FOOD NETWORK REVEALS CAST FOR NEXT IRON CHEF: REDEMPTION
Premiering Sunday, November 4th at 9pm ET/PT
NEW YORK – August 7, 2012 – Food Network reveals the cast for returning primetime competition series The Next Iron Chef: Redemption with a roster of elite competitors, most returning for a second chance at the ultimate culinary title. The fifth season is all about redemption, with many cast members taking another shot to prove their skills are Iron Chef-worthy, along with some newcomers who have their own redemption stories. The cast includes: Nate Appleman, Amanda Freitag, Eric Greenspan, and Jehangir Mehta from The Next Iron Chef: Season Two; Elizabeth Faulkner, Alex Guarnaschelli and Spike Mendelsohn from the cast of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs; and first-time Next Iron Chef competitors Tim Love and Marcel Vigneron. Premiering on Sunday, November 4th at 9pm ET/PT, Alton Brown will again host this 8-episode, top-rated series, which recently completed production in Los Angeles and Las Vegas.
The tenth slot will go to the winner of a web-exclusive competition taking place on FoodNetwork.com, the four chefs taking part in the web battle are: Duske Estes and Robert Trevino, who have previously competed on The Next Iron Chef, and newcomers Lee Anne Wong and Madison Cowan.
In The Next Iron Chef, the contestants bet on their culinary skills and put their reputations on the line for the chance to compete in legendary Kitchen Stadium. The winner will join the ranks of chefs including Bobby Flay, Marc Forgione, Jose Garces, Masaharu Morimoto, Michael Symon and Geoffrey Zakarian as a member of the Chairman’s team on Iron Chef America.
I’ve got a hunch we’ll be seeing something of this nature for Food Network Star next year as well. Thus far there has been no casting call for season nine and I’ve heard a few comments from former cast members. However, no one has been willing to go on record about it.
Next Iron Chef 3
I am curious to see what unfolds on the Next Iron Chef 3.
The original was amazing television that was made up of past Food Network stars like Aaron Sanchez and eventual winner Michael Symon and introduced us to some new ones like Chris Cosentino (who now co-hosts Chefs vs. City with Sanchez) and TLC’s John Besh (Inedible to Incredible).
The drama of that first season lay in the fact that every contestant was an established star chef who realized that winning NIC could mean the difference between a six figure salary and a seven figure salary. Also adding to the chemistry was the fact that most of the competitors were old friends. Though there was a little friendly trash talking there was a strong sense of camaraderie among that first group.
Season 2 was not very good. With few exceptions (Amanda Freitag, Eric Greenspan, Nate Appleman and Jose Garces) there were few truly well-known chefs in the contest. What there seemed to be was an over-abundance of was contrived drama and a gaggle of idiotic challenges that did nothing to prove who was best qualified to be an Iron Chef.
There was also Jehangir Mehta, a pastry chef of all things vying to be the Next Iron Chef. Mehta, though talented, seemed to get moved along each week despite a number of tragically failed challenges, cheating and other undesirable behavior. It was clear by season’s end that Mehta was not there because he was a plausible Iron Chef but because the Food Network knew viewers would hate him and tune in just hoping he’d get eliminated. Adding to the failure of Next Iron Chef 2 was the fact that the eventual winner, Jose Garces shot three battles as an Iron Chef in 2009 and has since been invisible.
Speculation has been rampant: Has Batali finally completed his long, drawn-out exit? Is Cat Cora stepping away to spend more time with her growing family? She was on MasterChef you know? Maybe Flay, Symon or Morimoto is leaving? The most popular assumption is that there has been some kind of falling out between the Food Network brass and Chef Garces.
Season 1 produced Michael Symon who is the winning-est Iron Chef in the history of the show having taken home victory over 80% of the time he’s gone out. Season 2 produced, well, nothing really. So just what does the third season hold? Will it elevate someone new to a title that signifies the best of the best or will it be another one hit wonder? I guess we’ll all have to wait until October.
Meet this season’s contestants HERE.
If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my exclusive interviews with Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Michael Symon as well as the newest Iron Chef, Marc Forgione HERE.
