Food Network Star

by Ian Jackman

  The drama of the challenge lay in Jeffrey’s risotto. Jeffrey undercooked his risotto deliberately because he knew it would sit. He talked to the diners about going to Fisherman’s Wharf and eating a scallop raw, the first time he got really excited about food. He demo’ed cooking scallops, how they must be dry to get a sear. It was “as flawless as communicating gets,” said Tyler Florence.

  “Backstage, Jeffrey said, ‘They almost seemed angry with me.’”

  —Melissa d’Arabian

  Then the risotto. “All I see is a sea of unhappy faces,” said Jeffrey.

  It’s like a soup, Payard said. “I think the risotto is the worst risotto I ever have in my life.” “This is a disrespect to Italy,” said Marcus Samuelsson. Bobby couldn’t believe that Jeffrey had spent so little money. The dessert was delicious, said Alex Guarnaschelli, offering a small mercy.

  The room was divided on who they liked; it was down to the judges. In evaluation, Melissa’s pastry for dessert was the best thing the guests ate all day. But her demo was a little flat. Bob said that there were gems here and there but so much verbiage that she would need heavy editing. Jeffrey’s demo was flawless, but the food was hit-and-miss and the risotto failed. Jeffrey had charisma and authority, he said, but “Are you a star?” Bobby saw Debbie as comfortable and confident, but he wanted more flavor. It was incredibly hard to decide, but the result was that Debbie was leaving.

  JEFFREY SAAD’S CHILE KITCHEN

  “There are never fewer than five or six types of chiles in my kitchen. I have two big jars of dried chiles. One with guajillo and one with ancho. I also have a small bag of chile morita with a spicy, dried raisin–like heat. Also flakes of chiles de árbol by the stove for adding when needed. I keep a bag of fresh jalapeños, serranos, and orange habañeros in the freezer at all times. I grate them on a Microplane to give a fresh chile kick to a sauce or salsa or to drop into a bottle of silver tequila.”

  FINALE

  The two hopefuls left standing and facing each other were Melissa and Jeffrey. Cameras went to each of the finalist’s hometowns. At home in Los Angeles, Jeffrey introduced his wife, Nadia, and his kids. Martial arts had helped keep him focused. Up until seven years earlier, he had run restaurants, and now he worked in real estate. Jeffrey talked about his family’s love of travel and how they were enriched by other cultures.

  “Jeffrey and I connected because we’re both family people. We both felt very strongly about how we were receiving support from our spouses and our families and the sacrifices they had made for us to be there.”

  —Melissa d’Arabian

  Melissa was shown at home with her four girls in Keller, Texas. Melissa talked about aspects of her life. After her mom died, she had lived in her sorority house; women had been a huge part of her life. As a volunteer on the city economic development board, she gave back. But she wanted to go to work at the Food Network.

  Back in New York, Alton Brown directed the finalists’ pilots to be shown to a live audience. He reinterpreted Jeffrey’s “Cooking Without Borders” POV as “Ingredient Smuggler”—bringing spices back from other countries and using them in American cuisine. “He’s consistent,” said Alton. “He’s likable; he’s going to knock it out of the park.” Alton suggested “Kitchen Survival Guide” to Melissa. “She is utterly authentic,” he said.

  After several takes, Alton calmed Melissa down by telling her to be herself. She nailed the last take. “There’s a little movie star tucked away in there,” said Alton.

  Flexible Four-Step Chicken for Family and Company

  For the pilot, Melissa used her own technique: four-step chicken. The ingredients can be interchanged in any step to give you a whole new dish. The steps:

  1. Dredge and sauté the chicken.

  2. Cook up the herbs and vegetables.

  3. Add the liquids.

  4. Finish the sauce.

  “I’ve been making some version of four-step chicken my entire adult life! It’s really just some sautéed chicken with a pan sauce—easy and inexpensive to make. Plus, you can swap out ingredients depending on your tastes and what your pantry holds.”

  RUSTIC LEMON ONION CHICKEN

  Recipe courtesy Melissa d’Arabian

  Yield: 4 to 6 servings • Prep Time: 30 minutes • Cook Time: 30 minutes • Ease of Preparation: easy

  3 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves, butterflied, cut all the way through

  1 teaspoon dried thyme

  Kosher salt

  Freshly ground black pepper

  4 tablespoons olive oil

  ¼ cup all-purpose flour

  1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

  Leaves of 1 small bunch fresh thyme, chopped (about 2 teaspoons)

  ¼ cup white wine (optional)

  1 cup chicken broth

  Juice of 2 lemons (about ¼ cup)

  1 to 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  Spinach Bed (recipe follows)

  SPINACH BED

  1 (10-ounce) bag prewashed spinach

  1 tablespoon unsalted butter

  Juice of ½ lemon

  Kosher salt

  Freshly ground black pepper

  1. Season the chicken with the dried thyme and salt and pepper. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add the oil. Dredge the chicken in the flour and sauté until cooked through. Set on a plate, tent with foil, and let it rest.

  2. In the same sauté pan, cook the onion and fresh thyme over medium heat until aromatic.

  3. Combine the wine, the broth, and the lemon juice. Add to the pan, turn the heat up to high, and deglaze the pan until the liquid begins to reduce.

