I can’t believe it is June already. June means that the newest season of The Next Food Network Star premieres! Tonight we have 10 new contestants and one of them will be the host of their very own show on the Food Network.

Our selection committee and judges are back, Bob Tushman and Susie Fogelson, Senior VPs for the Food Network and Bobby Flay, Restaurateur and Host of many shows on the Food Network.

Here are my initial thoughts about our 10 contestants.

First to arrive on site is Jen Isham, 30 who comes from Orlando, FL. If I didn’t know it, I would have thought she was a cast member at Disneyworld playing a princess! She’s a housewife and a graduate of the French Culinary Institute. While she wasn’t playing a princess at Disneyworld, she was a line cook in the park. She is currently a sales manager at a hotel.

Jamika Pessoa shows up next and I know I like her already. She has bright smile and her background is from Jamaica and Trinidad. She is a personal chef  from Atlanta, GA. She loves global flavors but you won’t catch her going near a can of tuna or sardines! Her first impress of Jen? Barbie!

Katie Cavutto is a personal chef, nutritionist and owner of Healthy Bites. She comes from Philadelphia, PA and is 30. She attended Johnson and Wales University and Tufts University where she became a Dietician. Katie is a firm believer in organic and sustainable farming.

Talk about tall guys! Brett August shows up at the house next and he is the executive sous chef of a hotel in New York.  Brett, 32, attended The New York Restaurant School and cooking has been a passion of his since childhood. He kinda comes across as rough and not soft-spoken.

Michael Proietti walks in and girlfriend you better snap your fingers! Michael is the executive chef at the Radisson Hotel in New Rochelle, N.Y. Michael loves the world Fabulous. Michael also attended The New York Restaurant School. Was asked if he had a wife and kids and he just responded back…”Oh no, no, no….” he almost put “honey” at the end of that sentence! :) He still lives at home.

Eddie Gilbert, one of our Southern California contestants comes from Manhattan Beach, CA. He currently works as an apprentice in a restaurant here in Los Angeles. Prior to his current culinary career, Eddie got two degrees from Vanderbilt and worked for a Talent Agency before turning to spatulas and saute pans. Michael says he’s not so bad to look at either.

Stay at home mom, Melissa d’Arabian is our next contestant. A housewife and mother of four girls back in Keller, TX. She is the ultimate home cook – though won’t go near goat cheese. She seems the most congenial of the group so far.

Next up is cutie, Teddy Folkman, executive chef at Granville Moore’s in Washington DC. Teddy is no stranger to the Food Network. Teddy was in a Throwdown with Bobby Flay for his Moules (mussels)! Teddy wants to help home chefs think like restaurant chefs to help inspire them. Did you know in his free time he teaches local high school students how to cook? How cool is that? Wants me want to be in high school again. Ummm, Teddy, what’s up with the orange shirt?

Our second Southern California star is Debbie Lee from West Hollywood, CA. She is a restaurant consultant and had a catering company. Debbie is full of energy and she is like the Margaret Cho of the culinary world. She has the unique mix of being Korean and Southern…you go girl!

Jeffrey Saad is our third contestant from Southern Cal. Jeffrey is a successful restaurateur and a graduate of the California Culinary Academy. He currently is in the real estate brokerage line of work. Next to cooking, the martial arts is his next passion. Teddy wonders if Jeffery is a Greek God or a chef?

So there you have it. Our ten contestants for The Next Food Network Star. There’s no time to get to know everyone, the team heads directly for the Food Network kitchens. There they meet up with Bobby Flay, Bob Tushman and Susie Fogelson. They are told that their first challenge is to cater the celebration of the 16th Year that the Food Network has been on the air. Some very high profile chef hosts will be there as well as Access Hollywood. The teams are broken up into two teams of 5 – a red and green team.

Green Team: Teddy, Jamika, Jen, Brett and Melissa – Brett is Team Captain

Red Team: Eddie, Michael, Katie, Jeffrey and Debbie – Debbie is Team Captain

With a $1200 budget for each team, both teams have to come up with menus and cook for 75 guests. The only have 5 hours to get this done, the event is that night.

The initial menus for the Green Team are: Beef Tenderloin with Red Wine Sauce and Butternut Squash Soup; Potato Gratin with Herbs and Truffles; Floribbean Shrimp Cocktail with a Mango Jicama Slaw; Green Beans with Walnuts and Grape Tomatoes; and to finish it off, Apple Tarts with Caramel Drizzle.

The Red Team plans the following: Five Spiced Tenderloin with Pickled Vegetable Slaw; Red Curry Crab Cakes with Spicy Mayo; Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Sprouts and Tomato Bowls; Beet, Pomegranate, Orange Salad with Sauteed Swiss Chard; Achiote Grilled Zucchini with Mushroom Ragu; to finish, a Jelly Filled Beignets.

