Food Network: Difference between revisions

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[[File:200px-Food_Network_Logo.svg.png|frame]]

Food Network is a cable network whose main topic is [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin|food, food and more food]] -- where to find it, how to prepare it, as well the people who do all the work behind the scenes. Founded in 1993 by the Providence Journal Company as the "TV Food Network" (this name was dropped in 1996 for the present one), FN was bought by the E.W. Scripps Company as a result of a trade with the A.H. Belo Corporation, who bought the Providence Journal Co. in 1997 (the trade was for the CBS station in San Antonio), and is co-owned with a few other channels: Home and Garden Television (or HGTV, which focuses on home improvement and construction, and was launched in 1994, three years before Scripps bought FN), DIY Network (a channel for do-it-yourselfers, launched in 1999), [[Cooking Channel]] (launched in 2002 as a general lifestyle channel called "Fine Living", it adopted its current name in May 2010), Great American Country (a country music channel inexplicably purchased by Scripps in 2004) and the Travel Channel (65% of which was bought from Cox Communications in 2009). FN and its siblings were spun off into "Scripps Networks Interactive" in 2008.

Food Network is a cable network whose main topic is [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin|food, food and more food]] -- where to find it, how to prepare it, as well the people who do all the work behind the scenes. Founded in 1993 by the Providence Journal Company as the "TV Food Network" (this name was dropped in 1996 for the present one), FN was bought by the E.W. Scripps Company as a result of a trade with the A.H. Belo Corporation, who bought the Providence Journal Co. in 1997 (the trade was for the CBS station in San Antonio), and is co-owned with a few other channels: Home and Garden Television (or HGTV, which focuses on home improvement and construction, and was launched in 1994, three years before Scripps bought FN), DIY Network (a channel for do-it-yourselfers, launched in 1999), [[Cooking Channel]] (launched in 2002 as a general lifestyle channel called "Fine Living", it adopted its current name in May 2010), Great American Country (a country music channel inexplicably purchased by Scripps in 2004) and the Travel Channel (65% of which was bought from Cox Communications in 2009). FN and its siblings were spun off into "Scripps Networks Interactive" in 2008.

FN rose to fame in the late 1990s, after picking up Emeril Lagasse's show ''Essence Of Emeril'' and its hit follow-on ''Emeril Live''; he was the face of the network for many years until [[Rachael Ray]] and ''30-Minute Meals'' came along. Also the network that was willing to take a chance on [[Good Eats|a certain offbeat cooking-science show]] back in 1999, as well as introducing most of the USA to ''[[Iron Chef]]'', a show whose exposure had been limited mainly to the Bay Area before then.

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* ''[[Ace of Cakes]]''

* ''[[~~Barefoot Contessa (TV)|~~Barefoot Contessa]]''

* ''[[Barefoot Contessa]]''

* ''[[Chopped]]''

* ''[[Cupcake Wars]]''

* ''[[Diners Drive Ins and Dives]]''

* ''[[Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives]]''

* ''[[Dinner Impossible]]''

* [[Giada De Laurentiis]]

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* ''[[The Next Food Network Star]]''

* [[Rachael Ray]]

* ''[[~~Restaurant Impossible (TV)|~~Restaurant Impossible]]''

* ''[[Restaurant Impossible]]''

* ''[[~~Sweet Genius (TV)|~~Sweet Genius]]''

* ''[[Sweet Genius]]''

* [[Adored By the Network]]: Many examples. Given that cooking/travel/reality shows can be produced relatively quickly, its easy for the network to air their shows noon and night until the audience finally gets used to, or sick of them.

* [[Adored by the Network]]: Many examples. Given that cooking/travel/reality shows can be produced relatively quickly, its easy for the network to air their shows noon and night until the audience finally gets used to, or sick of them.

** Episodes of ''30 Minute Meals'' and ''40 Dollars A Day'' were on constant repeat shortly before [[Rachael Ray]] got her own talk show.

** Once the network discovered Guy Fieri may have a chance among the much-coveted young male [[Demographic]], they began to run his shows constantly. If you tune in to Food Network at any given time these days, chances are that they're showing ''Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives,'' or are about to start showing it within an hour.

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* [[Drill Sergeant Nasty]]: Robert Irvine, mainly in ''Restaurant: Impossible'' where he often ends up delivering [["The Reason You Suck" Speech]] to various people with failing restaurants. The fact that he used to be in the British Navy, and in fact got his start as a chef there, certainly helps.

