TVSquad

Alton Brown is a unique commodity on Food Network. In an environment where most of the action is in front of the stove or above the cutting board, Brown's Good Eats takes us beyond that. Sometimes it's to the origins of the food or the recipe; other times it's into the science of how all of the ingredients of a particular combination of foods work together. He does this with a bit of nerdiness, a bit of hipness, and a good amount of humor.

When he took his love for food on the road in the first Feasting on Asphalt it produced a very successful mini-series that showed the non-corporate side of America's eateries. It also showed us some of the small cities and towns, and their personalities, that we don't normally see off of the interstate at our Applebee's booth.

Now, his second series of Asphalt is out on DVD. While not as fresh as the first series (and, what is the second time around?) it is still a fascinating look into the America that has been nearly forgotten as the corporations took over the country. You'll want to savor this journey because, frankly, that's about all there is in this 3-DVD set.

Food Network has been smarting from the debacle involving Robert Irvine, the former host of Dinner: Impossible. Now, the other shoe has dropped in the kitchen. Food Network announced that Michael Symon will replace Chef Irvine on Dinner: Impossible. This should be a piece of cake -- ha, ha, food metaphor -- for Chef Symon. He has already competed for a major role at Food Network and won. He's one of the Iron Chefs, having defeated all challengers in last seasons on air contest.

Since that victory last summer, he has joined Mario Batali, Cat Cora, Bobby Flay and Masaharu Morimoto as a member of the home team on Iron Chef America. He's been cooking in Kitchen Stadium along with the rest of the gang.

Chef Symon owns the Lola and Lolita restaurants in Cleveland, Ohio, and is a graduate from The Culinary Institute of America. After the Food Network's experience with Chef Robert Irvine, it's safe to say that Michael Symon's resume has been fully vetted.

A day hasn't gone by where we haven't received some sort of tip or email asking us, the TV Squad, how to get on [insert reality show here]. Unfortunately no, Simon Cowell does not work for us, and Donald Trump isn't my BFF, so we really can't help all that much.

The folks at RealityWanted.com often send us a list of new and existing reality shows that are looking for new, er, talent, and they've given us permission to make mention of them here. We'll try to make this a regular feature as often as we get a new list.

This time we have Styledome, High School Musical: Summer Session and other new shows.

Move over, Rachael Ray! Another Food Network bird is straying for the nest to try her wings in syndication. Southern diva Paula Deen is readying a daytime cooking show for syndication in 2009. She also following Rachael's lead by not giving up her secure and lucrative connection to Food Network. Her Paula's Home Cooking and Paula's Party programs will remain Food Network staples.

The challenge for Paula will be coming up with a show that's not simply an echo of her other two shows. Unlike Rachael, who does a full-fledged talk show with a cooking segment, Paula's new effort is being called a "cooking" show. That could be limiting.

Al Roker is in final negotiations to host the NBC celebrity edition of Family Feud, the one that we wrote about recently as a summer series on the Peacock.

Roker, currently the main weatherman and easy-going interviewer on Today (the first three hours at least!), would seem a perfect fit for this job. He's friendly, funny, personable and has a high recognizability/likability rating. He's also busy on the dial with Food Network shows, both producing and hosting. In fact, in 2006 his production company put out Celebrity Food Fights, about competing celebs -- not unlike Family Feud concept -- for Food Network.

They're cooking up a new show for Bobby Flay, the Food Network chef who is quickly becoming the boy who just can't say no. The guy is cooking everywhere -- CBS' Early Show, Boy Meets Grill, Throwdown with Bobby Flay and, of course, he's one of the principals on Iron Chef America. And that doesn't include reruns of BBQ with Bobby Flay. But it's clearly not enough.

Remember when you were young and your parents told you things like "cheaters never prosper"? Well, it's true. (All right, not all the time, but at least this time!) As TV Squad reported recently, Chef Robert Irvine, star of Food Network's Dinner: Impossible, has been hoist on his own petard. Now that the truth is out -- that he lied and padded his resume -- the network has dumped him. His fire has been extinguished. Dinner: Impossible will go on, but not with Chef Irvine as chief cook and chef extraordinaire.

Food Network president Brooke Johnson said in a statement, "We appreciate Robert's remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host."

