Next Food Network Star Final 2
In past years TNFNS was a guilty viewing pleasure, despite the silly, irrelevant challenges (cooking for Girl Scouts, tight time limits, as if FN were live TV) and inconsistent judging criteria (contestants slammed for relying on formal training or for not having enough). But this year's been painful, thanks to a really dull group of contestants. Hard to believe these were the 10 best out of presumably thousands of applicants. Not a single one impressed with either their culinary skills or on-camera personality, let alone a combination of the two. But at least now I can breathe a sigh of relief that Debbie is gone. Many felt she was this year's pre-selected winner, in order to fill a FN demographic niche. But no amount of highly biased judging could cover her flaws - chief of which was a very shakey relationship with the truth. On a show in which the judges blather incessantly about "integrity" and "trust," how could they have kept her for so long when she was caught in some major lie virtually every week - several of them aimed intentionally at undercutting other contestants. Two years ago a finalist was booted off when it was discovered he misrepresented his military record. Not cool, but it had nothing specifically to do with his behavior on the show. I think FN finally realized people were tired of Debbie's drama queen act. (As well as her reminding us she was Korean every other sentence.) Oh yeah, right, the final two - Melissa and Jeffrey. Best of a lame lot, with my preference for Jeffrey. More relaxed, less drama. Melissa's no Debbie, but she seems to come up with a story for every occassion - she was raised poor, yet her mother was a Navy Commander, and a maid taught her Spanish. Now the "stay-at-home mom" turns out to have gone to business school and lived in Paris. And mentioning her mother's suicide the other night seemed a desperate grab for sympathy. Enough already with the personal stories. Can a Food Network show just be about food? What a concept.
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13 Comments:
I grew up poor and the only maid we had was my mom. I can't stand the "everywoman" persona she tries to have. I also can't stand Jeffrey's "I'm a dad and wordly" persona. Neither appeal to me. They make sense for FN though since FN isn't looking for real chefs that have a following or a reputation. They're looking for personalities to mold into what they want to present.
gingercookiewithlime at 9:45PM on 07/28/09
The enter key and paragraph breaks are your friend, at least if you want people to be able to read what you write without going cross-eyed.
As for the final two of this year's TNFNS, I'm way happier with Melissa and Jeffrey than I was with last year's offerings. In my opinion, either way we win because both of them are apparently amazing cooks.
Personally I don't give a rat's ass about their backgrounds or the circumstances of their childhoods (seriously, the people up in arms over Melissa having had a nanny just need to get over themselves.) I want to know 1) if they can cook and 2) do they have something to teach me. And I think Jeffrey & Melissa meet both those criteria so I'm happy.
RegrettableFoodie at 12:47AM on 07/29/09
Glad to hear that Debbie is out, I too was sick of listening her going on and on. Yes I don't want to hear about their shit, just shut up and cook.
pjracz10 at 2:44AM on 07/29/09
This show just upsets me. I keep watching it but it's become about branding a person and marketing them and commercial tie ins. And I feel the judges place too much emphasis on the niches they want to fill to be more diverse. I agree there should be more Asian, South American, etc cooking (Not to mention French, Spanish, German, etc) but they should be using a forum other than this show to fill it.
The early seasons were more focused on preparation and presentation of food and working with the camera. It was a little less dramatic but at least you could see the skills someone needed. Unfortunately the judges were bad at picking good people and way too PC (as anyone who ever watched the Hearty Boys can attest). Now it's like a chopped / iron chef style cooking competition that has little to do with how interesting someone's well crafted recipes and presentation skills translate to TV.
Hell if you watch early Food Network, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali, and Emeril himself would probably be rejected based on their performances then (uneven, sometimes bland, NOT branded at all). At this point I would rather see the final four contestants start cooking shows where we see the behind the scenes work etc and see which one gets a contract based on quality of food, quality of show, personality, and ratings (cause you still need those).
You can argue that after all the seasons of this show, the judges can't judge cooking and tv talent, and none of the winners have made an impact as a cooking show host / teacher. Though I love Guy and his DDD, his cooking show is boring.
joeqboo at 9:59AM on 07/29/09
I think the last few seasons it's become as much about the show Next food network star, as it is about actually choosing someone who might become the next star - hence the commercial tie-ins, and the heightened drama. I've really come to despise all the challenges, chopped, etc. Besides liking food I've always watched FN because it was relaxing and entertaining without being competitive.