  4. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the butter. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

  5. Place the Spinach Bed on a serving platter and top with the chicken. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

  SPINACH BED: In a microwave-safe dish, cook the spinach with a few tablespoons of water on high for 5 to 6 minutes, or until hot. Drain and toss with the butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

  what is HARISSA?

  In his pilot, Jeffrey talked about finding harissa in Paris. A staple of North Africa and the Middle East, harissa is a paste typically made of cayenne, coriander, cumin, oil, and garlic and is used with couscous dishes, soups, and stews.

  Down to the Wire

  Jeffrey made a Harissa Steak Sandwich with Sun-Dried Tomato and Mint Mayonnaise. On the first take, “he smiled exactly no times,” said Alton. Then Jeffrey called tomatoes “onions.” But on another take, he had more feeling, proving to Alton that he was up to the task.

  The pilots were shown to a live audience, the committee, and the Season Five finalists. The judges were impressed by both pilots. Bob said that Melissa was truly a confident star; Susie, that there was so much information; Bobby, that he was “totally stealing” Melissa’s idea of making potato gratin in muffin tins.

  “Terrific job,” said Bobby about Jeffrey’s performance. Bob said watching Jeffrey made him hungry.

  “Wow,” said Susie. “Flawless.”

  Bob said that the final deliberation was officially the most difficult one. In front of network president Brooke Johnson, Bobby declared the winner: Melissa.

  “The first episode, Susie and Bobby and I walked into a room and the finalists were lined up waiting to greet us. I was watching Melissa and Debbie and Jeffrey and Jamika, and I said, ‘I bet these will be our final four because they were just radiant in the room.’ I hadn’t heard them speak yet.”

  —Bob Tuschman

  SEASON FIVE ELIMINATIONS

  EPISODE ONE

  “Sweet Sixteen”

  First Elimination ∗ JEN ISHAM: “I thought I’d make it all the way to the end. . . . It’s bittersweet. I’m going home to my husband, Gabe. He’s my best friend and my whole world.”

  EPISODE TWO

  “Holidays with Giada”

  Second Elimination ∗ BRETT AUGUST: “I probably brought too
much Brett August! Looking back, I realize I should have been smoother.”

  EPISODE THREE

  “Dinner at Ina’s”

  Third Elimination ∗ EDDIE GILBERT: “I think the only time I was myself was during the Esquire challenge, and since I won that challenge, I think given more time, I could have learned to get better. I don’t know if I would have done anything differently. Since we don’t have a DeLorean to take me back in time, I guess we’ll never know.”

  EPISODE FOUR

  “The Ultimate American Meal”

  Fourth Elimination ∗ TEDDY FOLKMAN: “Without practice or guidance it was impossible to get my personality to come across on camera. We never got a chance to see ourselves. When I did, I was shocked and a little embarrassed. When it’s a live or group situation, no problem, I can relax.”

  EPISODE FIVE

  “Rachael Ray”

  Fifth Elimination ∗ KATIE CAVUTO BOYLE: “I’m happy with my decision to spotlight healthy food on the show. I think it’s important to nourish our bodies well and to know that you can do so without sacrificing bold flavor. I want to inspire people to get back into the kitchen and create meals that focus on clean, fresh, flavorful ingredients.”

  EPISODE SIX

  “Miami ‘Up All Night’ ”

  Sixth Elimination ∗ MICHAEL PROIETTI: “I’m always making the best out of any situation. If you can’t have a good time, well, what’s the point? If you’re gonna do something, you may as well have a smile while doing it! . . . I know I deserved to be there, and I know entertaining and cooking is what I’m great at!”

  EPISODE SEVEN

  “Beachside Wood Grilling Challenge”

  Seventh Elimination ∗ JAMIKA PESSOA: “With so many big personalities in the house, it’s tough to let yours shine. I think my personality stood out because I was true to myself and my food. No matter what was going on around me, I managed to keep my composure while looking fabulous at the same time.”

  EPISODE EIGHT

  “VIP Party in Miami”

  Eighth Elimination ∗ DEBBIE LEE: “As each week went by, I was able to get acclimated and just go with the notion that I was going to be myself. That’s probably the best advice I could give anyone who goes on the show.”

  “Finale”

  Runner-up ∗ JEFFREY SAAD: “When I get focused on something, I am in the zone! Calm is not a word that anyone has ever used to describe me. But I wanted to win that show so badly I think my focus took over to a point where I did not show enough of my highs and lows as I normally do.”

  Melissa d’Arabian: A Q&A

  You were badly underestimated for a lot of the competition.

  When you first look at the other finalists it’s human nature to size people up and wonder “Where do I fit into this?” “How many weeks of safety do I have?” There are always people you know aren’t going to win, I watch enough reality TV to know that. I don’t blame anybody for saying of me at first glance, “She’s my week of safety.”

  So you didn’t feel like you fit in?

  I look around and see these nine amazing chefs. The first day they were discussing what different chefs were doing in different restaurants. There was a lot of chef talk and I’m sitting there thinking the last meal I had out was at PF Chang’s. I live in suburban America; I have four babies; I change a million diapers.

