I had blogged before about the show “The Next Food Network Star.” I had never watched it until my husband pointed out it had a former marine as a contestant. Being a food show junkie, I decided to watch it and was immediately hooked!
Last night was the big finale. It was between two women – Rory Schepisi and Amy Finley. Rory’s point of view was Real Food for Real People and Amy’s point of view was the Gourmet Next Door. The finale was actually supposed to be between Rory and Joshua Adam Garcia (JAG) as Amy was eliminated the week prior to the finale. But, news came out that JAG falsely claimed he went to Afghanistan with the Marine Corps and graduated from culinary school. When confronted with the lies, he decided to resign, so Amy was brought back.
Last night, they brought back all the contestants. I had missed the first few episodes, so it was funny seeing some of the highlights. I cannot imagine how mortified Nikki was when she dropped food on Chef Bobby Flay – in fact, she still seemed embarrassed last night. And it was nice seeing the friendship between JAG and Paul. Paul was my favorite and I had really hoped he would win, but he rather fell apart during the commentary part of the Iron Chef Challenge in week 6.
What I found interesting is that I do not think it was revealed until last night that Rory had been on another reality show (CMT’s “Popularity Contest”) and that is how she ended up transplanting from New Jersey to a small town in Texas.
The winner last night was Amy, which I found a bit odd since Amy was eliminated and only brought back because JAG resigned. But then the voting was up to America, not those at Food Network. So for winning, Amy got a new ride and her own Food Network show. I think Amy will do a great job – I like her Gourmet Next Door approach and look forward to seeing her show on Food Network, which will premiere in October!