The Next Food Network Star: Episode One

As promised, last night we watched The Next Food Network Star. Overall, it was not nearly as well-produced or paced as Top Chef and it contained far too much of several Food Network chefs who drive us crazy (in this episode, the chief offenders were Bobby Flay, Emeril, and the dude from Dinner: Impossible, or, as Anthony Bourdain calls it Dinner Slightly Difficult), but overall, we’ve watched much less entertaining hours of television. A few highlights:
•There sure are a lot of lookalikes among the contestants. For example, are we sure that Rory isn’t actually “The Real World: Denver”’s Colie? Similarly, have you ever seen Amy in the same room as Julia Louis-Dreyfus? Also, the eliminated Vivien is totally the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come for America’s Current Top Model Jaslene.
•The contestant interviews include gems, like this one from Amy, upon arriving at the first challenge: “There’s food out and it’s immediately apparent: we’re cooking.” As opposed to what? Amy again, on grilling: “I definitely want Bobby to like my food. Especially because I’m grilling. That’s a Bobby thing.”
•Aside from our Boston-area boy Tommy Grella, our early favorite is Paul, if only because he seems most likely to have a Project Runway-esque “Where the hell is my chiffon?” moment.
•Grella watch! The Methuen man got a lot of airtime, leading us to suspect that he just might be ready to go all the way. He smoked cigars in interviews! He made cioppino! He decorated a wedding cake with a picture of the Italian flag and a drawing of a cigar! He took an unauthorized shot of vodka! He made polenta, which was meant to be the vegetarian entree, with chicken stock! He gave a wildly entertaining speech in which he called himself “the skinny guinea from Boston” AND gave a shoutout to the Merrimack Valley! The judges loved him! We don’t see him leaving anytime soon.

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The Next Food Network Star: Episode One