THE NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR

'''The Next Food Network Star''' is a reality television series produced by and aired on the Food Network in the United States which awards the winner his or her own series on the Food Network. The first two seasons were hosted by Marc Summers; the hostless third season began airing on June 3, 2007, with 11 finalists.

Contents

Season One

Summary

Finalists

Season Two

Summary

Finalists

Season Three

Summary

Finalists

Contestant Resignation

Challenges

Week 1 - Potluck, Cakes, and Wedding Challenge

Week 2 - Bon Appétit Challenge

Week 3 - NBA Chocolate Challenge

Week 4 - Fort Dix Challenge

Week 5 - Demos Challenge

Week 6 - Iron Chef Showdown

Week 7 - Meet the Press

Week 8 - Finale

Season Four

References

External links

Season One

Summary

The first season of ''The Next Food Network Star'' series was taped in February 2005, and was composed of five episodes premiering on Sundays at 9 PM in June 2005. Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh were the winners of the first season. These two Chicago area caterers host a show called ''Party Line with Dan & Steve'', now titled ''Party Line with The Hearty Boys'', which premiered on September 18, 2005. As of November 12, 2006, there have been no new episodes. The runner-up, Deborah Fewell, was chosen to host a special on food at beaches, ''Surf N Turf'', which aired in June 2006. Michael Thomas is the recurring chef on ''The Tyra Banks Show''. Susannah Locketti has made an appearance on ''The Tony Danza Show'', and is also an on-air chef for Publix grocery stores in the southern United States. ^[1]

Finalists

★ Brook Harlan (Columbia, MO)

★ Harmony Marceau

★ Michael Thomas

★ Eric Warren

★ Susannah Locketti

★ Hans Reuffert

★ Deborah Fewell (runner-up)

★ Dan Smith & Steve McDonagh (Bellmore, Long Island, NY & Wayne, NJ) - Three Mushroom Tart (winners)

Season Two

Summary

The second season of ''The Next Food Network Star'' series was taped in December 2005 and began airing in March 2006. Guy Fieri was announced as the winner on April 23, 2006, beating Reggie Southerland. ''Guy's Big Bite'' premiered in June 2006, and Fieri's second series, ''Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'', premiered April 23, 2007, a year after he won. Fourth-place contestant Nathan Lyon began hosting his own series, ''A Lyon In the Kitchen''^[2], on the Discovery Health Channel in March 2007.

Finalists

★ Jess Dang (Menlo Park, CA) - Asian Bolognese

★ Elizabeth Raynor (Sausalito, CA) - Turkey Pine Nut Cabbage Wraps

★ Evette Rodriguez (Port St. Lucie, FL) - Roasted Red Pepper Tapenade Over Spaghetti

★ Andrew Schumacher (Brooklyn, NY) - Sauteed Skirt Steak with a Mushroom Pan Sauce

★ Nathan Lyon (Los Angeles, CA) - Asian Infused Pork Tenderloin with Melted Onions and Herbed Goat Cheese

★ Carissa Seward (San Diego, CA) - Easy Breezy Stuffed Chicken Breasts

★ Reggie Southerland (Los Angeles, CA) - Pureed Spinach and Sweet Pea Soup with Fresh Mint Cream

★ Guy Fieri (Santa Rosa, CA) - Rhode Island Calamari (winner)

Season Three

Summary

The third season began on June 3, 2007 at 9 PM Eastern Time, and the winner was announced on Sunday, July 22, 2007. In season 3, judges narrow the field down to 2 with 1 or 2 contestants going home weekly. Once the field is down to 2, the viewers will pick the winner. During the season, the contestants lived in a shared house in New York City. The contestants challenges have included cooking concession food for a NBA game (with guest Darryl Dawkins) to a mini version of Food Network's Iron Chef America (with guest judges Bobby Flay and Cat Cora). The judges (the "selection committee") always include Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson along with one guest. Other guest judges have included Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis, Duff Goldman, season two winner Guy Fieri, and Robert Irvine. Paula Deen and Rachael Ray have also helped the contestants with their challenges during season 3. During season 3, Bobby Flay has also played an important role in the guidance and selection process. Despite making it to the final round only after "Jag" withdrew, Amy Finley was chosen by America as the Next Food Network Star on July 22, 2007. Her new show is tentatively scheduled to premiere this October on Food Network, according to the official website.

