Food Network Star

Food Network Stars are required to think on their feet and react to any situation thrown at them, especially live television events. The finalists cook with special guest Terrence Jenkins, co-anchor of E! News, in a live cooking demo where each contestant faces a series of untimely curveballs. The winner of this challenge gets an advantage in the next one, as the finalists participate in a Fourth of July-themed show designed to help viewers with must-have recipes and tips for summer parties. Each finalist is assigned a different live post such as barbequing, crafting drinks, or reporting from the field, and they must tackle their task while fielding interactive elements such as video calls, web questions and tweets. Bob Tuschman, accompanied by Bobby and Giada, watch the action remotely through a live feed and determine who will continue on.

A Food Network Star must have the knowledge and ability to use a wide range of ingredients and be able to take any combination to new culinary heights. Each of the ten remaining finalists is given an exotic ingredient and under Alton and Bobby’s guidance, must identify and use their ingredient successfully in a dish. The top two win a seat at the judge's table in the next challenge, while their competitors battle it out in the kitchen, Chopped-style. The eight finalists compete and make a dish with four mystery basket ingredients, to be critiqued by Chopped judge Alex Guarnaschelli. The least successful competitor hits the road, and the remaining nine finalists continue their journey.

The results are in as America has voted to determine who will be the next Food Network Star. Before the winner is revealed, the finalists are back in the studio to tell all and view never-before-seen footage from the season. Bobby, Alton and Giada each share their favorite moments during an emotional look back at remaining finalists' journey to the finale. Then, suspense rises as the time comes to reveal who will walk away as the new Food Network Star.

In the premiere episode of Food Network Star, twelve hopefuls arrive in Los Angeles to compete for the ultimate prize: their own show on Food Network. The finalists meet mentors Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis and Bobby Flay, who help prepare the finalists for the biggest audition of their lives. In the Mentor Challenge, each finalist films a pitch tape, hones in on their personal hook and explains why they are the best person for the job. Then, in the Star Challenge, each contestant must prepare and present one dish to Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson and a focus group of Food Network viewers who help decide who has a shot at becoming a Food Network Star. One contestant’s dream ends here, and the remaining eleven continue their Star journey.

From food to products to restaurants, Food Network Stars have to be informed on the latest culinary trends. The movie theater experience is being transformed with luxury cinemas popping up all over the country, and in the Mentor Challenge, the contestants are put into teams of three to create a menu and a movie trailer for a focus group of movie enthusiasts. Then, they compete at one of these extravagant cinemas, preparing the meal they proposed in their movie trailer. The focus group decides which meal they want to try based on the trailer, and then vote on which menu they liked the best. Whose concept will be a hit at the box office and who will go home?

A Food Network Star must be able to do entertaining demonstrations and cook for a crowd. This episode pays homage to the Food Network Wine and Food Festival with its very own “Burger Bash,” an over-the-top burger competition. The finalists create the best burger of their lives and present it to 100 burger enthusiasts and after the presentations, the burger fans decide whose creation they want to try solely based on their presentation. After a vote on which burger has the best flavor, the least successful finalist is sent home.

Whether it’s in the kitchen or in the field, a Food Network Star is always describing food in a way that brings it to life - helping viewers feel as if they are experiencing the dish first hand. The finalists create an Italian-themed dish using one of three Buitoni® products and present in groups of two with a twist: they must present their opponent’s dish instead of their own. The contestants are then divided into teams to film a three-minute ‘food-story show’ about two establishments – a pizza joint and a donut shop. The shows are then screened and critiqued by a team of Star-makers: The Hollywood Reporter Editorial Director Janice Min and Senior Writers Gary Baum and Leslie Bruce. The team voted least successful lands in the bottom three, with one finalist heading home.

A Food Network Star must be able to offer tips and solutions for any culinary situation and make information accessible to viewers. One of the most frequently asked questions is “What can I cook with everyday items in my pantry?” so using Kellogg's® Special K® Cereals and Snacks, the finalists cook up a delicious breakfast, lunch, or dinner dish. Then, special guest Robert Irvine leads the finalists in rehabilitating failing or outdated dishes on a restaurant’s menu. The least successful finalist is sent home.

The four finalists finally have their chance to pitch a show to Food Network. They practice their pilot pitch to Bobby, Alton and Giada - who coach them through their presentation before their network pitch to executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson, who are back to choose the final three. Based on the presentations, Bob and Susie green light three concepts, and the finalists create their pilots – to be directed by season two Food Network Star winner Guy Fieri. After the episode airs, viewers will be able to vote online and via phone to determine who wins the ultimate prize at next week’s finale.

A big part of being a Food Network Star is communicating big ideas quickly – recipes, brands, concepts, products. Each finalist has to come up with two product samples that represent their unique brand and culinary style. The judges offer feedback to each finalist on both products, and they must choose one to create, package and pitch to a tough panel of successful food executives. One by one the finalists pitch their product and themselves to the panel - who then votes on whether this is a viable product based on presentation and taste. The selection committee then decides who did best overall, and one finalist heads home.

