Food2 Open House at Spike's Good Stuff Eatery

I had a great time on Tuesday over at the Food2 open house, held at Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery. I'd been meaning to check it out ever since my blogging friend Jordan Baker wrote her begrudgingly positive review of the place.

So burgers, shakes, & Kelsey Nixon are promised? I'm in.


I ran into Kelsey the last time I was in New York and got to chat with her for a minute, but it was great actually spending some time talking about what's going on with her at Food2, her life, and what she thinks of this season of The Next Food Network Star.

Kelsey let me know they'll be shooting new webisodes of her show with Spike for Food2 very soon, this time in the close-to-DC Silver Spring, Md. (perhaps to accommodate Spike's need to be close to his restaurant?).

She's also living in New York now with her husband, doing spokesperson gigs for Pyrex and Smuckers, and still generally trying to "define her brand," a phrase she said with kind of a knowing eye-roll, realizing the inherent silliness in the statement--to think of yourself as a brand and not an actual person.

Let me tell you this, though: after talking with Kelsey twice now, I can assure you that she's definitely not the overly perky, hyper person brand you saw on last season of The Next Food Network Star. She's friendly and warm, but doesn't seem to take anything too seriously. She's not breaking down and crying over the slightest thing (like she may have appeared to do on the show).

What else we talked about:
The Next Food Network Star - Season 5
Kelsey was surprised by how many people were throwing others "under the bus," saying that with her cast they all made a conscious decision to not do any of that stuff in front of the camera. "All of our reputations were on the line," said Kelsey.

Kelsey also likes Melissa D'Arabian (but doesn't think she'll win), and was glad to see her assert herself in last week's episode, proving "she deserves to be there."

What's next for Kelsey?
Her contract with Food Network expires at the end of July, so she'll be open to a lot more offers. Food Network has a first right of refusal contract with all contestants for one year after the final episode airs. So when those offers from competitors start coming in right after the show, Food Network has the ability to prevent you from doing any of them... which can obviously lead to a loss of income, which isn't helped by the fact that none of the contestants on The Next Food Network Star receive any type of payment at all.

Sooooooo I really am hoping lots of good things come to Kelsey Nixon now (the soon-to-be contract-free Kelsey). I may have written some harsh things about "her" in the past, but even when I've done that I knew it was just the "brand" producers were giving us. Kelsey Nixon is not just the person we saw last year on TV.

Luckily, Kelsey's ready to start anew. Look for her on Food2... and I'm sure lots of other places, soon.