Cookistry

All photos courtesy of Food Network

If you're a fan of the TV show The Next Food Network Star, you may have wondered what it's like to be on the show. I mean, we get to see what the producers and editors want us to see, but you know it's got to be different to be on the other side of the camera.

I had a chance to interview Jay Ducote, one of this year's contestants. Full disclosure: I've "known" Jay for quite a while, online, and I'm rooting for him to win. We belong to a blog group called Virtual Potluck, but we've never met, and until this phone call, we've never had a conversation that didn't involve typing at each other.

The folks at Food Network were nice enough to set up and interview, and I was armed with a few questions. Just like the guy you see on television, Jay was easy to talk to and super-nice. And I'm sure the ears at the network were listening in to make sure I didn't ask any questions about future episodes. You do know it's not a live show, right? It's filmed ahead and we're watching things that happened a while ago.

Jay originally auditioned for the Season 10 show, which was last year. He said he got pretty far through the interview process, but didn't make the cut. This year, he got a call back from the network who said that they had liked him the year before, and they encouraged him to apply again. Even though he was invited to apply, he said it was still a long process and a lot of interviews and paperwork.

So, it's not like you interview once and wait for the results. You go step by step by step, and then when the call comes, you have a short time to "put your life in order" so you can run off to be on the show. Jay said that he got the call while he was at a restaurant and while he couldn't say too much, he toasted his two employees and said, "Have fun running the business without me." Besides blogging at Bite and Booze, Jay does pop-up events and hosts a radio show. He also has his own line of barbecue sauce, and it's pretty darned good!

Jay and his sister had watched The Next Food Network Star together many times, and his brother also knew what the show was about, but his parents were a little more in the dark. He said that his mom had never actually seen the show, and his dad might never have seen the Food Network at all. Once he told them the news, his mom watched the previous year's episodes to get an idea what her son would be facing. I'm pretty sure they're both watching it every week now.

Of course we had to talk about cooking challenges, and Jay said that the hardest one for him was the restaurant challenge, for two reasons. First, it was the only challenge where he had to collaborate with someone on a single dish. There were other team challenges, but in those, people worked on their own dishes. In the restaurant challenge, the two contestants had to collaborate and create a single cohesive dish.

The other reason it was hard, he said, was because it was done in a commercial restaurant kitchen, and that's not something he's used to. The equipment is much different from home cooking, and the space was small and cramped.

The Food Network Star kitchen certainly isn't like anyone's house, but he said it was nice because it was so roomy, and the equipment was more like something high-end home cook would have, so it was easier to work with.

What about that equipment? What cooking things did Jay wish he could have brought home with him?

"They had a really good selection of cast iron Dutch ovens and skillets," Jay said, and noted that if you watch closely, that's pretty much what he goes for every time. Once, Dom beat him to the punch and got the cast iron skillets in the pizza challenge, and Jay's pizzas ended up with underdone crusts. I have to agree with Jay that when you need cast iron, you NEED cast iron!

Speaking of Dom, Jay said that Dom is one of the funniest people to be around when the cameras aren't rolling. While he seems shy on-camera, he's very fun when the contestants aren't competing.

Jay mentioned that he's made good friendships during the show, and that they continue to stay in touch, even though filming is over.

He also said that the contestants all had the attitude that they wanted to get ahead and to win by being the best they could be, and no one wanted to win because someone else screwed up. They were all cheering for each other, while also being competitive.

One big question is whether they all get to nosh on each others' food, and for the most part, they don't. Sometimes they will sample some component someone's dish in progress, if the other person asks for an opinion. But there were times when they didn't even get a chance to sample their own finished dish, like with the pizza challenge. They each made three pizzas for judging, and although they could taste the components as they made them, or perhaps a bit of topping that fell off, no one got a chance to try a slice of their own, or anyone else's pie. The judges were the only ones who got a chance to taste.

For some challenges, though, if there's leftover food after an event, they might have a chance to do some sampling, like at the Fourth of July event where teams had food that wasn't served to guests. But it doesn't happen often.

When it comes to best and worst dishes, Jay said that his gumbo will probably live in infamy, but it truly wasn't as bad as it was made to seem. Bobby Flay said that the flavors was good, but the dish was "murky."

Jay explained that he was going for a slimy dish, since that was his challenge. He chose to do gumbo because okra can be slimy. He said that what he ended up with was more of a stew than a soup, but he said it wasn't as bad as it looked. Still, if he had a chance to do it over again, he would like a chance to re-do that dish and get it right - even if he only had 45 minutes.

