Food Network Addict Review: Food Network Magazine

The premiere issue of Food Network Magazine hits newsstands today, but I had a chance to check it out a few days in advance. The 148-page first edition will serve as a test issue, with a second test issue to be released in January 2009. Hearst Magazines has slated five subsequent issues in 2009.

While committing to seven issues might seem slim, the odds are actually in the companies' (both Hearst's and Food Net's) favor; food magazines are some of the only titles actually improving their sales right now. When the economy slows, people tend to eat in more and need tips on what to cook.

It's not a guaranteed success, though. Hearst Magazines is dealing with the tough realities of publishing (the company had to fold CosmoGirl last week) and unlike Food Network the cable station where it stands alone as the only 24-7 food channel, Food Network Magazine will enter the market with several high-profile direct competitors--two titles being helmed by Food Network stars.

And while the network has already proved it's "way more than cooking," the magazine has a tougher road ahead. It needs to prove it's way more than the normal food mag.

Here's what I think:

The stars
The premiere issue utilizes the network's star power to its advantage. ("Cook Like A Star!" the cover calls out). Some of the features include a behind-the-scenes look at Iron Chef America, a profile of Tyler Florence's new kitchen in California, Q&A articles with Ellie Krieger and Ted Allen, "Book Reports" on all of the Food Net stars' cookbooks coming out, and recipe features showcasing Ina Garten and Paula Deen.

It covers a LOT of stars--so many that I fear the subsequent issues will have less to utilize. And while it's definitely possible to keep new and fresh content coming from a relatively unchanging cast of characters (I feel like I've done that pretty well these past few years), it's not easy. I'm eager to see if the next issue will feature as much editorial devoted to the stars or if it was the intent to supersaturate the reader with content like this just to lure them in. We shall see.

The food
As some other reviewers have noted, the recipe index that lists both the name of the dish and a thumbnail photo, divided by categories like appetizers and snacks, soups and stews, meat and poultry, sides, etc., is a great feature. Some food mags seem overwhelming in their number of recipes, but the guide really helps you zero in on what you're hungry for. The food pages themselves are further categorized by weeknight vs. weekend cooking--another smart choice.

Overall
I'm not a food magazine expert, but after reading through it a few times I feel like Food Network Magazine doesn't give us anything new--nothing we haven't seen before. And even though it has the added advantage of being directly connected to a stream of profitable content (i.e.- the stars), it really needs to prove that its content is valid on its own and not just because Tyler Florence's or Paula Deen's name is attached. I need to feel like I'm truly getting an added benefit from buying this magazine as opposed to just tuning in (for "free") to Food Network.

But if Paula and Rachael can be successful in the food magazine biz, a magazine dedicated to the whole network should have a pretty good shot. So will you be subscribing?

Food Network Addict Review: Road Tasted With the Neelys

Pat and Gina Neely just seem like people who should be on TV. The husband and wife team's seemingly simple story of running a family-owned restaurant and becoming Memphis barbeque sensations is well known to the many who watch (and vigorously comment on) their daytime "In the Kitchen" show Down Home with the Neelys.

Now, the playful, flirtacious couple is hitting the road in the latest installment of Road Tasted, taking over for Bobby and Jamie Deen as hosts. (Jamie claims the excessive travel and his desire to be closer to family as his reason for not returning to the show.)

While similar to other travel shows, Road Tasted typically highlights specialty stores and family-run businesses. Viewers can then go online and order what's showcased—a somewhat more economical way of experiencing unique food items, compared to, say, a visit to D.C.'s uber-expensive Citronelle like Giada De Laurentiis on Weekend Getaways.

Pat and Gina obviously love each other. In the first episode, "Minneapolis: More Than You Imagined!", Pat gets "upset" when the beekeeping outfits they've donned to learn about single-source honey prevent him from "getting any sugar" from Gina (i.e. - a kiss). While sappy and sometimes excessive for a weekend morning show, the Neelys flirting seems to work a little better in primetime when the mood is more "fun road trip for the parents" and not "yuck, mom and dad are making out in the kitchen while making me dinner."

In the premiere episode, Pat and Gina also visit Laura’s Candy to sample homemade marshmallows, Faribault Dairy, and a barbeque spot for good measure. Some good stuff here, but nothing that made my eyes pop out of my head and get me onto that computer to start ordering.

The show is nothing new. Nothing we haven't seen before. Your enjoyment of it will be based primarily on how you feel about Pat and Gina Neely. They're unlike anyone else on Food Network, that's for sure. And, to me, that's a good thing.