Just a few weeks ago, TV Squad reported that Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia acquired Emeril Lagasse's media properties. Now, the Bam-man will be starring in a new daily cooking show. Celebrity chef and restauranteur Emeril Lagasse will star in Emeril Green, a show that will be shot entirely at Whole Foods Market. The enterprise will be shot in front of a live audience, and will air on Planet Green, Discovery Communications' new 24/7 eco-lifestyle television network, PG launches in June 2008 with a bunch of new shows, including Emeril Green which will launch in July.

You'd think by now that people would know better. Embellishing a resume, adding credits that are the work of a vivid imagination rather than hard work... they're bound to be unearthed someday. Especially if you're a success. The latest prevaricator caught in a series of lies is Food Network's British chef Robert Irvine. In a scathing expose by the St. Petersburg Times, the star of Dinner: Impossible, has been caught with egg on his face. Make that more like egg salad. Multiple claims by Irvine, including creating Princess Diana's wedding cake, cooking for White House dinners, being knighted by the queen, and more, have turned out to be tall tales.

How's this for a winning recipe? Domestic diva Martha Stewart has snagged superchef Emeril Lagasse for her empire. Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. announced today the acquisition of Emeril's franchise -- all those cookbooks, kitchen products and TV shows in which he stars -- for $45 million in cash and $5 million in stock at closing. That $50 million could swell by $20 million more if "if certain benchmarkets are achieved."

Martha's purchase, however, does not include Emeril's Homebase, which includes the chef's 11 stellar restaurants, including Emeril's New Orleans and Delmonico's Steakhouse in Las Vegas.

The Food Network is making headlines lately! They have not renewed Emeril Lagasse's nightly Live show and recently declined carrying Mario Batali's new series. So, who does the Food Network want? Apparently, they want Alton Brown who they just signed to a three year deal. Brown will continue to host Iron Chef America, continue to produce and host his show Good Eats, and he's getting a new show called Feasting on Waves (a follow-up to Feasting on Asphalt).

Why so much Alton? The Food Network is aggressively pushing for a younger audience. Bob Tuschman, Senior VP, said that their campaign is working citing that the average age of the network's audience dropped from 50 in 2003 to 46 in 2007. Wow, what a big drop! (Note the sarcasm.)

Fans of Rachael Ray rejoice! Haters of Rachael Ray can continue to seethe a bit more.

The enormously chipper Ray, who is all over television and the print media these days, has just signed on for another two years at Food Network. In addition to her very popular 30 Minute Meals program (60 episodes per year, as opposed to a previous 80 per year) Ray will host a new program titled Rachael's Vacation, which will have Rachael traveling around the world showing viewers her favorite sites, restaurants, and markets. Frankly, this seems like a combination of $40 a Day and Rachael's Tasty Travels, just without the budget.

AOL TV releases their next ten Sexiest Women of TV this week. I figured I would add some more of my own television hotties to the list. For my list, I decided to pay homage to some of the beautiful hosts of Do-It-Yourself television (networks like Food Network, Fine Living, and The Discovery Channel).

You may think that this list is way too obscure. But these men and women and totally hot and they teach us how to do stuff like make roasted asparagus or build rocking chairs or pick a color scheme for our homes. I think they deserve some attention.

Feel free to add your own favorite Do-It-Yourself Hottie in the comments. (By the way, my picks are in no particular order. I just couldn't choose who I liked the best.)

Jamie Oliver, a favorite of many Food Network lovers, will be returning "home" with his new show to air in January. Probably most famous for his show The Naked Chef, Jamie's new show will be called Jamie at Home. Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming for Food Network, explains: "His new show focuses on recipes that are quick, fresh, inventive and easy to recreate at home."

The show will follow Oliver around his home in England and feature him preparing meals with produce from his own country garden. Each episode will feature a different ingredient from Oliver's kitchen garden. Oliver will show viewers a variety of recipes that focus on that ingredient.

Jamie at Home premieres on Food Network on Saturday, January 12 at 9:30 a.m. ET/PT as part of Food Network's "In the Kitchen" line-up.

Food uber-nerd Alton Brown is heading back on the road starting this weekend in a new series of Feasting on Asphalt adventures. However, instead of traversing the back-roads of America like he did in last year's series, Alton will be going up the river.

The Mississippi River, to be precise. In Feasting on Asphalt 2: The River Run, premiering August 4th at 9:00 pm on The Food Network, the host of Good Eats and his cast of not many journey the length of Mightily Mississip in search of honest to goodness road food. They begin their adventure at the mouth of the Gulf of Mexico, stopping along the way to dine on crawfish, alligator, fried chicken, chicken livers, tamales, donuts and authentic home-cooked favorites.