about this blog

Who is the Food Network Addict? He's the guy serving up the latest news and gossip on your favorite celebrity chefs. From Rachael Ray to Ina Garten, Paula Deen to Giada, he's got you covered. Stop by daily and feed your addiction.


blog advertising is good for you.

Wednesday, September 5

Mario's REALLY Dunzo with the Food Network

It's been news for a while that Mario Batali's Food Network show Molto Mario wasn't being renewed and no new episodes would be filmed, but it was revealed today that the famous Italian chef would not be returning to his other gig, Iron Chef America.



The New York Post revealed today that:

Chef Mario Batali has been chopped from TV's Food Network, the influential cooking channel that made him a household name.

Sources said that network executives told the spotlight-loving chef last month his multiple shows, which includes the long-running "Molto Mario," would not be renewed and that he would no longer be competing in the popular "Iron Chef America" series.

The paper claims that Mario bowed out because his other show(s) was not being renewed, but I was under the impression that his other shows were already cancelled... or at least on a semi-permanent "hiatus." When was the last time you saw a new episode of Molto, anyway?

I wasn't a huge fan of Molto Mario, but I enjoyed Batali on Iron Chef. Out of all the Iron Chefs, he's definitely the best at cooking while still performing at the same time. He is on TV, after all.

**********************************

Woo... already Wednesday. Have you packed up all of your white shoes now that it's post Labor Day? Put the cover on the grill? Put up your Halloween decorations? I'm not quite ready to do any of those things. I need more summer!

Labels: ,

 

19 Comments:

At 9/05/2007 8:51 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

aaaaand food network loses it's last remaining thread of respectability. alton is hanging in there, but they've got even him hosting inane specials on random steakhouses now.

 
At 9/05/2007 8:51 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

man i used the wrong its

 
At 9/05/2007 9:19 PM , Blogger Jesse said...

I actually caught an episode of "Sarah's Secrets" this morning and was shocked how different the style is from the current Food Network lineup. She may not be the "sexiest" woman on the planet - but she always has great stories to tell, great culinary knowledge, and helpful tips for total newbie cooks like me. Stop getting rid of your classics, Food Network! :P~

 
At 9/05/2007 9:31 PM , Blogger Matt said...

Wow. I'm so disappointed that Mario won't be on Iron Chef America. I think he's the best showman in that competition (with Bobby Flay not far behind), and he was one of the main reasons I even started to watch in the first place. Also- he was VERY generous to Rachael Ray who really was out of her league in the notorious Batali/Ray vs. Flay/De Laurentiis Iron Chef showdown. I'm betting that the new reality series where the Food Network is planning to select a new Iron Chef played a factor. I'm just surprised that Batali was the one to leave!

 
At 9/06/2007 8:29 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

True, I was expecting Cat Cora to be the one to leave. No one chooses her anyway.

Too bad, Mario was fun to watch. I guess his move to PBS with Paltrow also had something to do with it.

 
At 9/06/2007 8:41 AM , Blogger JordanBaker said...

That sucks in a ginormous way, but it also explains why they're doing that "Next Iron Chef" competition.

 
At 9/06/2007 1:35 PM , Blogger Emily said...

I agree with Jesse. Food Network needs to keep most of the classics, and get rid of some of the new people. It's gotten to be more about entertainment than cooking.
I'm not a fan of Emeril though. Sorry!

 
At 9/06/2007 1:40 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

A lot of people respect Mario highly, mainly because he became a fabulous chef despite dropping out of culinary school. If anyone can measure up to his unique style of cooking, he--or she--deserves to replace him on "Iron Chef America."

 
At 9/06/2007 4:50 PM , Blogger Frozen Okie said...

Mario was my favorite Iron Chef- I really do think he was consistently amazing. I do hope that we get to see quite a bit more of him on PBS, I'll certainly be tuning in.

 
At 9/06/2007 8:58 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Bummer! It'll be tough to fill his big orange clogs.

But I'm glad to know I can catch him on PBS...I've been watching more and more there than FN anyway. Daisy rocks!