I like these two contestants better than most. I'll be happy with either. Last year I didn't think I'd like any of them. I've actually enjoyed Aaron's program, and belatedly think they chose they right one. There seems to be a tendency though to amp up the hosts more and more. Paula Deen used to be amusing and an interesting (if prosaic) cook with a point of view. Now she's a shrill, bawdy celeb. Not an improvement. Guy's big bite I like, but some of the other vehicles for him have gotten over the top. Remember good ole Sarah Moulton? AB said that "she's got the 50 yr old female demographic locked up." Guess that's not their target audience anymore!
@mattgold. Susie has made clear she really wants to hear the stories, and whenever a contestant just talks about the food (what a concept) they get a little "show more of yourself" talk.
lemonfair at 10:12AM on 07/29/09
It's obvious the show itself is the cash cow for the network, NOT the actual winners show that airs. With the exception of Guy (who most people seem to despise) no one else has become a real "Food Network Star." They are getting more viewers and advertising money with this train wreck of a reality show than anything the winners come up with. Here's my advice to those that bitch about this show every week:
STOP WATCHING IT.
The only way this will go away is if NO ONE IS WATCHING.
arm1970 at 10:57AM on 07/29/09
Haha so true @arm1970. Don't think people are going to stop watching though.
While I'm not head over heels with either contestant, I liked both of the remaining cooks better than Debbie! I think Jeff was the pegged winner from the start but Melissa might have a big shot.
Chew on That at 2:24PM on 07/29/09
Food Network obviously has some issues to work out regarding its so-called stars. This season more than ever I think that the challenges have been completely ridiculous and obviously a ploy to garner ratings and increase the shock factor. I absolutely despised the challenge of "rigged demos," as they seemed just a vehicle for the judges to sit back and laugh at the contestants as they helplessly tried to salvage their disastrous demos.
I also agree that their criteria for judgment is incredibly flawed. How can they have people like Sandra Lee on their network and actually value food that tastes good and a host's "credibility" and food knowledge in the kitchen? The selection committee seems to realize that over-the-top personalities are impossible for viewers to both watch and grow to like, but about half of their personalities (and shows) seem to shoot for this quality (Paula Deen, Neelys, Guy, and the list goes on).
As for the contestants, I'm pretty indifferent to either one. With all 10 of the finalists there was not one who I actually liked or rooted for-- I just waited for the bad and annoying ones to get the boot.
sarar at 6:05PM on 07/29/09
B-o-r-i-n-g! Although I don't really care whether the contestants are boring, as much as their cooking. I'm just not impressed by the cooking/ dishes made so far! I guess if I had to choose one it would be Mellisa, although I don't think that her personality would warrent renewing her show. Even though there was some flack from people over Aaron's winning last year, with some crying that FN wanted to fill their "Quota" of diverse and ethnic people and food, he was the right one. He was not boring, his food looked delicious and I've actually made some of his dishes that turned out very tasty and delicious! He's interesting, which is actually more than I can say for Sandra Lee, the Barefoot Contessa, and a few others whose culinary skills I just don't see the big deal with. Sadly, whichever of the two are chose, I don't see either being renewed. I hope they prove me wrong!
sassy at 7:45PM on 07/29/09
I don't know if I would go so far as to say that Sandra Lee isn't "interesting." I am always interested in the inventive new ways she can find to crap up food and liquor.
RegrettableFoodie at 12:34PM on 07/30/09
arm1970 totally pegged it. This program is not about discovering exciting new culinary talent. (If your big discovery in 4 seasons is Guy TGI Fieri that's pretty sad). Because of its high rating and corporate tie-ins the show is an end in itself. People love the drama of reality contest shows, even if they know the "drama" is mostly contrived and manufactured by the producers. Hell, I'm complaining but I'm still watching. I just think that the show badly needs an overhaul, making the challenges more relevant and turning the emphasis from personality to food.
The problem is that all the contestants (and would-be contestants) have heard Tushman and Fogelson say 8 million times "we want to know who you are" and "we want your food to tell a story." So they come up with these silly taglines (Housewife 2.0, Food Without Borders) or reduce themselves to a sound bite. (Stay-at-Home-Mom, Southern Korean Girl.) Does it make a dish more interesting or appealing to know that Jeffrey cooks it with his daughter? Not for me.
MattGold at 6:55PM on 07/30/09
I am sure there is at least one guy who appeared against the Iron Chefs who would be interested in doing a show. A real chef!
PeteV at 11:54AM on 08/03/09
I have absolutely no use for someone who has a cooking show JUST BECAUSE they won a game show. It does not make the person a professional OR a qualified teacher. Just another talking head.
Julia Child (to my knowledge) never worked in a professional kitchen, but she did attend formal cooking school and apparently learned her craft well enough to be able to teach it in a way that caused a chunk of the American public to change its views on cooking - and time spent in the kitchen.
Give me an Anne Burrell any day.
therealchiffonade at 5:15PM on 08/05/09