Food Network Next Star

[phifly04]

As you may have heard or seen Food Network is having a "Next Star" contest and my good friend Hans from Georgia is in it,i dont want to pander but.....it closes tommorow at 10:00a.m and he,s a good guy and friend so let,s help him out

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_nf_vote thanks for listening

Dave s

[Chris Cognac]

I voted for him a few days ago...he was the best one.

[phifly04]

Hans took the first round.Thanks to those who supported him!!

[SiseFromm]

After watching all five around a week ago I had voted for Hans. Did he know ahead of time he would be among the finalists or did he find out when his video popped up on the Food Network website?

[Mabelline]

How do you all get to view the videos? I know it's been going on a while, but I have to admit my eyetime of FNW is negligible anymore. Have they a show that previews contenders?

Got to admit I have been cynical of this because of my deep resentment of the current food programming.

[phifly04]

After watching all five around a week ago I had voted for Hans.  Did he know ahead of time he would be among the finalists or did he find out when his video popped up on the Food Network website?

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Im pretty sure he said they called him the day of the video becoming a semi-finalist

[phifly04]

How do you all get to view the videos? I know it's been going on a while, but I have to admit my eyetime of FNW is negligible anymore. Have they a show that previews contenders?

Got to admit I have been cynical of this because of my deep resentment of the current food programming.

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Click on the link upthread,that is the link to view the next round of semi-finalists

[andiesenji]

Unfortunately the video requies Windows Media Player and I have a Mac.

Bummer, you would think, that since Macs are used for more video editing than Windows platforms, they would make it universal.

[chefzadi]

Hans is now in the semi finals. Please vote for him.

He is a great chef and a man of rich character. His wife is a folk artist and together they have an artist's collective. His dad was an East German soldier who dropped his weapon one day, ran towards the Berlin Wall and made it over! Hans is eccentric, quirky, intelligent, well read, articulate, poetic, gracious, kind....

I'm not very good at promotion, am I? I certainly wouldn't try to get a job as campaign manager or a publicist.

Anyway, if you have a couple of minutes visit the website and click a vote for Hans.

If you have a few more minutes urge others to vote for him as well.

Thank you for your time!

Edited January 19, 2005 by chefzadi (log)

[Mnehrling]

Hans is now in the semi finals. Please vote for him.

He is a great chef and a man of rich character. His wife is a folk artist and together they have an artist's collective. His dad was an East German soldier who dropped his weapon one day, ran towards the Berlin Wall and made it over! Hans is eccentric, quirky, intelligent, well read, articulate, poetic, gracious, kind....

I'm not very good at promotion, am I? I certainly wouldn't try to get a job as campaign manager or a publicist. 

Anyway, if you have a couple of minutes visit the website and click a vote for Hans.

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I'll gladly vote for Hans. After viewing the videos and bios, to me he seems a lot more 'real' than the other contestent.

[Curlz]

COMPLETELY agree! I wasn't aware of this contest, but I just watched both videos. While I don't doubt that the other guy has talent, he was just a little too "ON" for me as a potential viewer. Hans was real, and seemed so very comfortable (both at the stove and in front of the camera) that I'm sure I would enjoy watching his show. I also agree completely with his philosophy about recipes. I voted for him--hope others will as well!

[plattetude]

<bump!>

So is no one watching the second season of this, or is no one finding it worthy of comment?

Me, I'm finding it fascinating to compare and contrast FN's show with Top Chef. If I had to choose one to watch, Top Chef is far more compelling television (IMHO), and much more food oriented (by design, really, I suppose). But I think there's a similar hierarchy of talent/skill/hubris (FN's Nathan = Top Chef's Stephen + a strong dose of humility) to be sure, and some interesting "drama," manufactured or not. I just would not want *any* of the FN contestants to cook me much of anything. And few of them seem all that compelling in terms of what they'd bring to the network. The first season cast seemed overall much stronger.

Anyone else watching?