As far as dishes he liked, the outdoor cooking and grilling events were the most comfortable for him, and he chose the Fourth of July event as his ultimate favorite. His steak was well-liked, he redeemed himself with the okra, and he did a great job with his presentation. For a non-grilled recipe, he was very happy with his crazy calamari dish that had to incorporate pink lemonade and the color black as part of the improv challenge.

A really tough challenge for almost everyone was the grocery swap challenge. Jay said that he was happy with what he got (Dom's beautiful steaks) but other contestants "were dumbfounded" when they had to cook with things that other people had shopped for. It was particularly hard for Rue, who had chosen South African spices to match her point of view - and when she lost all those spices to work with, she had to shift gears. And Dom is probably still looking for those steaks.

Jay said that watching the show on TV doesn't "do justice for how challenging and how crazy it is." The contestants don't have a clue what they will be doing ahead of time. "It's not like you have two days to think about making pizza," he said. The challenges are described, and the countdown starts, just like you see it on TV.

For those who want to consider applying for the show, Jay said that most people know they need cooking skills, but many lack the necessary presentation skills. Very crucial is the internal clock that allows you to know how long 30 seconds or 1 minute or 4 minutes is, so you can pace yourself and "wrap it up and get out on time."

Considering how many of the contestants leave dead air after they're done talking, or who are mid-sentence when the camera stops rolling, that's very good advice.

Another important thing is to know your cooking point of view. Jay said he was surprised that some people had no specific point of view and just said, "I like to cook everything." The network isn't looking for that - they're looking for people with a very specific point of view - not necessarily a gimmick or recipes based on geography - but a theme that works for the person, their stories, and their recipes.

Based on what I've seen so far (just on TV, I don't get any special viewings), this year's cast definitely has cooking chops. Jay said that the judges often commented on how good this year's cast is and how good the food has been from everyone. As far as Jay's recipes, I wandered through his blog to see if he might have a gumbo hiding there. I didn't find one, but I think I'd be even more happy with the crawfish rolls he recently posted.

Jay didn't even hint at what might happen in upcoming episodes, but I know that I'm glued to the TV every Sunday until it's over. How about you?

Back in 2011, I was one of a group of bloggers chosen by a book publisher to promote one of Emeril Lagasse's books.

At that time, it was a really big deal for me to get chosen for something like that. And it was the first time I worked that closely with other food bloggers.

It was a lot of fun and a lot of work, but the best part of the whole experience was working with some great bloggers,

When it was over, it got even better, because some of the bloggers who participated in that book promotion decided to virtually hang around together and work on our own group posts.

That group became Virtual Potluck and Jay Ducote was one of those bloggers.

Flash forward to 2015, and Jay is still part of our group, but he's also been a very busy guy, working on a lot of other things. He launched his own barbecue sauce, which I had a chance to try recently.


It was really good on ribs. I made these very simply, with a little smoke and no other spices or flavors, so I could really taste the sauce. It was a nice mix of sweet and heat.


And he has wine as well. And I don't know what else. Like I said, he's been a very busy guy.

But this isn't about Jay's product lines. It's about Jay's participation on The Next Food Network Star.

This year's competition premieres on Sunday, June 7, and for sure I'll be watching to cheer Jay on ... virtually, of course. Yelling at my TV isn't very useful.

I have no inside information on the show, but Jay has a lot of things going for him. He's a blogger, but he has also worked at events in front of people, so that should help him when he needs to do presentations.. And he's got strong ties to Louisiana, which will probably inform his culinary point of view, which is very important to the judges.

And, since he has commercial products, he should be good at packaging and pitching a product, even if it's not the same as the ones he has now.

I think he has a pretty good chance of going far in the competition - and I'm rooting for him to win. How cool would that be?

Jay Ducote on the set of The Next Food Network Star. Photo courtesy of Jay.

How about you? Could he be YOUR next Food Network Star?

There's only one thing left to say, and it's a New Orleans thing:


Yeah, it looks weird to me too. Go, Jay!

For more about Jay, check out what other Virtual Potluck friends posted:

• Diabetic Foodie
• 30AEATS
• Cookistry
• Food Hunter's Guide to Cuisine
• Miss in the Kitchen
• Thyme in Our Kitchen
• Rachel Cooks
• GrooVy Foody
• Foodie

Photo courtesy of ABC

Monday is President's Day, which is typically not a big food holiday, right? But on the Chew, ABC's daytime food/talk show, the crew dressed up to celebrate.