So off they go after planning their menus and rush to Whole Foods. While I LOVE Whole Foods, they don’t carry everything as seen in episodes of Top Chef and previous seasons of TNFNS. I can see the “did you get the….” question coming up. It happens in every show. Both teams scatter at Whole Foods and ingredients are flying into carts everywhere. The Red Team seems to have a bit more food in their carts than their $1200 budget will allow for. They start peeling back on ingredients. So remember how I said that WHole Foods doesn’t carry everything..well there are no butterilk biscuit dough in the freezer section. So Debbie makes an executive decision and they are now making some kind of Angel Food Cake dessert with Ricotta Cheese. Really?

Both teams race back to the Food Network kitchens while the camera pans and the two cars full of ingredients the Red Team had to leave behind…

The kitchen is pure chaos! Everyone is prepping and cooking. Brett is searing beef, Michael is prepping his beef, we have crab cakes, green beans and zuchini! It’s a mad dash as the last few minutes start ticking away. The cast will finish up here and then head over to the kitchens of Butter, whose executive chef is Alex Guarnaschelli who also has a show on the Food Network. Food Network stars are everywhere: Morimoto, Bobby Flay, Giada de Laurentiis, Alton Brown, Aaron McCargo Jr, Ted Allen, Sunny Anderson, Duff is even here – it’s crazy!

First team up is the Green Team. Team leader Brett goes up to speak and introduce his team and he is a dud! All that energy in the kitchen and then he holds back? Come on. It pissed me off that he went on to say how his team is a bunch of pretty girls and then Teddy. Each of the team members got to talk and introduce their dish to the audience. Jamika is wonderful up there. She is personable, smiles and the audience reacts well. Teddy goes up and he flubs up. Barbie gets up there says she’s a housewife and that she made green beans. That’s it. Melissa gets up there and she is the first to congratulate the group on their 16th anniversary. Way to go Melissa. She was the light at the end of the tunnel that the Green Team needed for their presentation.

The audience goes up for their food. Comments tart flying at the table and it looks like Melissa’s Apple Tarts were a hit. Not so much fanfare about the Green Beans. Teddy unfortunately didn’t cook his potatoes all the way and Brett’s tenderloin looked horrible on the plate. Who will go home.

After a break, the Red Team comes out and Debbie starts things off. What a bang! We find out she can’t speak any Korean and Southern Food is really her passion. Great charisma and connection with the audience. Katie gets up there and she does ok. Jeffrey takes charge and pull the audience in. His dish isn’t what was proposed as Debbie didn’t get most of the items he requested. Oh no….Michael is up and he starts swishing that finger around and his style of Global a go go. He used “honey” way too much, but he got the audience’s attention and they loved it. last up is Eddie and he brings up the rear. He had an opportunity as the last guy up there to wow us and reel us all in, but he doesn’t. He welcomes everyone up. Hmmm…notice how no one mentions the angel food cake dessert? What a mess! Who’s going home for that one?

Accolades at the table for Debbie and her sauce to the crab cakes. Kudos to Michael and Jeffrey for their dishes. When it came to Katie’s salad…did she cook? One chef said it was a nice pile of fresh ingredients, but that was it. I thought Eddie’s tomato bowls would be a hit. Turns out, the only thing people could taste is the bacon. What about the L and the T? No one at the table cared for the Angel Food Cake dessert. Is Debbie ready to leave to take one for the team?

We’re now at Judge’s Table. Each contestant is being put under a microscope. Debbie is up first. They loved her presentation and they loved her spicy mayo, but the decision about the Angel Food Cake was initially described as a team decision when in fact in was just her. She was then confronted about going way over budget then having to shave off food to make the budget. What was more bothersome was coming back and saying they were $1 under budget. WTF?

Green team was next up. Brett was told it was a disappointment. Such enthusiasm in the kitchen, but a dud when put up on stage. The judges question a sophistication in Jen’s ability to be a Food Network Star. They raved about Melissa’s tarts. Next was Teddy and the raw potatoes.

The winner of tonight’s show is either Jeffrey, Michael or Melissa. Out of the Top 3, the overall winner was Jeffrey. Wow. I would have picked Michael over Jeffrey.

Unfortunately, one person is going home. One by one, they list who is safe. Debby, Katie, Teddy and Jamika are all safe. We’re down to Jen, Brett and Eddie.

Brett is safe and that leaves Jen and Eddie. I think it will be Jen. The finalist going home is Jen. Jen is going home to hottie husband Gabe.

My overall impressions of the night is that Debbie really has some character issues. Teddy put out raw food and while the gruyere and the truffles tasted wonderful, the main ingredient was raw. I do agree that Jen may not have been able to keep up with the rest of the team. As for tonight’s winner, Jeffrey had some adversity to deal with. Many of his ingredients weren’t purchased by Debbie and he had to pull a new menu item out of thin air.

Congrats to Jeffrey! Go Team SoCal!