Food Network Addict review: C+

Road Tasted with the Neelys premieres tonight at 9:30pm ET on Food Network.

Anne Burrell's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef: An excellent first episode

I was so impressed with this morning's premiere of Anne Burrell's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef that I had to post about it right away.

As you know, Anne has served as Mario Batali's sous chef on Iron Chef America and is a renowned chef in her own right, so it's a fair guess that she's very comfortable in the kitchen. And while the experience on ICA surely helped Anne learn some of the TV ropes, I wouldn't say it instills the skills one needs to host her own cooking show.

So that was the test this morning.


Luckily, Anne's comfort in the kitchen was immediately apparent from the very beginning of this morning's premiere episode. She spoke enthusiastically and with ease, her somewhat over-the-top sayings ("Supastar!") and gestures never coming across as wooden or forced, but truly genuine and endearing. It really felt like Anne would refer to beef as a "supastar" in her restaurant kitchen... and wouldn't care if someone gave her an odd look in the process.

(A note on the set above: Anne has a lively, striking personality. There seems to be a disparity between Anne--with her spiky blonde locks and vibrant gestures--and her somewhat Granny-esque set, complete with old-fashioned lampshades and odd framed paintings. Was this the idea? If so, I don't get it.)

The choice to focus on bolognese--a sauce that Anne admittedly notes requires lots of steps, time and patience to achieve perfection--was smart. She explained each step and its importance, while keeping true to Food Network's mantra of "you can do this!"

Plus, Anne even came up with a new phrase to describe those awesome brown bits that stick to the bottom of the pan while cooking a sauce like this: beautiful brown crud!


One of the reasons I so quickly responded to this show was that I truly wanted to make this sauce after watching Anne prepare it. That should be the goal of every dish that every Food Network host prepares!!! But it doesn't always come across that way.

I often feel like so many dishes are thrown at us with a "this might be good to make, or you could make it this way... or try it with this instead" kind of attitude that it ends up seeming like the host is just completely ambivalent as to what s/he's preparing. That was definitely not the case with Anne and her bolognese.

The fact that cooking the sauce for 4+ hours (a bit of a no-no in today's superfast Food Network world) didn't even phase me is a testament to just how successful Anne was in pulling off this important, opinion-forming premiere episode. It was definitely a bold choice, and one that I applaud Anne (and her producers) for choosing.


I'm sure the foodie-focused crew will appreciate Anne's culinary skill and knowledge, while the entertainment-liking peeps (the category I fit into more often) will be seriously engaged and want to continue watching.


An expert restaurant chef, Anne's attention to detail in taste as well as presentation were fresh and actually informative. Those little things we look forward to in restaurants (the extra sprinkling of cheese or last second drizzle of olive oil) are the same things we often forget when cooking at home. I was impressed by these simple and very effective touches.

After watching today's Secrets of a Restaurant Chef I seriously want to spend four hours tonight making what I just saw. And even if I'm not as successful as Anne, I'm confident I'll still feel like a... supastar.

Someone pass me the peroxide. I'm off to bleach my hair. I'm a Burrell groupie!

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So did you watch, yet? Am I right or completely off base?

Food Network Addict Review: The Next Food Network Star

While executives at the CW barely have time to shout a quick see yah to the winner of America’s Next Top Model mere minutes after her crowning, Food Network has placed itself in the somewhat difficult position of actually needing the person who wins its own competition show, The Next Food Network Star, to really fulfill what's bestowed upon them--the chance to become a star.

More Rachaels and Giadas and Emerils and Tylers are needed to assure the long-term success of Food Network. Rachael won’t be getting any less busy anytime soon, so they can’t rely on her for the next 15-20 years.

For other competition shows, though, it honestly makes no difference to networks if the winner of Survivor, The Bachelor, The Amazing Race, Big Brother, or even Top Chef is ever heard from again. In fact, execs would probably prefer you forget all about what's-her-name last year who won and instead just focus on watching the current season. Just sit down and be entertained.

But to Food Network (and other networks that have similar competition shows), this winner represents more than just the end-result of a ratings bonanza, but in fact the beginning of what could be a very profitable and long-lasting endeavor.

So it must come with some grief that after three seasons of TNFNS, the only winner who has truly taken hold is that of season two winner Guy Fieri. When asked about why Dan & Steve or Amy Finley didn’t become major players on the network, Mr. Tuschman kindly dismissed my questions, referencing initial success periods that naturally played themselves out or, in the case of Amy Finley, personal decisions to leave the network.


