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.
Youtube Is Making Us HUNGRY
In the next week Youtube will launch it’s new Channel of exclusive food shows entitled HUNGRY. Here’s the official Youtube™ description:
Combining the audience and bandwidth of leading foodie site Urbanspoon with proven leaders in food programming with partners Notional and CAA, the Food channel is the perfect blend of loud characters and unique personalities with real, helpful and most importantly, highly entertaining tid bits on everything food!
Most of the stars are relative unknowns like sugar diva Laura Vitale host of Summer Desserts and Drink Inc. hosts Steve Livigni and Daniel Nelson. But there are also some heavy hitters in the group including the king of all things offal Chris Cosentino (Next Iron Chef, Chef vs. City) and channel consultant Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes, Sugar High). The whole shebang is run by Bruce Seidel formerly of the Food Network. Seidel was the brains behind the successful launch of the Cooking Channel.
According to Seidel, “In the evolution of the food arena, and as original content on digital platforms continues to flourish, HUNGRY marks a new vision and attitude about all things food. Whether you love to eat, cook or drink, our dynamic original series have something for everyone.”
Goldman, who both stars in one of the new series and serves as a talent and programming consultant for the channel, commented, “I am stoked for HUNGRY and this exciting new partnership with Electus. The future of food programming is moving online, and viewers are increasingly turning to the Internet for their entertainment and education.”
Seidel added, “Our mission is to create highly entertaining shows and galvanize the niches that are driving the Internet food conversation forward via the incredible power and social influence of YouTube™.”
Officially launching on Monday, July 2nd, Electus will announce The Hungry Channel’s full talent and programming slate in the coming weeks. Viewers can subscribe to The Hungry Channel for trailers and show updates at: www.youtube.com/hungry. Until then here’s a sample of what’s in store:
ICA: Zakarian vs. Casanova
In his debut battle, Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian takes on Challenger Chef Victor Casanova. Judges are Karine Bakhoum, Art Smith and Jill Zarin. Chef Casanova is Executive Chef at Culina, an Italian restaurant at the Four Seasons Beverly Hills.
Over the years, Victor Casanova trained and developed his craft in some of the country’s best restaurants. Fresh out of culinary school, Casanova honed his skills at celebrated establishments such as the French-American DB Bistro Moderne and the American Gramercy Tavern. He was sous-chef at New York’s Ocean Grill and Las Vegas’ Neros at Caesars Palace and spent four years at Buca Giovanni in San Francisco, where he designed a boutique all-Italian wine list while executing a daily farmers’ market menu. He commenced his Italian training with Chef Casare Casella at New York’s renowned Beppe, then advanced it further under Chef Scott Conant at the chic, Northern Italy-influenced Alto.
After his salad days and a whirlwind culinary tour through the Big Apple, Casanova headed west to claim the post of chef de cuisine of Il Terrazzo in Scottsdale’s Phoenician Resort, where he quickly earned rave reviews. So, what’s his secret? Fuggedaboudit, he’ll never tell.
Casanova’s ongoing love affair with Italian food was ignited by Casella at Beppe, where he learned the spirit of the authentic Italian kitchen, an equally authentic passion for cooking and the flavourful secrets of Tuscan cuisine. Most of all, as Casanova conveys on each and every plate at Culina, Italian fare is only as good as the ingredients that go into it. This emphasis on seasonality, quality, simplicity and passion infuses the philosophy he brings to Culina, Modern Italian.
Chef Victor Casanova gets the honor of facing the newest Iron Chef, Geoffrey Zakarian, making his debut in Battle: Brook Trout. In Zakarian’s corner is quite the sous chef, none other than Alex Guarnaschelli.
Check below for the outcome.
[ad] Empty ad slot (#1)!
Zakarian Casanova
Taste: 30 Taste: 26
Plating: 15 Plating: 14
Originality: 15 Originality: 13
Total: 60 Total: 53
