What happens when a popular restaurant needs a new head chef? For some, the answer is to put in a call to Carrie McCully, a chef recruiter. Considering America's fascination with the restaurant biz, it's no surprise that what McCully does has become the focal point of a new Food Network show, "Chef Hunter." more ›

We visited former LAist writer Aarti Sequeira on the set of her Food Network show "Aarti Party,"--now in its third season--to find out what life after winning The Next Food Network Star and being a popular Food Network personality was like. more ›

Food trucks owe a great deal of their popularity to Twitter, since the social media site is arguably the most efficient way to get the word out about a lunch, dinner, snack, or event serving stop. But for the second season of The Food Network's "The Great Food Truck Race," Twitter might be the extra ingredient that's spoiling the brouhaha. more ›

48-year-old Juan Carlos Cruz was arrested by Santa Monica police in May when two homeless men reported being offered $500 to kill Cruz's 47-year-old wife, attorney Jennifer L. Campbell. Today, the former Hotel Bel-Air pastry chef, Food Network “Calorie Commando” host and twice published cookbook author was sentenced to nine years in prison Monday after pleading no contest. more ›

LA's favorite Indian food guru Aarti Sequeira (yep, she used to write for LAist) sets off on a new adventure today with the launch of the second season of Aarti Party on the Food Network. more ›

Duff Goldman made a name for himself thanks to his artful, whimsical cakes and a foodreality show set at his Baltimore bakery, Charm City Cakes. But the Food Network gave "Ace of Cakes" the ax after 10 seasons, and now Goldman is California dreamin', says CBS2. The cake maker is hoping his creations will charm Angelenos; he says he has three TV projects in the works, including a new show about "moving to Los Angeles to open a West Coast version of Charm City Cakes in June." more ›

The Food Network's Queen of butter-laden Southern cuisine Paula Deen has been named as the Grand Marshal of the 2011 Rose Parade. Deen will toss the coin before the 97th Rose Bowl Game and ride in the 122nd Rose Parade in Pasadena on New Year's Day. more ›

Of the ten chefs from around the nation competing in the hot hot heat of Kitchen Stadium for the coveted position as The Next Iron Chef, just one hails from Los Angeles. more ›

It’s the hottest day of the year, and Christian Murcia and his crew of the Crepes Bonaparte food truck are hard at work churning out their popular crepes to eager customers, when a woman drives by and yells out her window, “Oh my gosh, it’s you! You’re famous!” Murcia, a contestant on the Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race series, has experienced an uptick in business (and a few rabid fans) since the show first aired on August 15th, and it’s clear why. Crepes Bonaparte’s charming, beret-wearing team serves up incredibly fresh, made-to-order crepes that rival those of a Parisienne café. more ›

Is there anything more rock and roll than hitting the road with a bunch of people and facing new crowds of fans every day with the goal of giving them their fill of the great stuff you've got to offer? more ›

Can a cupcake that's made without butter, eggs, or chocolate even dream of competing head to head with one that's full of dairy? more ›

Season 6 of The Next Food Network Star premieres on Sunday June 6th on the Food Network. Shot on location here in Los Angeles, the group of 12 finalists also happens to include three competitors who call the L.A. area home; this week we'll talk to each one of them in a three-part interview series. more ›

Season 6 of The Next Food Network Star premieres on Sunday June 6th on the Food Network. Shot on location here in Los Angeles, the group of 12 finalists also happens to include three competitors who call the L.A. area home; this week we'll talk to each one of them in a three-part interview series. more ›

Season 6 of The Next Food Network Star premieres on Sunday June 6th on the Food Network. Shot on location here in Los Angeles, the group of 12 finalists also happens to include three competitors who call the L.A. area home; this week we'll talk to each one of them in a three-part interview series. more ›

Juan-Carlos Cruz, a former Food Network TV host, was arrested yesterday for solicitation to commit murder, the Santa Monica Police Department announced Friday evening. On May 7th, homeless liaison officers were contacted by homeless individuals that said they were solicited by Cruz to kill another person, explained Sgt. Jay Trisler. With aid from the homeless witnesses, the police investigation revealed that Cruz allegedly tried to pay for the murder of an unidentified person. more ›

The 6th season of The Next Food Network Star doesn't hit the small screen until June 6th, but there's already reason to celebrate in Los Angeles, since three of the Food TV stars-in-the-making call our city home. more ›

If it's trendy, it's likely to end up on television, and it looks like gourmet food trucks are no exception. Fresh in our inbox are details about a new show being prepped for the Food Network from the same folks behind the three-hanky heart-warmer "Extreme Makeover Home Edition." The show is has a "competition adventure" premise that takes popular food trucks "on a thrilling road trip across the country to compete for a BIG CASH PRIZE." But are food trucks that popular? And will as many people watch the trucks on TV that line up for the trucks? Tell us: Which LA food truck would you want to see compete for the TV glory? more ›

The TV Junkie Plan: "X-Play", "Web Soup", "South Park", "Ugly Americans", "Daily Show" (Snoop Dogg), Letterman (Gerard Butler, Mindy Kaling), Fallon (Joseph Fiennes) more ›