Finalists

Name	Age	Hometown	Eliminated
Amy Finley	33	San Diego, CA	'Winner '(Eliminated, then re-instated)
Rory Schepisi	31	Vega, TX	Week 8
Joshua Adam "JAG" Garcia	25	Havelock, NC	Week 7 - Allowed to withdraw before Finale
Paul McCullough	36	Los Angeles, CA	Week 6
Adrien Sharp	29	Jackson, MI	Week 5
Michael Salmon	53	Brooklyn, NY	Week 4
Tommy Grella, Jr.	34	Methuen, MA	Week 3
Colombe Jacobsen-Derstine	29	New York, NY	Week 3
Nikki Shaw	38	Oakland, CA	Week 2
Patrick Rolfe	33	Seattle, WA	Week 1
Vivien Cunha	40	Hermosa Beach, CA	Week 1

Contestant Resignation

Amy Finley was originally eliminated in week 7. Joshua Adam "JAG" Garcia falsely claimed to have graduated from The New York Restaurant School and to have been deployed to Afghanistan as a member of the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment infantry unit.^{[3] [4]} After Food Network discovered that he had falsified his records and lied about some of his past, he withdrew from the competition.

Challenges

Week 1 - Potluck, Cakes, and Wedding Challenge

#Create an original dish for a dinner party (guest judge: Bobby Flay)
#Decorate a wedding cake (guest judge: Duff Goldman)
#Cater a wedding for 100 guests in 6 hours (guest judge: Robert Irvine)
During this episode, two of the contestants noticed that a member of the competing team had used chicken stock in a polenta being prepared for a vegetarian bride and groom, but they decided to not intervene because "it [was] a competition." They were later scolded by another contestant, but not the judges, for not considering the import of the occasion. These two contestants were allowed to move on to the next round, but Vivien Cunha was dismissed because she used the opportunity to make "only a salad."

Week 2 - Bon Appétit Challenge

#Create a summer grilling dish with an emphasis on presentation. Rory Schepisi's winning dish was featured on the July 2007 cover of Bon Appétit magazine. (guest judge: Giada De Laurentiis)

Week 3 - NBA Chocolate Challenge

#Create an original dish featuring chocolate (guest judges: Darryl Dawkins and Guy Fieri)
#Create stadium food and serve it to fans at a New Jersey Nets game (guest judge: Guy Fieri)

Week 4 - Fort Dix Challenge

#Dress up an MRE with common pantry ingredients to improve the meal (guest judge: Giada De Laurentiis)
#Teams of two cook home-style meals for soldiers at Fort Dix (guest judge: Paula Deen)
During this episode, JAG and Paul's oven was found to be defective. Their meatloaves, having to now be deep fried instead of baked, was a hit with the judges, except ironically -- due to her love of all things deep fried -- Paula Deen.

Week 5 - Demos Challenge

#Create a dish representing their culinary point of view using ingredients each contestant listed as items they disliked (guest judge: Alton Brown)
#First full on-camera cooking demonstration (guest judge: Alton Brown)

Week 6 - Iron Chef Showdown

#Compete against each other in an miniature Iron Chef America showdown. The four most recently eliminated finalists (Adrien, Michael, Tommy and Colombe) return to assist as sous chefs (guest judges: Bobby Flay and Cat Cora)
#Provide floor commentary while the other competitors are cooking (guest judge: Alton Brown)
During this episode, Paul blew his commentary while JAG blew his cooking. The judges didn't know which one should be eliminated, so they gave themselves extra time to think about it. They finally decided to eliminate Paul due to JAG's passion.

Week 7 - Meet the Press

#Prepare a quick breakfast meal with basic ingredients during an interview on The Ron and Fez Show airing on XM Satellite Radio
#Create a signature dish and prepare it in a 5-minute spot during a live taping of the ''Rachael Ray Show'' (guest judge: Bobby Flay)

Week 8 - Finale

#Marc Summers, who hosted the previous seasons, is host of this episode only. The episode is largely a retrospective with all finalists returning to reminisce about their experiences. Behind the scenes clips are shown. Finally, the winner is Amy Finley.

Season Four

''The Next Food Network Star'' has been renewed for a fourth season.^[5]

References

1. Where are they now?
2. A Lyon In the Kitchen
3. TV chef spiced up credentials Corey Friedman
4. Food Network contestant cooked up details about Marine service C. Mark Brinkley
5. We want you to be The Next Food Network Star

External links

★ Official ''The Next Food Network Star'' Web site

★ ''The Next Food Network Star'' Season One - Where Are They Now?

★ ''The Next Food Network Star'' Season Two - Where Are They Now?