As I sat down to watch the finale of Season 5's "The Next Food Network Star," I honestly had no idea who would take the grand prize. Two very different -- and very qualified -- contestants were left to vie for the title: Jeffrey Saad, and Melissa d'Arabian. To tell the truth, I've been rooting for Jeffrey throughout the course of the show. But Melissa's transparency and surprising expertise made me a fan of hers as well by the time the finale aired.
Tonight's episode featured a celebrity chef guest appearance from Alton Brown, who assisted each finalist in producing their first pilot episode for the Food Network. Jeffrey became the "Ingredient Smuggler" and introduced a hot chili paste called harissa from northern Africa, while he made steak sandwiches with a harissa and sun-dried tomato mayo spread. Melissa introduced her show, "Kitchen Survival Guide," and revealed her easy-to-make Four Step Chicken with caramelized onions, as well as her muffin-tin potato gratin (after which Bobby Flay jokingly said he'd be stealing that idea!)
Both presented an entertaining show; both created mouth-watering masterpieces. But the judges could only pick one winner.
And that winner is: Melissa d'Arabian!
In a previous interview with the Dallas Observer, when asked what her new show will be about, Melissa reinforced the following: "I really am all about family and home cooking at its best. I understand that it's easy to define me as a stay at home mom, but I spent years in a career -- so home cooking is also working 14 hours and getting home to cook for family or having your friends over and budgeting for all that."
So from all of us at TheCooksDen, congratulations Melissa! Look for her new Food Network series "Kitchen Survival Guide" to premiere on August 9th.
Source: Dallas Observer
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August 10th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
[...] the network titled her new show as "Kitchen Survival Guide." Â But after consideration, Â it seems the producers wanted the name of the show to reach out to a [...]