What the hell? They kept Paul on. Yeah Darrell screwed up with that berry sauce of his, but at least he made what he was supposed to. Paul just went off and did his own thing.
She said this was the third year in a row she had auditioned. Yikes, take a hint!
But he at least showed some creativity and balls. Daz just sucked.
Brianna is stepping up her game, but will it be enough to match Aari? That girl is just hot (in every sense of the word!)
This show has managed to fly under my radar until this season. I was going to ask who the first five winners were, then decided to look it up myself. I watch Guy Fieri’s show all the time and had no idea he came from a reality show!
I vaguely recall having heard of those two guys who won the first season, but apparently the last three all worked their 6-episode deal and faded back into obscurity. I wonder if we’ll get a breakout star this season?
I’ve been enjoying watching, partly because it’s less mean-spirited than most competition shows. I cannot stand Gordon Ramsey, and (I don’t know if it was Ramsey’s show or not) I saw a commercial for one show where the chefs had to wrestle a pig in mud to get recipies from around their necks or something. It looked absolutely humiliating.
On this one, there’s some cattiness, but the contestants seem to generally get along and support each other, and the judges treat them with compassion. It’s kind of refreshing.
As for the contestants, my two personal favorites are Brad and Tom. They both seem like guys I’d love to have a beer with. But it’s starting to look as if neither will get comfortable enough in front of the camera to win.
Aria looked to be the runaway winner from the very first challenge. But already I find her quite dull; she needs to show a more interesting personality. I wasn’t sure about Aarti at first, but she looks like a front-runner now.
I’d say the only person left with absolutely zero chance is Paul. Nothing appealing about his persona, and most of his dishes seem to be failures. Some of the others are long-shots, but they all have something positive going for them. If Paul goes out next (assuming Herb doesn’t melt down completely), the choices are going to get much tougher.
Season 4’s winner Aaron "Big Daddy’ McCargo is still on, as is last season’s winner Melissa <forgethername>. The only winner I have not heard from is season 3’s but I think she was the one who had some legal issue/controversy after winning.
Her name was Amy Finley, but I don’t know if she had any legal problems. You may be thinking of the guy who was originally in the top 2 that season - I don’t remember his name, but he was a former Marine who had apparently lied about being in Afghanistan and was kicked off because of that. Amy, who had left before him, came back and replaced him in the top 2.
According to Wiki:
I didn’t read the articles on Aaron McCargo and Melissa d’Arabian carefully enough at first, I guess. Looks like both of their shows are indeed still on, though I’ve never heard of either!
That was it! There was some backlash that she should not have won since she had already been booted off once.
I think they were shopping at Whole Foods or a store similar to it…but when Das went in there and asked for Velveeta (sp) I knew it was time for him to go.
Artee needs to work on her self-esteem…Brianna needs to get some personality…even though she can cook…if people don’t like you they will not watch your show and you will be history real quick …Herb needs to work on those demons that are coming out and doing a number with his self-confidence…I like Arria but a little of her goes a long way and people are going to tire of her pretty soon…plus they already have too many perky people on the Food Network…Serena is ok but they’re already comparing her to Giada…and the only thing they have in common is that they’re both Italian…Paul will be the next to go…he is by far the most annoying of all of the contestants…Brad is not ready for prime time TV…the woman who hurt her eye was doomed from the beginning…that eye injury should have been an omen…Tom is ok…I’d like to see Artee win…they don’t really have anyone on Food Network like her…and I’d watch her…I felt sorry for Doreen she had no idea who she was and the judges knew it…the other people that have already been kicked off should never have been a finalist.
Runner up from season 4, Adam Gertler, can also still be seen on various Food Network shows - Will Work for Food and Best Thing I Ever Ate. I think he’s the only runner up who ever got his own show, although it isn’t a cooking show like the winner gets.
And then Amy (who was the original Dzintra - Let me educate all of you boneheads who have never been to France, that based on my one trip with my husband, I am now an expert on French cuisine, and will speak to you in a condescending way the French would be proud of) did 6 shows and went back to being a family woman. Funny, because she wanted to quit early in the season, and everyone talked her into staying.
I haven’t watched this season, but I occasionally hop over to a FoodNetwork humor site, where yes, they do make fun of everything food network. And come on, you have to admit some things are just too good to not pick on! 
They caught a screenshot of a genuine FoodNetwork goofup, wherein they listed one of the current contestants as being one of their permanent chefs; indicating, we can assume, that that is who won the contest.
For those who need to know but don’t want to watch the series, here ya go…I’m even going to spoilerbox the link, though that in itself tells you nothing.
MAJOR SPOILERS!!
Adam has a new show called Kid in a Candy Store it premiers right after the Next Food Network Star on 7/11.
No surprise…Paul’s gone…I predicted after last week’s show that he would be next.
Melissa’s show is actually pretty good. Aaron bugs me, so I don’t watch his, but “$10 Dinners” has some good food, cheap. I caught a rerun of her cooking Parmesan-crusted pork cutlets, Caprese tarts and Broccoli pasta that looked delish.
I liked the idea of the “2 Chix” truck. Interesting food, and they sounded delicious. OTOH, the “Cheesehead” truck was bland and boring. No thought went into that one at all.
I loved the panels comments about the products.
Serena bugs the shit out of me. I thought she was getting the jerk edit, but seriously? You don’t know what Worcestershire sauce is? Or srirachi? Not that everyone would know this stuff, but you’re auditioning to be on the Food Network. Dzitzy’s annoyingness eclipsed Serena for a while, but she’s horrid. When she gets the boot I will light a cigar.
I also think she thinks that’s she’s much cuter than she actually is.
Brad and his stupid hat are annoying the crap out of me as well. How many times is he going to tell us that he’s a “pro?” How about showing it? It’s definitely not working to his advantage, as Flay is always stating that he is assessing his food with greater scrutiny because he is a “pro.” He may not intend for this to happen, but he comes across as a condescending ass every time he mentions that he wouldn’t do that in his restaurant, etc.
Aarti continues to be adorable. Tom came back from the dead, though there’s no way in hell I’m trying that chicken liver concoction with the ass sauce. The pairing was great, though. It was nice to see two contestants actually working together.
I know Paul is in the running for most hated contestant ever, but I just found him dull and desperate. He’s gone… no big shakes there. The Aria fall from grace is interesting, but I never cottoned on to her. She just seems generic and kind of fake.
I turned to my wife in the middle of this one and said, “Instead of 2 Chix in a Truck, they should have called it, 2 Chicks, 1 Truck. -That- woulda been awesome.”
I agree with you about Aria…I’m tired of looking at her big face with that same fake grin…it’s time for her to go…Brianna is not nearly as pretty as she thinks she is…if she thinks she’s going to get a show because she’s cute then she better check out Anne Burrell…she certainly didn’t get her show because she’s cute…I am tired of her and Serena…I predicted two weeks ago that Paul would be next…he should get an Emmy for being the most annoying person on television…I love Aarti she is so genuine…granted she lacks self confidence…but that’s what’s so cute about her…they really need her on Food TV to balance out some of those egos…I won’t mention any names but we all know who they are…I’m beginning to like Tom too…he and Aarti made a great team…ditto on Brad’s hat I wish I could knock it off of his head…he needs to come of of the “pro” crap…he may be a pro…but not in the kitchen…I don’t think Herb is going to make it…he has so much self-doubt that he’s trying to cover it up by acting like he’s happy…well anyway that’s my two cents.