From left to right, we have Chef Michael Symon as President Harry Truman; Chef Mario Batali as Benjamin Franklin; Chef Carla Hall as Phillis Wheatley; Daphne Oz as President Abraham Lincoln and Clinton Kelly as President George Washington.

I have to say that Batali does a pretty good Benjamin Franklin. On the other hand, I think Symon looks more like a mobster than a president. Who am I thinking of? Al Capone, maybe?

Besides the silliness, there will be a taped interview with White House Chef Chris Comerford.

Okay, I'm amused.

Right now, I'm reading Bobby Flay's Throwdown. What, you don't read cookbooks? You cook from them?

Well, that's interesting...

First, let me admit that I'm a fan of Throwdown on the Food Network. While there's not a whole lot of technique, cooking instruction or exact measurements on the show, you get a pretty good idea of what the two competitors are putting into their dishes, and you get to see what the differences are when they're done. And you get comments from the judges.

Bobby Flay usually goes off on some strange tangent and adds non-traditional things to traditional dishes, while the competitors stick to what made them special in the first place. And Bobby usually loses because the local judges can't get around his odd riffs on their favorite foods.

I like traditional foods, but I also love messing around with recipes. There's a place for both.

And this cookbook gives you both.

After browsing through the book a dozen times, I couldn't figure out which recipe I wanted to make. For every recipe, I was waffling back and forth. I like this on Bobby's recipe, and I like that on the competitor's recipe. I don't like this ingredient in Bobby's recipe, but I wish the competitor had that item that Bobby used.

Or I'd like one whole recipe, but realize that some ingredient isn't readily available where I live. That's no fun. And with my luck, the difficult ingredient usually played a significant role. Not a big deal if I'm planning on cooking dinner, but a little more annoying if I'm cooking something so I could review it.

I usually don't publish press releases here, but this one amuses the heck out of me. In March, Chopped contestants are going to be some names you might know - including some of the Chopped judges. And some Food Network Regulars, too.

I'll be looking forward to this one.

Here's the what the press release said:

A Chopped event like no other, Chopped All-Stars features unbeatable drama, a $50,000 charitable cash prize and 16 celebrated chefs familiar to Food Network fans. In this fierce five-part competition hosted by Ted Allen, premiering March 6 at 9pm ET/PT, four chefs go head-to-head in each round with an unthinkable array of mystery basket ingredients.

The champion from each round advances to the finale for a chance at taking home the prize and coveted title. From teething biscuits and rabbit kidneys to dried hibiscus flowers and cobia, these chefs must crank up the heat and get creative to avoid the chopping block.

I'm a huuuuuuge Alton Brown fan, so when I found out that he had a new cookbook out, I had to get my paws on it. Good Eats 2: The Middle Years now sits nicely on the shelf right next to Good Eats: The Early Years.

Just like the first book, The Middle Years is all about the recipes from the TV series, but unlike the downloadable recipes on the Food Network site, there are tidbits about the shows, and a good sprinkling of the science and the detailed explanations of how and why things work. And there's a good bit of humor, too. When you least expect it, he tosses in a quick little one-liner, then goes back to business. Just like the show.

With any new cookbook, the tough decision is what to make first. Should it be something complicated, or should it be something simple? Savory or sweet? Something I'm familiar with or something completely new?

In the end, I settled for something simple and sweet. After all, Valentine's Day is just around to corner, so sweets are very appropriate.

At this time of year I should already have my Christmas wish list compiled, but it's getting to the point that there's not much else that I want, much less need, in my kitchen.

That's what I think until I go browsing websites. Then I get the "Oh, I like that" reaction when I see something I hadn't thought about before. I try avoid temptation, but it's danged easy to wander from looking at cooking shows and recipes on the Food Network to shopping there.

Yes, that's the place where all of my favorite and un-favorite Food Network personalities are gathered together in one big marketplace.

Sigh. It's just too much fun to go from one cooking celeb to the other, to browse the bakeware, and pretend I'm immune to all of the glitz and spritz and shiny sharp things. But then I saw it.

IT!!!

But first, the history. The predecessor. The prelude...

The very first episode of Good Eats I ever saw (we were a little slow getting cable) was when Alton Brown was drying herbs using a box fan and furnace filters. I was fascinated. And then I was hooked. I taped his shows, I watched reruns, I copied recipes off the Food Network site, and I made ALL THREE VERSIONS of his chocolate chip cookies.