Tonight the Food Network's Iron Chef America's season premiere is a 2-hour episode with some very special guests, and it's a show we've been looking forward to for some time now. Facing off in Kitchen Stadium will be White House executive chef Cristeta Comerford and Bobby Flay versus Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse, as the two teams try to take on the heat while using the unique secret ingredient. While usually the item or category is somewhat of a surprise to participants and viewers, tonight we know already that it's First Lady Michelle Obama who will assign the chefs the task of working with anything grown in the White House garden. more ›

With the end of the year comes the inevitable wrap-ups, reflections, and predictions, and in the world of food this is no exception. Here in Los Angeles our Patron Saint of Dining Out, Pulitzer Prize-winning LA Weekly columnist Jonathan Gold, offers his take on the eating year that was in the LA Times' Opinion section today, noting how many high-profile restaurants our city has seen launch despite the tanked economy (Rivera, Drago Centro, Bouchon, and so forth) and the resurgence of the "tony cocktail bar." more ›

Change is never easy for most of us, even if we're looking for something a little different in our lives. But Jeffrey Saad makes change--big or small--look easy. In fact, he makes change seem like something we all can do, just a little, to spice up our lives. Of course, for Saad, the big changes came when he gave up his career to give being The Next Food Network Star a shot in the show's highly successful 5th season. As a result, the self-proclaimed "Spice Smuggler" is now able to make home cooks all over feel like they can take on something new in the kitchen, by adding a little spice to their food. Recently we sat down with Saad to talk about the show, his upcoming endeavors, eating in Los Angeles, and spices. more ›

Here in Los Angeles there is a valued relationship between the food on our plates and the ground from which it comes. From weekly stops at favorite farmers' markets to digging in at a local community garden, the bounty of the land and its role in our eating lives has a profound meaning for many Angelenos, and Americans. Local Chefs are eager to share how they use the market to influence their menu, like Grace and BLD's Neal Fraser and Ford Filling Station's Ben Ford, while some, like Border Grill and Ciudad's Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger have partnered with the LAUSD to help reinforce the importance of garden-based learning and to be conscious of what we eat. The politics of eating has become a local focal point, thanks to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's championing a Food Policy Task Force this summer as we celebrated 30 years of farmers' markets in L.A. more ›

For those who are handier with a Wiimote than a spatula, the Food Network and Namco Bandai have an upcoming release for the Wii that might be of interest. "Cook or Be Cooked!" is a game designed to closely mimic real-life cooking actions (minus the tasty results...we're not that Jetsons yet!) using Food Network-approved recipes you can duplicate in your kitchen once you've mastered the game. more ›

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Can't bring yourself to say good-bye to the summer just yet? Yeah, us either. Throwing a party is usually a great way to get some closure. And even better, do it with a limoncello vanilla cocktail punch for your guests. more ›

EaterLA is on a "Trendwatch" and finds a USA Today article where three Food Network chefs/personalities are asked to give their predictions on the next big food trend. more ›

Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, Food Network’s “Too Hot Tamales” are Chef/Owners of Border Grill Santa Monica, Border Grill Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, and Ciudad in Downtown Los Angeles. Last week we brought you a report from their fantastic Holidy Cooking Class (including two amazing recipes) and now it is our pleasure to share with you their tips for making your holiday gathering a deliciously smashing success. more ›

I'm a total cooking-show whore, I'll admit it right up front (although Sandra Lee's "open a can of crap and put a marshmallow on it!" school of cooking has never sat right with me). I have a long long queue of Jamie Oliver and Mario Batali cooking shows on my DVR, since they play them at odd hours, either when I'm asleep or at work. I know that Anthony Bourdain would gladly put a cigarette out on my arm for saying this, but I kinda love Jamie Oliver, with his cute little lisp and cute little motorbike and cute little wife and kid. I know his dishes aren't what you would call authentic, but I like his style and his ingredients and his cute little lisp. Did I mention that already? more ›

Although some say it doesn’t have nearly as much charm as the original cult sensation, Iron Chef America, is one of the top rated Food Network series since its first airing in 2005. Besides for some of the most inventive dishes one’s ever heard of – fish ice cream anyone? - the mysterious chairman gets to unveil the secret ingredient as well as the winner in that serious/self mocking tone. That chairman's name is Mark Dacascos, and we at LAist interviewed him about what being the IC Chairman is all about, his favorite battle, and the most delicious dishes he’s ever tried in kitchen stadium. Besides for being the Chairman, Mark is an accomplished actor, a Kung Fu champion, a husband, father, and a writer. more ›

With last night's (much anticipated) premiere of the third season of Top Chef on Bravo, there now exists a triptych of "reality" television programs each devoted to making one lucky chef a star (and the other contestants infamous). Over on the Food Network we've got The Next Food Network Star, which blends cooking and "star" quality, and on Fox we're two episodes into the blazing fires of the third season of Hell's Kitchen. And... more ›