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I'm happy for Aaron, but, I don't think he was the strongest chef, or did the best audition pilot. However, the network may have been looking for a strong and charismatic black chef to reach a broader audience, and his meals always looked incredible. He just isn't that articulate, too often sounding like he was talking with a mouth full of marbles. Still, I think it's cool that he won because he seems like a great person. I don't think he's going to have the most interesting cooking show however. He had the most difficulties relating to the camera and audience. I don't mean it to sound like a racist thing, because I like Aaron, but, this win feels like an affirmative action event to me.

I am not disappointed with the outcome even though I thought Lisa Garza was terrific. I liked Aaron very much from the very beginning. That said, I do think they might have been looking for something different or ethnic. I acutally thought they started out favoring Nipa (I think that is her name) because her Indian food was good and very different from anything else currently on the FN. But, she just was not the right personality for the task and she was not openminded about some of the foods (remember the fish?). She should have been dumped one session before she finally did get the ax. Arron will be fine and he will be appealing and likable. Aside from Nipa, I think any one of the contestants could be coached to be successful.

I was happy that Aaron won! For me, it was between he & Adam - I could have watched either one. Lisa annoyed the heck out of me and seemed more concerned at the way she was looking on TV rather than what she was doing. I'm sure her cooking is good, but she just didn't have that humble persona that Adam & Aaron gave out. Hats off to you, Aaron! I'll definitely be tuning in for your show!!

I starting "rooting" for Aaron about midway thru the competition. It was a really close match up of talent, but for me it came down to who I would rather watch and be "entertained" by. Aaron is the best fit for the newest lineup of Foodnetwork Celeb chefs. Last year, Amy beat out Rory because of the audience vote and then fell flat when it came to personality for the screen. No doubt she's a talented cook...not so much someone I'd set the Tevo for. I also think that by airing "Big Daddy's Kitchen" directly after the competion will keep viewers interested and not forgetting why they cared in the first place, 6 months after the fact. I'm a fan, Big Daddy...Good Luck!

It is not the least bit racist to propose that Aaron won because the FN execs were looking at big ratings for The Neelys and wanted to have another black show host with a similar personality. It's just the reality of the TV business. And had Adam won I would have said it was because they decided a young, urban, Jewish host would appeal to the widest audience, and if Lisa won it would have been because of the Martha Stewart wannabe demographic. Are people naive enough to think that any competition "reality" show is decided solely on merit?

Aaron wouldn't have been my choice, but I think he will do fine, because remember - what we see in the challenges has nothing to do with the actual business of producing a television show. What finally airs is an edited end product, filtered through teams of producers, writers, consultants. Which brings up how silly the whole Next FN Star concept is. Could any of their reigning "stars" deftly handle the challenge of cleaning a squid without any preparation or coaching? Could Rachel Ray give a technically correct description of some dish she'd never seen before? (The contestants are told to avoid meaningless descriptions like "fabulous" and "delicous." What about "yummo.") Most of the challenges were similarly irrelevant. Shane got the boot in part because he could not relate to an 8 year old girl. Who cares? Is this the Next Nickelodeon Star? (A low point of the season was Shane being mocked by the judges for never having been to France. That was elitist and just plain creepy.)

There are some legitimate reasons to feel that Aaron's choice was predetermined. There is no denying that he bombed in Vegas. He was embarassing in front of the live audience, and his buffet was universally judged the worst of the three. Since cooking was supposed to his strong suit over the other two that should have signalled his elimination. Then there was Susie F.'s earlier "our buddy Aaron" comment, which I actually thought was condescending and somewhat demeaning. On the final show, if the ultimate critera was truly, as the judges said, who could step in front of the camera immediately, then the order of finish should have been Adam, Lisa, Aaron. But then the winner is Aaron, who had said that the cameramen made him nervous. Just another example of the inconsistency from the judges that dominated the entire season. Adam's passion for food is constantly questioned, when the guy owned and cooked for a restaurant. (And when Adam won the buffet challenge, Bobby Flay grudgingly said, "well, he got to do the one thing he knows, smoking meats. Did anyone else detect a note of jealousy?) Some contestants are raked over the coals for not having extensive food knowledge, but then Shane, a graduate of the Culinary Institute, is criticized for having too much book learning. (For that matter, the show's producers are the ones who choose to have 19 or 21 year contestants, who are then criticized for lack of real world experience.)

All in all, this season was not as much of a train wreck as last year, when the "winner" was Amy Finley, who spent the entire series crying that she didn't want to be there, quite once, then was eliminated, then got brought back after the JAG scandal so they could have a final two and won in a sympathy vote. I actually think that any of this year's final three are capable of having a show. In fact, I would prefer any of these three, as well as Shane and Kelsey (maybe teamed together?) to some of the current "stars." Today was the debut of Ask Aida, an "interactive" show, the same concept Adam proposed. Aida is pretty and apparently has an impressive professional resume, but she was completely wooden in front of the camera and way less entertaining than Adam. Maybe all Food Network host should be forced to compete for their jobs a al Next FN Star.

PS - Aaron got his official FN introduction today on Downhome with The Neelys. So if you call people who suggest his pick was based on demographics "racist" then you should call the FN racist for putting him on with The Neelys instead of Giada or Sandra Lee. The Neelys talked about how much they related to Aaron, their similar family backgrounds etc. So clearly there is a strategy to say, hey if you like The Neelys you'll want to watch Big Daddy. That's not racism or affirmative action. That's show business!

After this controversy, I wonder if they'll have another season of NFNS. Oh, and the comment about "if Sandra Lee can have a show, then anyone can" - I TOTALLY agree with that. I can't STAND her.