The Best of SoBe Wine & Food 2012
The events at SoBe are mammoth. For those not in the know that is the nickname of the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival and it has turned into one of the premiere events, gastronomical or otherwise, in the world. It is the Sundance of food.
Hang out with all the top Food Network, Cooking Channel stars all weekend long. All your favorite hosts and chefs were here: Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Paula Dean, Melissa d’Arabian, Alex Guarnaschelli, Robert Irvine, Nadia G, Marc Forgione, Sunny Anderson, Anne Burrell, Jeff Mauro, Rachel Ray, The Neelys, Michael Symon, Geoffrey Zakarian and more!
Take a look back at the best that Miami had to offer as Food Network recaps a weekend of sun, sand, BBQ, small bites, sweet treats and tons of starving fans:
Hang out with all the top Food Network, Cooking Channel stars all weekend long. All your favorite hosts and chefs were here: Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay, Paula Dean, Melissa d’Arabian, Alex Guarnaschelli, Robert Irvine, Nadia G, Marc Forgione, Sunny Anderson, Anne Burrell, Jeff Mauro, Rachel Ray, The Neelys, Michael Symon, Geoffrey Zakarian and more!
Take a look back at the best that Miami had to offer as we recap a weekend of sun, sand, BBQ, small bites, sweet treats and tons of starving fans.
Goodbyes From 2011
In 2011 we foodies said goodbye to a number of food shows. Here’s a list:
Good Eats – after 11 years creator/host Alton Brown called it a series so that he could have more time with his family and to develop new projects.
Big Daddy’s House – after being declared the winner of Food Network Star 4, Aaron McCargo Jr. logged 61 episodes before moving on to the next stage of his career.
Crave – possibly the smartest show Food Network has done in years only received a single season but my guess is it will become the Firefly of TV food shows. Troy, promise me I get to be in the big screen version!
Ace of Cakes – the show that introduced the world to cake decorating. Duff Goldman and his hilarious staff of artisans, hipsters and other quirky personalities made cake into a trend. I don’t blame Duff for all of the crappy cake shows on the air today because his was actually good.
Aarti Party – yet another Food Network Star show got the axe. Currently only three of the seven winning shows are still in production. Next to Guy’s Big Bite, Aarti Party was clearly the best FNS show ever. EVER. Like Good Eats it will live on with the Cooking Channel. As for Aarti, she has a new series in the works that is a collaboration FNS 5 winner Melissa D’Arabian.
Melissa d’Arabian Set to Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping
Cooking Channel Press Release:
NEW YORK, NY – December 7, 2011 – Cooking Channel kick-starts the New Year with two new series designed to help viewers lose weight and change their eating habits. In Not My 
Mama’s Meals, premiering Wednesday, January 4th at 9:00pm ET/6:00pm PT, Bobby Deen takes his mother’s (Paula Deen) recipes and transforms her southern comfort food into lighter, leaner, yet still delicious versions of her dishes, with special guest appearances by Paula Deen, Daphne Oz, among others. Emphasizing small changes that deliver big results, Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping premieres Saturday, January 21st at 11am ET/8am PT. Based on the magazine’s popular weight loss column, the series is hosted by Melissa d’Arabian (Ten Dollar Dinners with Melissa d’Arabian), and also features expert advice from fitness guru Ashley Borden, Good Housekeeping Nutrition Director Samantha Cassetty and Aarti Sequeira (Aarti Party).
“After a season of over-indulging, January is the perfect time to introduce Cooking Channel viewers to Not My Mama’s Meals and Drop 5 lbs,” said Bruce Seidel, Senior Vice President, Programming, Cooking Channel. “Both shows emphasize healthier foods that are still delicious – with expertise from Bobby Deen, who prepares his mother Paula’s world famous dishes with a lighter touch, and tips from Good Housekeeping’s Drop 5 lbs ‘small change, big result’ philosophy.”
Each week on Not My Mama’s Meals Bobby Deen will recreate some of his mother’s famous meals with healthy substitutions that cut down on calories and fat, but still deliver on taste. Bobby begins his culinary quest by putting a unique spin on two of his mom’s dishes, her Krispy Kreme Bread Pudding and Chocolate Mousse Pie, by whipping up a Fresh Fruit Bread Pudding and Frozen Chocolate Pie. The Bag Lady herself (Paula Deen) makes a surprise visit to help Bobby lighten up two dishes that go way back – her Pimento Cheese Sandwiches and Gooey Butter Cake.
Designed to make weight loss easy and manageable, Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping episodes are filled with cooking and shopping tips, workout techniques and dining out do’s and don’ts. From slimmed down versions of indulgent dishes like Fettucini Alfredo and Sesame Shrimp Stir Fry to fat blasting fitness plans and nutritional advice, this series offers a new approach to eating better, getting healthier and getting the most out of life.
Not My Mama’s Meals is produced by Follow Productions.
Drop 5 lbs with Good Housekeeping is produced by Scripps Networks, in partnership with Good Housekeeping.
Review: United Tastes of America
I finally got a little quality time with the Cooking Channel so I am attempting to review several of the shows I have not seen. This time around United Tastes of America.
When season five of Food Network Star drew to a finale there were to Wannabe TV Chefs left standing – gourmet chef Jeffrey Saad and home cook Melissa d’Arabian. I said at the time that either was a good choice for the Network but for me the choice was Saad. For Food Network it came down to who best filled a niche and that was d’Arabian. Her accessible recipes for the busy family on the go were what Tushman felt his network was missing.
However there was another niche that was being neglected by the Food Network and that was recipes for the professional or advanced cook. In fact so neglected was this demographic that to make up the gulf Scripps created a whole new network called the Cooking Channel and it is there that we have found Jeffrey Saad.
On United Tastes of America Saad, “delves into the amazing history, process, science and pop-culture that have transformed America’s favorite foods.” At least according to the Cooking Channel web site anyway. It goes on to say that Jeffrey, “takes viewers on a wild trip to the belly of what makes Americans hungry. In each episode, Jeffrey focuses on one iconic American food classic — donuts, pizza, meatballs, burgers — to discover how a simple food notion evolves to mythic proportions … and how some of today’s hottest chefs reinterpret these icons in amazing and delicious ways.”
Though United Tastes of America isn’t the cooking show I was looking for from Saad it is a terrific food-travel show that gives you the history of a themed item, shows you how chefs across the country are treating it and explores it’s many possibilities. It is A+ food porn. Hopefully that Saad-driven cooking show is on the horizon. Until then United Tastes of America airs Tuesdays at 10pm ET.