 
At 9/06/2007 9:03 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Even though I've only seen a handful of episodes, I believe Mario was the best. I rarely watch Iron Chef probably because it's pretty much just about a bearded Alton and some angry ex-ninja(?) who will shout out things as if we were about to watch an anime "battle". Who is that guy anyway? Maybe he's some well known chef and I just don't know it, but I get the feeling the network just went around looking for an Asian guy to go around shouting ninja-ly.

 
At 9/06/2007 11:18 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I always hated Mario. He's shifty and his food is too snooty. I don't trust him.

 
At 9/07/2007 7:21 AM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I may stand corrected. Please note the following link:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/entertainment/sns-celebrity-0906batali,0,4950082.story

You may have to cut and paste like I did to go to this.

 
At 9/07/2007 7:32 AM , Blogger Christopher Allen Tanner said...

Molto Mario hasn't had a new episode recorded since before 2005 and Ciao America hasn't had a new episode in awhile either, so technically they were already canceled, they were just in rerun, so he still had a presence but nothing recently recorded. I think this has something to do with the show The Next Iron Chef coming out. I enjoyed checking out your blog btw.

 
At 9/07/2007 12:18 PM , Blogger jacob said...

anon: yeah, alton better hang on.

jesse: i think sara moulton is the sexiest woman alive.

right.

matt: yeah, that iron chef reality show sounds like a lame excuse to try and get some more stars.

anon: yeah, Food Net claims that they are fine with the PBS move. Whatevs.

jordan: yeah, but reports seem to be coming out that he WILL be taping some eps of IC, so we'll see.

emilie: yeah, i could stand a little less emeril.

jeff: yeah, good luck finding that. Rory, perhaps? She'll probably come in 2nd place... for the 3rd time.

michael: yeah, i think a non-FN show will be a great fit for him. People might actually learn something.

aj: i'll have to check this Daisy out.

becstasy: there's a whole story behind that chairman thing. check it out on wikipedia. not just ninja wannabees.

bloghungry: i'd still eat whatever he was cooking me.

jeff: yeah, i saw that. i think it's common knowledge that his other shows haven't been taping, so the NYP story seemed a little fishy.

chris a. t.: thanks for checking it out!

 
At 9/07/2007 12:18 PM , Blogger jacob said...

anon: yeah, alton better hang on.

jesse: i think sara moulton is the sexiest woman alive.

right.

matt: yeah, that iron chef reality show sounds like a lame excuse to try and get some more stars.

anon: yeah, Food Net claims that they are fine with the PBS move. Whatevs.

jordan: yeah, but reports seem to be coming out that he WILL be taping some eps of IC, so we'll see.

emilie: yeah, i could stand a little less emeril.

jeff: yeah, good luck finding that. Rory, perhaps? She'll probably come in 2nd place... for the 3rd time.

michael: yeah, i think a non-FN show will be a great fit for him. People might actually learn something.

aj: i'll have to check this Daisy out.

becstasy: there's a whole story behind that chairman thing. check it out on wikipedia. not just ninja wannabees.

bloghungry: i'd still eat whatever he was cooking me.

jeff: yeah, i saw that. i think it's common knowledge that his other shows haven't been taping, so the NYP story seemed a little fishy.

chris a. t.: thanks for checking it out!

 
At 9/07/2007 4:30 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Soon it will be all Rachael Ray all
day. Well, it's almost that already.
Sad really.

 
At 9/09/2007 3:19 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

No real surprise. I seem to recall reading an interview with Sara Moulton just about this time last year, when she left FN, where she said something like "Oh, Mario's leaving too, in a year when his contract is up..." Based on that, when they announced "The Next Iron Chef", I pretty much figured Mario was on the way out.

 
At 9/11/2007 4:27 PM , Anonymous Anonymous said...

Batali always turned me off. He was always cooking some huge slimy fish. The sloppy, overweight appearance didn't add much either. Oh, and the wooden clogs. Egads! Then I read the book HEAT and found out he was also a sexist, alcoholic pig. Other than that he's great.

 

Post a Comment

Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]

<< Home

CrispAds Blog Ads

twitter


blog archive