Still, you know FN must prefer the success of a Guy Fieri over the spark and fizzle of an Amy Finley. Now there probably will never be any Amy Finley cookware, Amy Finley DVDs, or Amy Finley cookbooks--all of which Food Network would have gotten a cut of the profits.

So here we go again. This Sunday is the premiere of season 4 of TNFNS. Back again as judges are Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson (TUSCHELSON), along with now full-time judge Bobby Flay who had previously served as a semi-regular guest judge. With what appears to be a greater focus on food this season (and finalists with greater skill than in seasons past), Flay is an obvious choice to add a little culinary legitimacy to the judging panel.


After the ten finalists arrive at Food Network studios, Tuschman reminds them that to win this particular competition, the finalist needs to have first-rate “cooking chops” (a phrase I’m quickly growing tired of), a unique culinary point of view, and a personality that can excite millions of viewers. I don’t think it’s much of a spoiler to reveal that in the first episode the finalists complete one challenge that tests their star potential and another that tests their cooking ability.

I’ll let the first one be a surprise and focus solely on the cooking challenge.

Finalists draw cards to form teams of two and must prepare three dishes within 30 minutes. Invariably, dishes aren’t completed on time, drama ensues, and tempers flare.

It’s strangely ironic to me that what is set up as a very intense, high stakes, drama-filled challenge is basically just a take on 30 Minute Meals—the vanguard of Food Network’s easy, accessible, care-free lineup of programs.

The fact that producers went to such great lengths to make cooking three dishes in 30 minutes (by two people!) look incredibly difficult was actually laughable at times, especially after so many other shows on Food Network enforce the “It's easy! Anyone can do this!” mantra.

I could be giving them a bit of a hard time here. They do have to plate more than Rachael does, and their food is served to a room of Food Network stars--all a bit more intimidating.

The best moments of the episode are in this room and come from the Food Network stars themselves, seen in a rare exchange interacting and--shock--disagreeing with each other! Morimoto has the best line of the entire episode--perhaps the whole season.

In the end, the finalists line up (in the same house as last season!) and feel the wrath of TUSCHELSON and the Flayster. Someone goes home.

Unnecessarily heightened drama aside, it's an enjoyable first episode filled with star cameos and a slightly higher culinary level than we've seen before. I probably shouldn't be getting that bent out of shape over the challenges. It's supposed to be entertainment, right?

Well, it's entertainment and it's business. Food Network can't just give the winner a Covergirl contract and say goodbye. They gotta find someone who can deliver. So, who will it be?


Season four of The Next Food Network Star premieres this Sunday, June 1 at 10pm/9c.

Food Network Addict Review: Rescue Chef

The idea of a handsome chef--armed with the tools and knowledge to save any meal--suddenly appearing in the home of a helpless home cook isn't new. It was the format of such hits as Food Network's Food 911, and TLC's Take Home Chef, hosted by Curtis Stone.

Food Network will test out this concept once again with a new face to American television, when the daytime series Rescue Chef with Danny Boome premieres on Saturday, March 1 at 12pm e/p.



... not that daytime on the Food Network really needs any "rescuing." With reports of slightly sluggish ratings over the past year, a new hit wouldn't hurt, though.

I've already gone over the concept of the show (Danny shows up to "rescue" someone before they make another kitchen nightmare), so I'll get right to specifics.

The "dynamic young chef" Danny Boome definitely fits in with the Food Network's lineup of charismatic, attractive hosts. It's hard to not make the Jamie Oliver comparison. Both are cute Brits who seem to know a lot about cooking, and have even cuter pronunciations for common ingredients. Shallots are "shuh-lots." He's sure to delight legions of viewers.

Since the show airs during the daytime "in the kitchen" lineup, Danny gets right to cooking. In the premiere episode, he teaches Carla, a schoolteacher, how to make the short ribs that were served at her wedding. He also whips up a side dish and dessert.

And in a refreshing turn for the FN, he's not afraid to use big words. In the first episode, I counted three french cooking terms. Not bad for a Brit! My onion, carrots and celery are mirepoix from now on.

The show itself is bright, colorful and cheery to watch. Danny is energetic without being pretentious.

One of the only real problems I had with the show was that I sometimes felt like a third wheel. Danny spends a great deal of time talking directly to his "student" and will often avoid direct communication with the camera. When he does speak to camera, he seems to throw out a pointless, space-filler phrase like "always pre-heat your oven."

