation, creativity and passion to the show."

The show will be hosted by Alton Brown. The judges will be Michael Ruhlman (James Beard Foundation Award-winning author, cookbook author and food writer), Andrew Knowlton (Restaurant Editor of Bon Appetit magazine) and Donatella Arpaia (restaurateur and owner of New York City restaurants davidburke&donatella and Anthos). I don’t know much about two of the judges, but I know quite a bit about Michael Ruhlman. I think he will make a wonderful judge.

There will be eight competitors:

• John Besh (New Orleans, LA) Executive Chef, Restaurant August, Besh Steak, Luke and La Provence
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• Chris Cosentino (San Francisco, CA) Executive Chef, Incanto
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• Jill Davie (Santa Monica, CA) Executive Chef, JOSIE
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• Traci Des Jardins (San Francisco, CA) Executive Chef & Co-Owner, Jardiniere, Mijita and Acme Chophouse
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• Gavin Kaysen (San Diego, CA) Chef de Cuisine, El Bizcocho at the Rancho Bernardo Inn
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• Morou Ouattara (Washington, DC) Executive Chef & Owner, Farrah Olivia
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• Aaron Sanchez (New York, NY) Executive Chef & Owner, Centrico and Paladar
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• Michael Symon (Cleveland, OH) Executive Chef & Owner, Lola and Lolita

Since Michael Symon is an Ohio chef, he already scores one point.

This should really be an interesting show.