By Cara Sprunk
4:42am PDT, Aug 21, 2020
Giada De Laurentiis has been on the Food Network since her show "Everyday Italian" premiered in 2003. She's gone on to host shows and specials including "Giada's Weekend Getaways," "Giada in Paradise" and "Giada Entertains." Her goal was never to become a television chef. "My family was in the movie business, so I was never interested in that world. I had been helping my friend who was a food stylist and, well, I really basically got my break from Food & Wine," she told the magazine in 2016. "I was styling for one of F&W's Thanksgiving shoots, and […] an executive at the Food Network found the article and read the recipes and called me up saying he was looking to do an Italian cooking show and asked if I had experience. He said he had seen my recipes and seen me but didn't know how I'd be on camera, so he asked me to put together a demo. Nine months later I did it, and 'Everyday Italian' was born — purely accidentally." In honor of the chef's 50th birthday on Aug. 22, 2020, Wonderwall.com is taking a look at some of our favorite Food Network stars. Keep reading to see who else we love to watch cook…
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Rachael Ray has been cooking on the Food Network since "30 Minute Meals" premiered in November 2001. She continued the super-popular show until 2012, paused for seven years, then revived it in 2019. She's also headed up shows like "Rachael Ray's Week in a Day," "Rachael Ray's 3 in the Bag" and "Rachael Ray's Kids Cook-Off." She's reportedly amassed a fortune worth nearly $80 million due in large part to the popularity of her Food Network shows.
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Anthony Bourdain began hosting on television with the show "A Cook's Tour," which ran on the Food Network between 2002 and 2003. He then moved on to other networks — he filmed Travel Channel's "No Reservations" and CNN's "Parts Unknown" — before his tragic suicide in June 2018.
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Australian chef Curtis Stone has appeared on many Food Network shows during his time in the culinary spotlight including "Kitchen Inferno," "Beach Eats USA" and "Guilty Pleasures." Curtis is an equal opportunist as far as food-themed television goes: He's gone on to judge and host cooking shows on channels like NBC with "America's Next Great Restaurant" and FOX with "My Kitchen Rules."
Paula Deen is the queen of Southern cuisine on the Food Network. She began appearing on the channel in 1999 and was given her own show, "Paula's Home Cooking," in 2002. Her popularity led to two more shows, "Paula's Party" and "Paula's Best Dishes." A 2013 controversy around her past use of racial slurs resulted in Food Network cutting ties with the butter-loving chef.
Emeril Lagasse is a Food Network OG. He started on the network with his 1993 show "How to Boil Water," which he hosted until 1995. He then scored the shows "Essence of Emeril" followed by "Emeril Live" in the '90s. The chef, who's a master of Creole and Cajun cooking, has appeared on other shows and networks since including Hallmark Channel, Discovery Channel and Bravo as a judge on "Top Chef."
Bobby Flay has done it all on Food Network, hosting a wide variety of cooking shows and specials including "Beat Bobby Flay," "Barbecue Addiction: Bobby's Basics" and "Brunch @ Bobby's." He's said that what he loves best about being on television is being able to reach and teach lots of people. "Whether it's a small little tip or a full meal or somewhere in the middle, I think it's good to be able to inspire people to cook food like you do," he told Food & Wine in 2015.
In 2006, Guy Fieri won "The Next Food Network Star," which resulted in a six-episode run of his own show, "Guy's Big Bites." His popularity grew and in 2007, he premiered "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," which catapulted him to network stardom. He went on to add more shows to his resume including "Guy Off the Hook," "Dinner: Impossible" and "Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off" with Rachael Ray.
Cat Cora was the first female Iron Chef on Food Network's "Iron Chef America" in 2005 and she stayed on the show for 10 seasons. She also appears on "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" and "Chopped" on Food Network. Off-network, she's co-hosted FOX's "My Kitchen Rules" and Bravo's "Around the World in 80 Plates."
