The Beauty of Food Network

Ever since last Fall when I took a Food Writing class, I have become an extraordinary Food Network fan. I have always been a foodie, so this is my dream TV channel. There are a variety of shows, some of my favorites including Chopped, Cupcake Wars and Food Network Star. These are all competition shows which make them similar to reality shows - its hard to take your attention away. For me, as a person not very invested in the TV industry, this is the one network that I enjoy watching the most because it better aligns with my passions for the future. I want to open up my own bakery/ice cream shop, but I also really like to cook. This is a great channel to watch as it helps me learn about ingredients and cooking and baking methods. I am not necessarily interested in going into TV anymore, but if I was to work for a TV channel, Food Network would be it. To describe one of the shows, Food Network Star is a competition series where fantastic cooks are brought in from all around the country. They then compete in unique challenges such as creating commercials and doing live demos at events. On season 10 of Food Network star, a local Ithacan actually made it as a contestant. Her name is Emma Frisch and she made it to the top 6 before being voted off. After her experience on Food Network star, Emma came into my Food Writing class and talked about her experience as well as her other career pursuits such as her personal blog. I am now interning for her helping with some email marketing and updating her blog. Somewhat irrelevant from my discussion of Food Network, but I still think this is a cool connection to have and it goes to show that making connections is very important.

 Another one of my favorite shows on Food Network is Chopped. Although all of these shows are about cooking and could seem repetitive to some, they all have unique themes. For example Chopped gives the contestants an opportunity to create an appetizer, entrée and dessert using four unique ingredients, usually falling under a theme. Cutthroat Kitchen is another one, where contestants make dishes but have to deal with sabotages put on them by other contestants. Then of course, you have your basic Food Network shows hosted by the Food Network stars such as, Barefoot Contessa and Giada at Home. Overall, Food Network is an excellent channel as it provides warmth, helps viewers to develop skills and has a unique range of shows overall. It is viewable for all ages and is a network that almost everybody knows and loves.