When it first came out, I got Alton Brown's book Good Eats: The Early Years because of course I had to have it. Had to. I read it from cover to cover, laughing at the little bits from the episodes and giddy to have those recipes all in one place, along with all the tips and factoids and humor. Gah. I'm such a geek-fan.

When I perused the recipes with a more serious focus, and I found his potato soup recipe. I've made a lot of potato soup. I've made a lot of potato leek soup. I know I watched the episode where this soup was introduced, but I never thought about making the soup. Yeah, I enjoyed watching the episode and I probably learned something obscure about potatoes, but I didn't go look up the recipe because potato soup is so easy.

But when I saw it in the cookbook, it intrigued me because it had a few ingredients that I never thought about using. So I made the soup. It was different from my usual, but really good.

er ... Eats.

When I got to the end of the book, I was sad. Because there were MORE EPISODES that weren't written about. I wanted more Good Eats. More! More! More! Hi, my name is Donna and I am a cookbook addict... with the patience of a toddler.

Okay, yeah, I knew there had to be another book in the works because of the subtitle. And this year, I sort of knew the book was out, but I had other things on my mind ... and then there it was for sale, like geeky manna from Gutenberg: Good Eats 2: The Middle Years.

Sigh. I really don't need another cookbook. Want is a whole 'nother thing.

The Next Iron Chef, Season 3, begins on October 3.

Okay, I'll admit it. In my dreams, I compete in Kitchen Stadium.

If there ever was a chance for home cooks to battle it out in that venue, I'd be all over it. I recently went to a casting call for The Next Food Network Star (nothing came of it; let's not get excited) and in my far-fetched dreams, I was thinking that one of the biggest thrills of the competition would be to compete in the mini-Iron Chef challenge.

I'm really that much of an Iron Chef geek.

I know there's no chance I'd ever compete there outside my fantasies, but a girl can dream.

Meanwhile, reality says that there's a new Next Iron Chef competition coming up. The list of chefs is interesting: Marco Canora (Chef & Owner of Hearth, Terrior, and Terroir TriBeca, in New York), Bryan Caswell (Chef & Owner, Reef, Stella Sola, and Little Bigs, in Houston, Texas), Maneet Chauhan (Chef at Vermillion, in Chicago and New York), Mary Dumont (Executive Chef at Harvest, in Cambridge, Mass.), Duskie Estes (Chef & Owner of Zazu Restaurant + Farm, Bovolo, and Black Pig Meat Co., in Sonoma County, Calif.), Marc Forgione (Chef & Owner of Marc Forgione, in New York), Andrew Kirschner (Executive Chef of Wilshire, in Santa Monica, Calif.), Mario Pagán (Chef & Owner of Chayote and Lemongrass, in Puerto Rico), Celino Tio (Chef & Owner of Julian, in Kansas City, Mo.), and Ming Tsai  (Chef & Owner of Blue Ginger, in Wellesley, Mass.).

My immediate thought was that one chef was not like all the others. While some of the restaurants and chefs were sort of familiar to me, Ming Tsai is very familiar. He's had his own television shows. He has appeared on other shows. This is a guy who could probably walk into the Food Network and create his own show tomorrow. So why is he competing to be an Iron Chef?

Maybe it's not just me who thinks the show is cool. Maybe chefs think it is too - even famous chefs?

So folks, are you going to watch it? Are there any chefs that you're rooting for? Me, I'm rooting for Ming, but I'll have to see how the others stack up. I wasn't on the Michael Symon bandwagon initially, but since then I've come to really like they guy. And having him as a judge on The Next Iron Chef will make the show even better for me. I love his giggle.

I've often wondered what TV personalites are like when they're off camera. I got my chance to peek into that world when I met Janet Johnston, the host of the Food Network show Spice & Easy and one of the owners of Savory Spice Shop.

On camera, I thought Janet's personality was a nice mix of food passion and quirkiness that made her easy to watch. When she was explaining the spices, she was serious, but she often tossed in oddball comments that were too spontaneous and natural to be scripted.

I couldn't wait to meet her, and I wasn't disappointed when we met at the Boulder location of Savory Spice Shop. In person, Janet was as funny, quirky, and serious - sometimes all in the same sentence - as she was on TV.

Janet said that she came into cooking later in life, through her husband, Mike. "I caught the food bug from him" she said. But that it is now a passion for both of them. "We're spice geeks, foodies...and we love the shop."