Next Food Network Star 6 Rehash
The finale to Next Food Network Star Season Six is tonight so I thought I would put together an index of posts to remind us just how we got here:
- Next Food Network Star Goes Hollywood (official Food Network Press Release)
- Next Food Network Star 6 (my preview of the new season)
- Episode 1 Review
- Episode 2 Review
- Episode 3 Review
- Episode 4 Review
- Episode 5 Review
- Episode 6 Review
- Episode 7 Review
- Episode 8 Review
- Episode 9 Review
- Past NFNS Finale Foul-ups (a review of the dubious past of NFNS)
Next Food Network Star 6 Finale
Why does it seem like this season has been going on for years? Maybe because this was the weakest field of NFNS contestants to date. Of the twelve seven never stood a chance and an eighth was at best a dark horse. So that means there were only four legitimate contestants in the whole contest: Aarti, Brad, Tom and Herb. With the finale upon us three of those four remain – Aarti, Tom and Herb.
Many Tweeting the show and commenting on blogs across the Online have stated that they don’t really see anyone in this year’s cast that they think they could watch. In fact that seems to be the prevailing thought with most fans of the show. True there may not be another Guy Fieri in this group but for sure none of the final three are Aaron McCargo Jr or Amy Finley either. And let’s be honest, other than Guy, no one really watches the shows of NFNS winners.
Here are my thoughts on the final three contestants:
Aarti Sequeira – She has the most star potential. She brings something to Food Network that they have never had, an Indian chef. That is important because Bob Tuschman really wants an Indian show on the “big network.” But more than that Aarti has proven she has range. Throughout the competition she not only showed the flexibility of Indian cuisine but she also proved proficient in others having won challenges with Mediterranean, Spanish and Mexican dishes. Just think, Food Network hasn’t had a chef who’s specialty was an Asian cuisine since Ming Tsai. That was over a decade ago.
Herb Mesa – He is an immensely passionate person. His love for his family is something that I think everyone will take away from this season. In a country were many parents only go through the motions of parenthood, Herb attacks it with zeal. He is also a talented chef but unfortunately I think that the direction he wants to go, healthy food, is one that the Network has tried on many occasions with little success (see Kathleen Dahlman, Ellie Krieger and Juan-Carlos Cruz before he became a murder suspect). However, I think Herb’s point of view would make a highly successful show on the right network. I believe he is tailor made for Planet Green.
Tom Pizzica –What a fricking wild card! When Tom is on he is another Guy Fieri – humorous, stocky, funky hair and bold food. When he is off he just flat out sucks. Aarti I’d like to meet at a food bloggers conference, Herb I’d love to cook with but Tom . . . Tom I want to grab a beer with. He seems like the guy who’d sit through a marathon of South Park and then put in the movie. One thing is for sure, in his best challenge he made a potential employer out of both Bobby Flay and Todd English. I’d say he is already a winner.
Who do I think should win? After what we’ve seen this season I would have to say that Aarti has earned the win but not by much.
Who do I think will win? Again it is hard to go wrong with Aarti. Herb and Tom, though entertaining, do not bring anything new to the Network where as Aarti brings something they’ve never had and desperately want. Remember last year the race between Jeffrey Saad and Melissa D’Arabian was very close so ultimately, in my opinion, demographics decided the winner.
Thanks for playing:
Alexis Hernandez – went home week 1.
Doreen Fang – went home week 2.
Dzintra Dzenis – went home week 3.
Darrell “DAS” Smith – went home week 4.
Paul Young – went home week 5.
Brianna Jenkins – went home week 6.
Serena Palumbo – went home week 7.
Brad Sorenson – went home week 8.
Aria Kagan – went home week 9.
There was no real mystery in the final challenge; it’s how they always wrap things up. Each contestant shoots a pilot for their show concept while some Food Network star acts as the director. This year it was Rachael Ray. I highly doubt that the final challenge has ever really determined a winner. There’s the usual curtain call of former contestants and the seriously over played, mellow dramatic, extended pause before announcing the winner (seriously reality TV producers, that trick has gone stale).
So without further eloquence I would like to congratulate The Next Food Network Star . . .
[ad] Empty ad slot (#1)!
Aarti Sequeira
Congratulations to Aarti. Hopefully for season 7 I’ll be in her shoes or at least some that are similar to hers only in a size 13 extra wide. Until next year NFNS’ers!