Stars must be adventurous, both on the screen and in the kitchen. Each finalist is challenged to use an off-the-wall ingredient to create a fantastic dish and auction the dish to a roomful of adventurous eaters. The better they sell their dish to the bidders and the more convincing they are, the higher the prices will rise, with all the money being raised for charity. The finalist whose dish is sold for the most money wins the presentation portion of the challenge and is safe from elimination. The selection committee will then decide who did the best overall and send one finalist home.

This week, the finalists head to Miami for the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. Paula Deen is having a summer beach party for friends and family at SOBE -- and the finalists are cooking up the meal!

This week the seven remaining finalists are invited to be guests at a SOBE cooking-demonstration tent. Upon arrival, the tables are turned -- and the finalists will be asked to take the stage for their very own SOBE demo in front of the huge crowd!

The 13 remaining finalists meet Chopped judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Scott Conant, and Marc Murphy and are given their Star Challenge: desserts. But it's not just any dessert challenge. Each team must use a basket of ingredients to create their best sweet concoction in a head-to-head inter-team battle -- Chopped style!

It's Fashion Week in New York and the finalists are thrilled to learn that as potential stars, a "makeover" is essential ... but THEY aren't being made over; it's a food "makeover!" Each finalist will have to "makeover" a bland dish, making it look (and taste) good for the most fashionable crowd on the planet. Ted Allen will be on hand to judge the fashion shows, plus an extra prize is announced for the winning finalist.

America has voted and a Food Network Star will be crowned tonight! After taking an emotional look back at each of the three remaining finalists' journeys, Bobby, Alton and Giada discuss why they think their finalist should win. The finalists' families join the final three and America's vote is revealed!

A Food Network Star must be ready at any moment for Food Network to ask them to participate in a television special; this week, each team will do just that. Each finalist will have to create and perform a live, themed television special based on a holiday or event. Food Network Star season two winner Guy Fieri hosts each special and gives feedback on which team and individuals performed the best.

In the premiere episode of Food Network Star, 15 hopefuls arrive in New York to compete for the ultimate dream job: to host their own show on Food Network. The finalists arrive at the Food Network kitchens to greet their team leaders, Alton Brown, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis, and meet their rivals for the first time! Special guest Robert Irvine gives the finalists their first Star Challenge: to create their very own Pop-Up restaurant from the ground up - with an extremely limited budget and very little time.

Ten finalists remain to compete for the title of Food Network Star. This week, each finalist must elevate iconic food-court food while adapting to the limitations of a kiosk.  The challenge is taken to another level when they learn they'll be feeding Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian in addition to 150 hungry shoppers! Tensions mount as Zakarian provides an Iron Chef-worthy secret ingredient which the finalists will have to incorporate in their dishes.

Being a Food Network Star requires handling yourself with ease in the glare of the media spotlight. Finalists will be more exposed than ever as they film their own promotional video -- without the support of their producers! A panel of journalists grills each of the finalists with tough questions about their techniques, personal background and the show they want to bring to Food Network. Who can handle the journalists and who cracks under the pressure?

This week's challenge is a food tour of New York! The finalists are split into three teams and will each take a busload of tourists on a tour of three different New York neighborhoods. How entertaining are they? What landmarks will they highlight? How much food knowledge do they impart? Then each finalist will have to prepare and serve a dish to the judges based on the research they do in the neighborhoods.

The six finalists will star in promos for their own Food Network shows, directed by their producers; Bobby, Alton and Giada. The finalists who survive will get to make pilots for their very own show led by their producer. The pilots will air for all of America to see, and then viewers will get to vote on which finalist deserves their own show on Food Network.

Food Network Star alum Melissa d'Arabian challenges the finalists to use a Kellogg's product to create sophisticated and impressive hors d'oeuvres for a surprise guest. Paula Deen makes a surprise visit to the Food Star Kitchen. At the Star Challenge, the finalists go Hollywood as they team up to feed the cast and crew of the hit show Cougar Town.

Guy Fieri rolls up in his classic red Camaro to guide the finalists through a segment of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. Then the finalists head out to a Fourth of July bash where they must re-create American classic dishes AND perform their first cooking demo on stage.

The finalists have their work cut out for them during the Camera Challenge when they must use a sweet Hershey's product to turn dessert into dinner. Special guests Duff Goldman and Michael Symon challenge the finalists to create a Dueling Desserts party. When the finalists are split into two teams, tension mounts as they struggle to work together to beat their opponents and save themselves from elimination.

The 14 remaining finalists must create a pizza that reflects their culinary point of view. A surprise elimination shocks the finalists. The pressure is really on for the group during the Star Challenge when they have to cook in front of a panel of Food Network superstars!

Fifteen eager Food Star Finalists arrive at Hollywood's famous Grauman's Chinese Theater, where they meet each other for the first time and are welcomed by Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis. For their first Camera Challenge, the finalists must create a breakfast dish that reflects their personality and culinary point of view. Their first Star Challenge finds them shooting promos for their shows as well as cooking for a panel of Hollywood's press, including Mario Lopez from television's Extra. The first finalist is sent packing.

12 new contestants fly to Los Angeles, the site of their first competition.

The finalists get a taste of assembly line work from guest Duff Goldman.