Buddy Valastro was the king of baking on TLC until he finally got a show on the Food Network with "Buddy vs. Duff," which saw him compete against Duff Goldman to see which man was the "undisputed king of cake." The "Cake Boss" star also hosts "Bake You Rich" on the network, where bakers compete to have their creations produced and sold by the Cake Boss mogul.
"Barefoot Contessa" is the oldest show on the Food Network: It's been running since November 2002 with Ina Garten at the helm. Ina specializes primarily in French cuisine but over two decades, she's mixed in American, British, Italian and even Asian dishes. Ina is the definition of a Food Network star: She's taken home three daytime Emmys (over seven nominations) for her work on the show.
Ayesha Curry hosts "Ayesha's Home Kitchen" on the Food Network, where she shares what she cooks for her NBA star husband, Stephen Curry, and their three kids. "I was always in the kitchen, whether it was with my mom, or my grandma, my dad, my siblings," she told The Charlotte Observer of her childhood in 2017. "In all of the spare time that I had, I would always cook for my friends and my family; it was kind of my way of pulling my weight around at home."
British chef Jamie Oliver hosts "Jamie at Home" on Food Network and has also syndicated many of his British cooking shows on the channel. For "Jamie at Home," the chef focuses on a specific ingredient and a range of recipes you can use it in, educating viewers about unique uses. In 2019, the network acquired a number of his shows that ran in the U.K. including "Jamie's Ultimate Christmas."
Anne Burrell hosts "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" and co-hosts "Worst Cooks in America" on the Food Network. She's also appeared on the "Iron Chef" franchise as a sous chef for Mario Batali (her first foray on the network) and as a contestant on "The Next Iron Chef."
Katie Lee has hosted "The Kitchen" — Food Network's cooking-themed talk show — since 2014. "I don't ever think of it as one person being in the spotlight," Katie told the network's Star Talk blog in 2015 of the show, which also features Sunny Anderson and Jeff Mauro. "We really are a collaborative group, and I think that when one of us looks good, we all look good. So it's about lifting each other up and having a good time. There are definitely moments where you have to take control, like if you're doing the demo; then it becomes yours because it's your recipe, but it's still about interacting with each other, and with our audience and viewers."
Duff Goldman's cakes have blown audiences away since 2006. The pastry chef began on the Food Network that year with "Ace of Cakes," which showcased his Baltimore-based Charm City Cakes and their works of art masquerading as dessert. The show was a hit, and Duff has parlayed his expertise in the final course into a number of other Food Network shows like "Dessert Games," "Worst Bakers in America" and "Holiday Baking Championship."
Italian chef Mario Batali has been a Food Network star since 1996 when he starred on his culinary tour of Italy, "Molto Mario," which ran until 2004. He continued on the network with shows and specials like "Mario Eats Italy," "Mario, FULL BOIL," and "Mediterranean Mario." The restaurateur faced multiple accusations of sexual assault in 2017 and has been off the air since.
Sunny Anderson hosts "The Kitchen" alongside Katie Lee as well as "Cooking for Real," "Home Made in America with Sunny Anderson" and "How'd That Get on My Plate?" "I always talk about food, so why not get paid for it, right?" she mused to the network's FN Dish blog in 2014 of her role on "The Kitchen."
Marc Summers has hosted television shows for a long time (who could forget Nickelodeon's "Double Dare"?!). He grew up with his audience and made the switch from the kids network to Food Network in 2001 with "Unwrapped" where, for 10 years, he explored kid-favorite foods like candy, cereal and snacks. He has since moved behind the camera with the network, executive producing "Dinner: Impossible" and "Restaurant: Impossible."
For 14 seasons, Alton Brown's Food Network show "Good Eats" explored science and techniques in cooking, cooking equipment and the history of different foods. It's the third longest running show on the network behind "30 Minute Meals" and "Barefoot Contessa." His popularity led to more shows on the network including "Feasting on Asphalt" and "Feasting on Waves." He also served as a host and commentator on "Cutthroat Kitchen" and "Iron Chef America."