  But you beat all of them!

  In week one, I came out on top with my food. Instead of saying, “We’ve underestimated her,” they said, “there must have been a mistake.” The way forward for me was to think I am not perfect but I am enough. Focus on what you are good at and celebrate that full force.

  How did you turn it around?

  The way some of the guys treated me was upsetting and very difficult, but competitions like this can be very tough and they bring out weird things in people. Winning for me was about asking, “What am I better at than anybody else here?” I played a game I could win. It’s very easy to get sucked into playing someone else’s game, and the minute you do that you’re in second place. If I play the game of who has the better knife skills, I won’t win. I said to myself, “I’m the only one here with an MBA so I understand about marketing, strategy, and planning. I’m going to make it easy for the judges to know how to market me. I’m the only one here who gets dinner on the table with four screaming babies quickly and affordably. I can do that better than anyone here.” I chose to play a game I could win.

  So the show was a means to an end for you?

  I saw it as a job interview to get my own show. While some people might have been focusing on getting on Next Food Network Star, I was thinking about how this would shape the next ten years of my life.

  You had a vision of where you wanted to go?

  I was always very clear about what I brought to the table and what my show would be like. I was also very clear on how it would fit into my life plan and how this might help other people. I didn’t apply as a lark; I don’t throw stuff at the wall to see what sticks. I’m a far more purposeful liver than that. Whether it made sense to the judges and whether it would be compelling from a marketing perspective was up to them to decide.

  Where does Ten Dollar Dinners fit into the plan?

  I knew I wanted to have a show that in some small way will help someone not feel alone. At a very basic level that is what Ten Dollar Dinners is about, not about how to eat cheaply. I’ve been a full-time career woman putting in eighty hours a week in an office getting a dinner party on the table in a Thursday night. I’ve been a graduate student with absolutely no money finding a way to cook delicious meals. I’ve been a stay-at-home mom of four little kids and have had to get dinner on the table. I’m clear on how I want to impact people.

  The financial executive is a side of Melissa we didn’t see much on the show.

  There was more focus on the show on the stay-at-home mom than the businesswoman. I had an interesting and intense career in finance and consulting for years before meeting my husband while I was working for Disney in Paris. I was in my mid-thirties, so we had four kids in two years and that’s when I became a stay-at-home mom. I think the other finalists had this picture of a minivan-driving mom, which I am but that’s just one piece of my experience. So when they found out I was a consultant it was like, “You used to work?”

  You’re a student of the spreadsheet, I understand.

  I am a linear thinker and a planner. A few years ago it was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the spreadsheet and there was a book on its twenty-five most innovative uses. The publisher found out that when I got married, I had put together a wedding guest predictor model on Excel with coefficients for different guests and it was featured in this book. I am analytical to a fault.

  Tell us about the speech you made where you talked about your mom.

  I had been spending many hours over the weeks with these three judges. It felt like I was sharing with friends because it’s a very intimate relationship. They’re thinking of bringing you into their team. It’s not as though I had talked about my mom on the first day I showed up. It doesn’t define me but it is a big part of who I am and has a lot to do with the decisions I make as a woman who is raising four more women. It’s not a cocktail party topic, but when we are getting into these deep discussions of our life philosophies there’s no discussion of that with me that doesn’t include my mom.

  They expect a lot of you, personally.

  I love connecting with my fans and I’m happy to share with them. When someone comes up to me and says, “I have twins too,” we’ll look at each others’ pictures and I enjoy that side of it very much. But my personal life is not an open book—I do have boundaries.

  That authenticity is important.

  On television people can tell when they are being BSed. It’s too close; it’s not theater. It’s closer than real life. In real life you can’t see people’s nose hairs. On TV you do. The tiniest thing comes across.

  You talked about Julia Child in the speech too.<
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  She is an inspiration. I love her embracing when things don’t go right, saying it’s okay and never apologizing for her food. I love her spirit and love for food and the fact that she just went and did this later in life. It was lovely watching Julie and Julia. It was a perfect tee up for me and got me in the space.

  You must have been excited about the reaction to your pastry.

  That recipe was something I had in my hip pocket. My pastry recipe is very versatile. I can put jam in it, I can put chocolate in it, I can fill it with pumpkin purée—there are so many ways I can go with it. François Payard saying he loved that pastry—I can sit there and watch that piece over and over again. That was one of the highlights of my life.

  So you had a specific dessert strategy?

  Someone always gets stuck with dessert and they say, “I’m going to make a hot fudge sundae because I don’t know how to make dessert” and I’m thinking, “Duh you’re on a cooking competition! Have a dessert or two in your repertoire.” I made sure I had a couple I knew how to make without a recipe. With baking you have to be precise. I had to be able to make sure I could make my apple tarts and my pochettes. The judges would later say to me, “You’re such a good dessert maker.” I really saw this as being smart about the competition.

  Clearly the wrong woman was underestimated here . . .

  One of my girlfriends told me after I won, “You were the surprise winner to everybody except those who know you.” Those who know me know I am very focused and know what my strengths and weaknesses are.