Christopher

Edited April 5, 2006 by plattetude (log)

[Basilgirl]

I saw most of the first 3 episodes. The Basilman made me turn off the one with Sandra Lee as a judge - he just couldn't take it. She's SCARY!

Nathan is too arrogant.

I like Guy, he seems to have the most personality. Plus he can cook and communicate.

And Carissa is...SEXXXXY!!!!

Not.

[tino27]

Unfortunately the video requies Windows Media Player and I have a Mac.

Bummer, you would think, that since Macs are used for more video editing than Windows platforms, they would make it universal.

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As the proud owner of a Linux-based computer, I can share your pain on this one. Why websites can't also supply a link so that I can download the raw video file instead of having to use some embedded control that only runs on Internet Explorer and/or Windows is beyond me.

You figure if they are making this content public, then EVERYBODY should be able to use it.

[hsm]

Yes, but now that my beloved macs will be downloading Windows soon, perhaps that wall will come down as well.

This batch of contestants leave a little something to be desired - like a big group of people I might want to watch every week. I think the Hearty Boys have their show, alright, but it's on at a time I'm not watching, and doesn't seem to be among the rerun-run-runs. (Yeah, I voted for Han.)

I've seen most of the eps, but not the Sandra Lee one, because I made me turn it off. There's pimping the network and then, there's, well, just no.

Guy seems like a good bet. He's a little tightly wound in the competitive department, but then, it's a CONTEST, so he's probably got the right idea. He also seems like the one who most thinks food is a pleasure and so is the making of it. Although I kinda like Nathan. Even though his theme appears to be complicated food that doesn't meet the requirements of these 'challenges' and that TFN would never feature. Goodbye, soon, Nathan.

[jm chen]

I've seen a couple episodes of this, and in contrast with Top Chef, it seems to really target the challenges to the task: can these contestants do things that a person with a show on Food Network would have to do?

The answer so far seems to be: maybe.

I agree with the above that Guy is probably the strongest contender at this point. My personal favorite is Andy (it's an Iowa thing) but he doesn't seem able to turn the charm up high enough when he's on camera, plus, the network already has plenty of shows aimed at beginning cooks, which seems to be his "point of view."

My pet peeve with the show right now is that during last week's episode, they showed a preview of next week's episode -- clearly showing the face of every contestant who would still be in it at that point, and clearly giving away who would be eliminated during the episode I was currently watching. Not that I couldn't have figured it out, but isn't that, like, reality TV rule #1?

[TrishCT]

I've caught bits here and there. Very disappointing crop of contestants. Agree with the choice of Guy...he really stands out in this field, because he knows his stuff and has an energetic personality.

[jgm]

My pet peeve with the show right now is that during last week's episode, they showed a preview of next week's episode -- clearly showing the face of every contestant who would still be in it at that point, and clearly giving away who would be eliminated during the episode I was currently watching. Not that I couldn't have figured it out, but isn't that, like, reality TV rule #1?

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You noticed that too? I found it irritating.

One thing I've noticed about FN Star and Top Chef: although they start with a wide variety of people, those without a cooking school/professional background seem to pretty much be doomed. It's sort of like the 'laypeople' are getting used, to serve as a context for the pro to come in and win.

Although my personal favorite is Reggie, I get irritated with the way they treat Andy. If you look at Giada DiLaurentiis's early shows, she's clearly no more comfortable in front of the camera, than Andy is right now. They are throwing a LOT at these folks, and frankly, having done some TV, I'm really impressed with how well they're doing. If Andy's other skills are what they are looking for, they can work with him, or have a consultant work with him, and he'll be fine. I think the poor guy is just scared to death, and intimidated by the whole thing.

[My Confusing Horoscope]

We've been enjoying it at our house. I guess we missed the first series, though.

It gives you an appreciation for how hard it must be to do a show and make it look smooth and easy! What I like best is the advice of the real cooking show hosts. You get an idea what they think is important, what they think works or doesn't work.