* [[Fag Hag]]: Ina Garten. Her parties are attended almost entirely by her gay friends.

* [[Fan Service ~~With~~ a Smile]]: [[Giada De Laurentiis]] is known for this.

* [[Fan Service with a Smile]]: [[Giada De Laurentiis]] is known for this.

* [[Fiery Redhead]]: Bobby Flay.

* [[Fighting Irish]]: Again, Bobby Flay. Besides having a rather feisty and spirited personality, he also says that when he was a teenager he frequently got into fights and hung out with a group of other tough guys before getting involved in the food industry and turning his life around.

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** [[Fetish Fuel|Disturbingly close to literal porn]] with some of Giada's and Rachel's quasi-orgasmic tasting shots.

** ''Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives'', with some of the most surreal junkfood you'll ever see.

** ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'', which features Food Network personalities and colleagues rhapsodizing about [[Exactly What It Says On the Tin]].

** ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'', which features Food Network personalities and colleagues rhapsodizing about [[Exactly What It Says on the Tin]].

** ''Emeril Live'' [[Catch Phrase|took this up a notch]] this for 60 minute food "live sex show", featuring "ohh"s and "ah"s from the audience. [[Egregious|Egregiously]] so when he added a great deal of butter or garlic and the camera cut to a closeup of someone reacting in the audience..

** Alex Guarnaschelli takes it to an even more disturbing level. Virtually every sentence she speaks describing food is practically dripping with a sensuous tone of voice, and [[Purple Prose|such admiring physical descriptions of the food]] that she makes it sound like it's a person that she wants to date, rather than a piece of food. Her orgasmic facial expressions when describing the food just make it worse.

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* [[Ms. Fanservice]]: [[Giada De Laurentiis]], Aida Mollenkamp, [[Rachael Ray]], and, [[Mr. Fanservice|gender-flipped]], [[Dinner Impossible|Robert Irvine]]. And, as of her second season, apparently Claire Robinson as well.

* [[Motor Mouth]]: Ever heard Rachael's voice?

** During the ICA battle where Flay and Giada went up against Rachael and Batali, [[Fark]] [[In Joke|warned the]] [[Memetic Mutation|kitten population]] [[A Date ~~With~~ Rosie Palms|to be on alert]].

** During the ICA battle where Flay and Giada went up against Rachael and Batali, [[Fark]] [[In Joke|warned the]] [[Memetic Mutation|kitten population]] [[A Date with Rosie Palms|to be on alert]].

* [[Pretty Fly for A White Guy]]; Guy Fieri describes his look as [[Xtreme Kool Letterz|"kulinary gangsta,"]]. The loud clothing and the sunglasses seem to indicate something closer to "skater", or perhaps "midlife crisis."

* [[Pretty Fly for a White Guy]]; Guy Fieri describes his look as [[Xtreme Kool Letterz|"kulinary gangsta,"]]. The loud clothing and the sunglasses seem to indicate something closer to "skater", or perhaps "midlife crisis."

* [[Purple Prose]]: ''The Best Thing I Ever Ate'' basically encourages all the FN stars to go on and use [[Purple Prose]] to describe various dishes. Alex Guarnaschelli is ''by far'' the most egregious though, both there and on her own show as well.

* [[Sassy Black Woman]]: Gina Neely. Stereotypes? You're soaking in it.

* [[Science Show]]: ''[[Good Eats]]'', ''Food Detectives'', and ''Ask Aida''.

* [[Screwed By the Network]]: Sara Moulton was a highly qualified, well-versed chef who cut her teeth working with Julia Child and quick enough to host a live call in cooking show when the network was just getting started. Later she was axed and had to leave for PBS when the network [[Network Decay|decided against more technically-based shows]] [[Viewers are Morons|in favor of marketable personalities and reality programing.]]

* [[Screwed by the Network]]: Sara Moulton was a highly qualified, well-versed chef who cut her teeth working with Julia Child and quick enough to host a live call in cooking show when the network was just getting started. Later she was axed and had to leave for PBS when the network [[Network Decay|decided against more technically-based shows]] [[Viewers are Morons|in favor of marketable personalities and reality programing.]]

* [[Ship Tease]] / [[Foe Yay]]:

** Alton and W on ''[[Good Eats]]''. Despite the former being, y'know, ''married''.