Unpack Your Knives!

The Next Food Network Star returned to some big changes on Sunday for season 6 including the addition of Giada De Laurentiis as a mentor and a spectacular move to Los Angeles.

“We’re using Giada as a mentor figure, where she talks about her experiences being a host on a network, and that’s one more element we didn’t have before", said Co-host Bobby Flay.

Quite frankly, I once overheard a couple in the grocery store bantering the ingredients of one of Giada's recipes (Apparently, they had watched her show and were attempting to make whatever dish that was prepared on television). My immediate thought was...Well, never mind what my initial thought was at the time...Let's just say that I was on the verge of laughing at them in public.

Anyway, back to the show. I appreciate the lively tempo of the new format (Moving to L.A. was an obvious good decision) and a change-up in host/judges also certainly helps to enliven what was once viewed as a very dry program.

I would change a few other things about the show, as well - such as stocking the entire panel with Food Network stars (Why have only one on the panel?), appoint Guy Fieri as host (Agreed, his looks are distracting, but he does bring personality), and completely, unequivocally change the set. Moreover, there are a number of things that I would overhaul about the ENTIRE network - but, that is a discussion for another time (Remind me later).

With the latest season, the show appears to be patterning after Bravo's ultra successful cook-off program Top Chef, which might not be a bad idea...