Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Nearly 200 reality-TV hopefuls showed up at Portland's downtown Marriott last Thursday for a crack at competing on "The Next Food Network Star." But instead of trying to elbow their way to stardom a la "Survivor," they exchanged pleasantries like they were at an office mixer.
The room's charismatic centerpiece, however, was Teddy Wells, an actor from Hawaii with a roaring laugh and giant shell around his neck. He's been on "Baywatch," "Fantasy Island" and "Lost."

"You'd probably remember me best from my one scene in the operating room, where Ben elbowed me and I escaped," he said of a "Lost" appearance. For five hours, men and women, young and old, switched seats to be next to him.