The finalists cater an after-party for Colbie Caillat and create dishes based on a film genre.

Each finalist is given a chile pepper by Bobby that they must incorporate into a dish.

The finalists must throw a dinner party on a budget. Tyler Florence meets the finalists at Stew Leonards grocery store and gives them each $60 to shop for a budget dinner party for 12. Afterwards they find out that they'll have to use the budget groceries they've just bought to cater a dinner party at Ina Garten's house in the Hamptons!

The remaining two finalists return to the Food Network studios to shoot their very own pilots. On the big day, they discover that none other than Alton Brown is there to direct them! We follow them through the ups and downs of the "making of" their pilots, all leading up to the big Studio Finale. Once there, the final two are reunited with the Selection Committee and the eight eliminated finalists to watch the pilots in front of a live studio audience. Then comes the final moment when the Selection Committee makes the decision that will change someone's life forever-who will be the Next Food Network Star!

For their first challenge, the finalists must create a "recipe for men," pairing unique ingredients found in the typical man's pantry. The winner gets their recipe published in Esquire magazine. Then, the finalists must bring the holiday foods to life for the Good Housekeeping challenge. They each must come up with innovate food inspired by some traditional, and some non-traditional, holidays.

Before the remaining 5 finalists board their flight, they're stopped at the airport by Ted Allen. He gives them the Jet Blue challenge. The finalists must come up with an innovative dish using ingredients from the many restaurants in Jet Blue's Terminal 5. Then they're off to Miami where they must cater a party for the glamorous people of South Beach's nightlife scene.

The 10 finalists arrive in NY and they are immediately thrown into their first challenge. They will be catering a press party celebrating Food Network's 16th year. This is their first chance to make a big impression, as they try to impress a room full of some of the biggest Food Network stars, Food Network staff, and national press.

Bobby Flay presents the finalists with the Yum-O challenge. They'll take "yuck-o" ingredients, and turn them into a appealing kid-friendly "yum-o" dish. Then the finalists are thrown into the studio - they'll have to perform their first demo in front of a live audience on the Rachael Ray show. Rachael tells them that the 5 finalists continuing on will travel to Miami for their next set of challenges.

The finalists find out that they'll be going to the studio of a local Miami morning show to perform live cooking demos. What they don't know is that the demos will be rigged to test their grace under pressure and ability to improvise. Then the finalists meet Chef Michael Symon, and he challenges them to create innovative seafood dishes right on the beach.

Bobby Flay tells the finalists to create their own innovative twist on the traditional hamburger in only 20 minutes. Then Guy Fieri presents the main challenge at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum. They'll be throwing a homecoming party for returning soldiers from Iraq and they each must create an all-American dish.

The final 3 meet Emeril Lagasse at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival to shoot scripted promos for their Food Network shows. Then Emeril gives them their toughest challenge yet - they will create and present a 3-course meal to the culinary elite at a private VIP dinner party in celebration of the film Julie and Julia.

Tyler Florence tests Finalists' culinary skills doing videos for foodnetwork.com. Then Iron Chef Michael Symon challenges Finalists to create unique seafood dishes-and serve to a ship full of Coast Guardsmen. Winning dish gets on the menu at Red Lobster!

Iron Chef Cat Cora challenges Finalists to describe food enticingly for the camera-only they've never seen the dishes before. Then Finalists must team up to make easy versions of extremely complicated dishes. The winning dish gets featured in Bon Appetit.

The final contenders face off at Food Network, performing pilot presentations of their dream shows. All the Finalists return and join a live audience to find out who will be The Next Food Network Star.

Robert Irvine gives Finalists a rude awakening at 2 am, as they team up and race across Manhattan in a test of their food knowledge. Then each team must prepare and serve an original brunch menu on a moving train. Winners are featured in USA Weekend.

Each Finalist is paired with an 8-year-old Girl Scout, for whom they must invent a healthy and tasty meal. Then they learn they must demo this meal on the Rachael Ray show, with their Girl Scout, in front of a live studio audience.

Before they've even unpacked, the 10 finalists face their first on-camera challenge from Alton Brown. Then they must team up and cook for a really tough crowd-a table full of Food Network Stars.

Finalists must shoot scripted promos at iconic Vegas locations. Then they must each create a lavish buffet for the ultimate Vegas crowd —entertainers from famous Vegas shows and top Vegas chefs.

Finalists try to stand out from the pack using the same humble ingredient, a russet potato, and must present their dish to camera. Then they must invent an original food product, to be sampled and critiqued by 50 food buyers...and to surprise guest Martha Stewart.

Food Network’s Giada De Laurentiis puts the finalists’ presentation skills to the test, and the winner’s recipe wins the cover of Bon Appetit Magazine.

Giada De Laurentiis and Paula Deen challenge the finalists to create the ultimate comfort food and serve it to soldiers at Fort Dix.

NBA Legend Darryl “Chocolate Thunder” Dawkins joins last season’s winner Guy Fieri to test the finalists. First Dawkins challenges them to create an original chocolate dish. Then the finalists must each put a unique spin on a stadium food and serve their creations to the fans at a New Jersey Nets game. The fans vote on who has the tastiest dish.