If the ten chef-testants on The Next Food Network Star are the kings and queens of their respective kitchens, on the reality show, they have to impress and are in the mercy of judges (that would be merciless Bobby Flay, Bob Tuschman, and Susie Fogelson). For one of the contestants Brett August, it is a gamble for an entirely different reason.
"I've been the head cook at the hotel for 11 years and had vacation and sick time stored up," he says. "I had to use all of it to do this show. I can't afford to get sick any more."
As for his experience on
The Next Food Network Star, the New York native says the schedule really leaves something to be desired.
"It's hectic. We all live together in a hotel. They wake you up at 3:45 in the morning. We're driven to their studio at Chelsea Piers. After that, everything is spontaneous and unrehearsed. The main shtick of the show is how well you can put something together that looks and tastes good in the least amount of time. For example, once they had certain food items in a basket and told us to make something from it in 30 minutes."
The executive sous chef at the Doral Arrowwood Hotel in Westchester County adds that the pressure is so "enormous" that he often found it hard to sleep.
"If you mess up, you mess up in front of 70 million people. You can't start over again. And the food you cook is judged to please the senses. It has to have a certain aesthetic; it has to smell delectable and, lastly, it has to please the palate."
Finally, he says that no cat fight or brawl ever happened on the Food Network reality show, unlike other similarly themed programs.
"We all lived in a condo in Manhattan. I had a roommate. We were competitive, but we basically got along, and we were never asked to stage anything. What happens on the show happened live."
Do you like Brett August on The Next Food Network Star?
- Glenn Diaz, BuddyTV Staff columnist
Source:
Times-Herald Record
(Image courtesy of Times-Herald Record)