Rescue Chef goes against the concept of the "traditional" cooking show in which the host gives his or her full time and attention to the viewer. On this show, Danny's intention is, after all, to teach his guest how to cook. In turn, the viewer is sometimes left unsure of his role. Am I here to be entertained? To learn how to cook? To ogle a new British chef?

That's not to say a balance can't be achieved. Danny apparently has the chops and resume to back up a great show. Let's just hope such experience (pulled directly from his bio) as a "freelance chef working for the Estate of the Sultan of Oman in Paris along with many other high-profile executives in both England and Europe" aren't just Irvine-esque fibs. He'd need more than a knowledge of cooking terms to be rescued from that.

Watch tomorrow and let me know how you feel about the show.

Review of Dave Does - Dave Lieberman's new Web Show

After much waiting, I finally got to catch the first two Webisodes of Dave Lieberman's new show Dave Does. The layout was surprisingly similar to that of Eat This-- flash-heavy and filled with little "extras" like a photo album, recipes from the webisode, and addresses for the places Dave visits. There are even little icons you can drag around the screen for amusement (apple and crayons in the 1st one, donuts in the 2nd). Dave Does is basically the same show as Eat This, as far as I can tell. He did seem a bit more at ease, though, this time around which was pleasant. He even threw in a little comedy-- something we don't always get in Good Deal.

Dave checks out the latest culinary trends in cafeteria food in the 1st webisode. yommy yommy. School lunch has always had a bad reputation and I suppose its just gotten worse. Kids should suffer through it, though! Everyone else did. I can't imagine being a 2nd grader today, knowing my biggest worry was whether I'd choose the citrus-rubbed edamame and wheatberry salad or the herb-encrusted pork medallions for lunch. What happened to Salisbury Steak?

Dave goes straight to the kids to find out their own opinions on school lunch in New York City. Of course, none of the kids like the food. Did anyone ever really admit to liking school cafeteria food? All right, the pizza was kind of good in a, "I'm at school. Eating Pizza!" kind of way.

Dave also visits Chef Bobo, who prepares gourmet meals for kids each day. He seemed nice and very dedicated to providing healthy, tasty meals to children...

...although that could just be the case because he's gaining their trust so he can harvest their embryos, merge them with frozen ones, and create the next Jurassic Park!!!! Hmm... perhaps not:-)

Dave, always trying to keep the kids healthy, checks out the latest in donut trends in the 2nd webisode! He really got into his goofy, childlike side in this one. So cute.

Evidently, you must be a crazyhead if you want to own a specialty donut shop. Both guys who spoke to Dave about making donuts seemed out of it. Maybe they had been up all morning baking, but still. Especially, the Voodoo Donut shop...

Dave participates in this wedding held right in the shop! A fun little touch is the huge donut the happy couple shares at the end. It's a little wacky, but Dave seems to enjoy it. Still, donuts always look good to me and these specialty ones definitely look like a dessert I'd like to try.

Dave's little dream sequence was cute, if not a little over-the-top. But I'll forgive Dave on this one. I don't think we'll be seeing Emeril with a teddy bear anytime soon.

thankfully.

All in all, I was very pleased with this new series and think it's a cool idea. The episodes are very short (under seven minutes), so you're able to skip out quickly, and the added content is a nice feature. I did watch my mandatory Saturn and Sprint ads, which were fine. They were short.

Dave sort of got mentioned in the New York Times today too, so check it out. Now, back to Sandra Lee...

Just kidding. Before I go, I must give two special mentions to two (2) different legends:

Elvis died on this day in 1977. I have been to Graceland three times during Elvis Week and each time waited for hours outside the gates in the hot, Memphis sun to get a chance to pay my respects to the King. I must credit my own sister Joanna and my friend Amanda at BingBongBoom for instilling this love in me. I think Elvis would have liked the Food Network, as he was known for his special food preferences (meatloaf, fried peanut butter & banana sandwiches, etc.). And anyone who has been to Graceland or Memphis knows that the barbeque sandwich with the coleslaw on the top is a rare treat.

Also, we musn't forget Madonna, who turns 48 years young today (and if I remember right, Michael Jackson turns the same age very shortly). I'm not exactly sure how I can work her into this Food Network blog, so let's see: Madonna has appeared several times on Oprah, whose production company Harpo is producing Rachael Ray's talkshow. Phew!