I really thought the Hispanic lady was going to do better, but the judges didn't really go for her cooking too much. They liked her TV presence but her food just wasn't that special.

I guess Guy has the skills and the personality, but both he and Reggie use ingredients assuming we know what they are, why they are being used. They leave me, the viewer, out of the loop because I don't understand what they are doing. The best cooking show hosts do a lot more explaining, it seems to me.

I am not too sure about some of the advice they are being given, like personalizing the show, showing who you are, etc. It looks forced when out of the blue Nathan tells you he'll be cooking this dish because his niece loves it. I don't know his niece and I didn't need to hear that. It just seemed forced. The guy already has a lot of personality shining through.

I also like cooking show hosts who seem to have a past, telling you stories of where they got their ideas, their love of food, etc. So far I get no sense of where the contestants are coming from. On Lidia's show on PBS you really get a sense of where she's coming from. If you ever saw John Folse's show, he comes across that way, too. Paul Prudhomme does, too.

Edited April 5, 2006 by My Confusing Horoscope (log)

[ronnie_suburban]

I am not too sure about some of the advice they are being given, like personalizing the show, showing who you are, etc.  It looks forced when out of the blue Nathan tells you he'll be cooking this dish because his niece loves it. I don't know his niece and I didn't need to hear that.  It just seemed forced. The guy already has a lot of personality shining through.

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Good point. Yet, the judges saw his mention of the niece as a positive; praising him for making it and criticizing him for not mentioning her more often. Meanwhile, out here in tv land, we don't give a flying f*ck about his niece in the least. It just goes to show the serious disconnect between what the "experts" at Food Network believe the audience wants and what the audience actually wants. Meaningless mentions of unknown family members falls under the category of pandering, something that FTV seems to do quite well.

Frankly, I don't see the value in any of these contestants' unique attributes. Even Guy, who seems plenty likable, leaves me at a loss. What exactly does he bring to the table that we cannot find elsewhere? His manic energy? His spikey, bleached white hair? Ok, perhaps his restaurant experience could be a useful point of separation. But wait, the judges more or less criticized him for being too "pro" in his most recent demo. Go figure.

=R=

[Katie Nell]

And Carissa is...SEXXXXY!!!!

Not.

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She scares me!

And if I were a violent person and owned a rifle... Nathan would be in my crosshairs! Seriously, could he be more cocky?!?

[Katie Nell]

Frankly, I don't see the value in any of these contestants' unique attributes.

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Exactly... where are the Hispanic shows, the Chinese shows, the Greek shows... is Italian the only kind of food out there? I miss The Melting Pot!

[plattetude]

And if I were a violent person and owned a rifle... Nathan would be in my crosshairs!      Seriously, could he be more cocky?!?

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You obviously haven't been watching Top Chef. Stephen takes the Cocky Prize of the Millenium ®. Nathan has actually shown some humility on camera once or twice when things haven't quite gone well, particularly in this past week's episode.

Christopher

[jgm]

Exactly... where are the Hispanic shows, the Chinese shows, the Greek shows... is Italian the only kind of food out there?  I miss The Melting Pot!

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I would love to see shows on cooking from other cultures. Vietnamese, Indian, Cuban, you name it. I'd be glued to the tube! Sometimes you can catch this sort of thing on PBS, but our local station doesn't carry half of what PBS offers when it comes to cooking shows.

[Katie Nell]

Exactly... where are the Hispanic shows, the Chinese shows, the Greek shows... is Italian the only kind of food out there?  I miss The Melting Pot!

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I would love to see shows on cooking from other cultures. Vietnamese, Indian, Cuban, you name it. I'd be glued to the tube! Sometimes you can catch this sort of thing on PBS, but our local station doesn't carry half of what PBS offers when it comes to cooking shows.

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I know... we get hardly anything on our PBS station... I wrote them about it, but I don't think they listened to me!