Jackman - Food network star: the official insiders guide to Americas hottest food show

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T he world of American food has changed out of all recognition since I was a member of the first graduating class at the French Culinary Institute in New York City in 1984. Food had much less bearing on popular culture back then. The emergence of celebrity chefs and hot restaurants and that hip subspecies of the human race, the foodie, lay in the future.

As a young chef, I found inspiration in one type of cuisine and traveled to its sourcethe American southwest. There I worked with local chefs I knew until I became part of the land. I fell in love with the ingredients and made them mine. I opened Mesa Grill, my first restaurant, in 1991, followed by Bolo in 1993. And then came food television.

There were a few cooking shows on television when I was growing up: Julia Childs, of course, and Martin Yans Yan Can Cook and Graham Kerrs The Galloping Gourmet, which I loved to watch as a kid. But as chefs on TV, we didnt have that many predecessors. The Food Network completely changed the landscape. I first appeared on the network in January 1994 when it was two months old. At that point it was called the TV Food Network, and ran in New York City only a few hours a night. I was featured on a show called Robin Leach: Talking Food, where Robin interviewed strictly C-list celebrities and for the last fifteen minutes his sidekick, Kate Connelly, did a cooking segment with a local chefa very local chef, like me, because they couldnt afford any travel expenses.

That appearance was a key moment in my life. For one thing, Kate Connelly and I got married and we have a wonderful daughter, Sophie, together. After my first appearance, I taped a tryout show for the network called Chef du Jour, followed by my first series, Grillin and Chillin. These were the early daysI was there with Mario and Emeril. In the years since, Ive hosted nine shows on the Food Network in addition to Next Food Network Star.

I was a guest on the first season of Star in 2005 and I must have made a decent impression, because I was asked back for Season Two with the combined duties of host and judge. My role on the show has never been so defined as to be limiting, so I have the opportunity to act as host, judge, and mentor as needed. As anyone whos watched the show can tell you, I take it very seriously. If you need confirmation, ask any of the finalists.

I cherish my relationship with Food Network. Ive been there for so long, it feels like family. Its certainly my TV family. As a judge of Food Network Star, I think about the network from a business standpoint. Im looking for somebody to add to the roster who is going to help make a stronger team. I put my chef coat on for the Iron Chef challenges, but what I enjoy the most is evaluating finalists on Star when Im wearing a suit. Star kills two birds with one stone. Its a very successful franchise in its own right, and we find talent. The Hearty Boys, Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh; Guy Fieri; Amy Finley; Aaron McCargo, Jr.; Melissa dArabian; and Aarti Sequeira are the winners who have had series on the Network. Other finalists didnt win, but got their own shows anyway: Kelsey Nixon is one; Adam Gertler, Jeffrey Saad, and Tom Pizzica did as well.

Now the Season Seven winner has been crowned and theres another whole series of challenges for aspiring finalists to pore over and study. At the start of episode one of each season, these guys are already much savvier than I was when I started my first show. Theyre students of the network. They know exactly what they need to accomplish, even if they dont have the execution down; talking and cooking at the same time on camera is a lot harder than most people realize.

Their preparedness is one reason why I empathize with the finalists on Star, but I dont feel bad for them. Nobody made them do this. While youll never see me be mean to a finalist, I do push them at times, because I see myself as their coach. You want to make the team? Then play hard. Its something I feel very strongly about and the finalists realize it pretty quickly. Like any coach, I want everyone to perform well and I dont want anyone to embarrass themselves. Star is unique in the sheer volume of advice finalists get from the judges. In this book, one of them compared it to a free university. We have these people under our wings for a few months, and the evaluations last many hours. When were giving them tips and techniques, were trying to steer them in the right direction. If you cant perform better on TV after a session with Alton Brown, theres a problem.

To succeed in this competition, you have to manage both elements of the challenge: food and entertainment. You need to produce excellent quality food, but you also need to be able to tell stories to the camera, to have authority in the kitchen. You really need to have it all. We want to find out who is going to light up the camera. The bottom line is that to win Food Network Star, you need to live and breathe food. Besides your friends and family, food has to be the most important thing to you. You have to wake up thinking about it; you have to go to sleep thinking about it. If foods number five on your list, dont do this show. This is the best piece of advice I can give anyone whos thinking about trying out for Food Network Star. There are some people who do it because they want a job on TV, but theyll never get my vote. Cooking is what Im most passionate about. I just happen to do it on TV.

Food Network Star: The Official Insiders Guide to Americas Hottest Food Show demonstrates the passion and commitment of the finalists on our show by telling their collective story through food. Read, cook, eat, and enjoy!

O n June 5, 2005, an original Food Network star, Emeril Lagasse, launched the search for the next Food Network star. Being a chef on TV is the new American dream, said Emeril. Ten thousand aspiring television chefs hoping to realize that dream sent in audition tapes for the new reality-show competition. From these, nine finalists (one a team of two) were selected to compete at the networks studios, located in New York Citys Chelsea Market. The prize was a shot at the culinary big time: a show on the Food Network and the golden chance to join the roster of such Food Network stars as Rachael Ray, Paula Deen, Giada De Laurentiis, Bobby Flay, Mario Batali... and Emeril. The Next Food Network Star host Marc Summers introduced the Selection Committee, whose job it has been over seven seasons to whittle down the finalists week by week.

On the Season One Selection Committee was the Food Networks senior VP of programming and production Bob Tuschman, who brought talent like Rachael Ray and Giada De Laurentiis to Food Network. What we do here, Bob said, is take great information and make it outrageously entertaining. Second was network VP of marketing Susie Fogelson. Susie, responsible for brand advertising, promotions, and events, was looking for someone who would both appeal to the current audience and bring in new viewers. Third: Gordon Elliott, host of Follow That Food and producer of Paulas Home Cooking. He wanted somebody whose personality fills the room. The judges were ready to find their next star, someone who had equal parts performance, personality, and a culinary point of view.