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Last night, the cabal of judges known as Bob, Susie, and Bobby whittled the field of contestants on The Next Food Network Star down to just five potential superstars, and now that we’re more than halfway through the show’s run, I thought I’d check back in and see how our stars are progressing. Do we have a star in the making? Or is this season going to be a bust? Thoughts and ideas after the jump…
Debbie Lee
So far, Debbie has proven to be my favorite of the gang. I find her dishes to be interesting, and she does seem to have a surprising ease and warmth in front of the camera, despite coming off like a total B earlier in the season. I hope she wins — especially because Asian-influenced flavors are highly under-represented on the Food Network. However, she’ll have to start bringing more context to her cooking — at least more than simply announcing “I’m Korean.” Bobby Flay hilariously took her to task for this last night, and while I hadn’t noticed it before, he was totally right. That being said, if Debbie does somehow win this competition, I’m just gonna suggest I’m Korean with Debbie Lee as her show title.
Jamika Pessoa
The judges seem absolutely smitten by Jamika for reasons still unknown to me. Sure, she seems totally sweet, and sure, she’s served up a few interesting and well-received dishes, but seriously, sistah suffers from some serious blandness. Week after week, the judges extoll her ability to light up a room and win over a crowd with that stunning personality of hers, but I don’t see it. She’s just sort of soft and light and blah. I think I’d fall asleep two minutes into any show she ever got to host. Even more regrettable was her total meltdown this week on the Rachel Ray show. She completely devolved into a silent pillar of nothingness — so much so that Susie Fogelson felt compelled to cover her face with a napkin. Are we really expected to believe this woman deserves a spot next to the likes of Ina and Giada? I don’t think so. Luckily for her, Jamika was saved this week by the ever-bumbling Pixar character that is Katie, who finally got her comeuppance and was sent packing. Still, I kind of felt that Jamika should have gotten the heave-ho instead. Unless she gets her act together (or unless Michael royally screws up next week), it’s not looking great for Jamika.
Jeffrey Saad
Despite some setbacks the past two weeks, Jeffrey Saad has emerged as one of the frontrunners to win this competition. Armed with nothing more than bizarre hair and a never-ending supply of polo shirts, he has charmed the judging panel week in and week out. He seems quite skilled, and usually, he’s pretty comfortable in front of the camera, and I do like that his taste-level veers towards the sophisticated, but gosh, there’s just something about Jeffrey that I don’t love. I don’t know what it is. He’s just… boring. I suppose I’d sample a show of his, but only out of desperation.
Melissa D’Arabian
Melissa continues to impress with her resourceful cooking techniques and generally winsome personality. I’m not a huge fan of mommy-centric things, and as such, Melissa really shouldn’t be up my alley, but I must admit that I like her quite a bit. She’s usually very good at presenting herself and her food (although, sometimes she does tend to get a bit manic — kind of like a gerbil hopped up on speed). As I contemplated in the beginning of the season though, I feel like I am drawn to Melissa more as a realty star than as someone I’d want to actually watch on Food Network. I mean, we already have one crazy mommy in the form of Robin Miller. Do we really need a second?
Michael Proietti
Michael burst onto the scene with oodles of potential. He seemed like a very skilled chef, but his over-the-top gay persona seemed a bit forced out of the gate. Now, a few weeks later, we’ve come to see that he’s not the flamboyant, self-possessed superstar he seemed eager to be. Whenever the cameras roll, he falls apart — often muttering awkward comments, gulping nervously, and leaving us with many uncomfortable silences. Week to week, he’s been fading the most, and I suspect that he’ll be totally flaming out in the next one or two episodes.
What do you think about the contestants so far? Any future stars? Who do you want to see go home? And have the judges cut anyone too early?
I just can’t get into this show for reasons beyond trainwreckage. It is Top Chef populated with people who replace culinary skills with a desire to be on television. The NFNS ‘BRAND’ has produced two shows that did not make it, one show that does not offer anything new or interesting, one JAG, and one colossal douchebag who makes the entire network close to unwatchable thanks to his constant presence.
Beyond that, I love the fake reaction shots of the judges.
I like the idea of Michael, but I wish he’d get it together. And his hair looks gross. And Food Network wouldn’t dare ever acknowledge the fact that he’s gay. Which kind of makes me dislike the whole thing. I think Debbie is definitely the frontrunner. I like Melissa in spite of myself but there is one major problem: she is Sissy Biggers. Sort of like how we aren’t allowed to talk about Michael being gay, we also aren’t allowed to talk about how Sissy Biggers is trying to get back on the Food Network by posing as a contestant on this show.
Braddy – Spot on.
I want Michael to relax and act like he does when he is just hanging with the other contestants. He is on camera then so why the nerves at other times?
Debbie is the likely winner of this mess until she flames out. Did you know she is Korean?.
I was glad Katey got the axe – her bug eyes were killing me.
hb