Re: Valerie Bertinelli Trashes Food Network, Says "It's Not About Cooking And Learning" Anymore

Valerie Bertinelli made some negative remarks about The Food Network several
months after she was let go from the channel's reality cooking competition
series, KIDS BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP.
 
"I fell in love with Food Network two decades ago because of all the amazing
ITK [in the kitchen] shows," the 63-year-old star wrote on the social media
app Threads, calling out Rachael Ray's show 30-MINUTE MEALS, Ina Garten of
BAREFOOT CONTESSA fame, and GIADA AT HOME star Giada De Laurentiis
specifically.
 
"I learned so much. It's sad it's not about cooking and learning any longer.
Oh well, that's just business, folks."
 
Her comments came in response to a Thread by cookbook author Marlynn
Schotland. She wrote, "I miss actual cooking shows on @foodnetwork. Remember
those? Do you know what this world does NOT need? Yet another cooking
competition show."
 
Bertinelli previously hosted a Food Network cooking show, VALERIE'S HOME
KITCHEN, from 2015 until 2023. She also hosted KIDS BAKING CHAMPIONSHIP
for 12 seasons before unexpectedly not being invited back in January, which
at the time she said, "really hurt my feelings".
 
"It really sucks," she said in a lengthy video post at the time.
 
She went on to describe how she was on the show during her "apex year of
hell" as she was going through a divorce from Tom Vitale.
 
"Like I was going through it and pretending everything was just fine, because
that's what you do," she said of filming season 12. "And, without sounding
like a drama queen, the show saved my life. Working with all those really
wonderful people and feeling productive and knowing I could spread some
kindness and not just wallow in my hell and just try to keep my head above
water, it helped me, it was like a flotation device. So it really hurts that
I won't be able to go back and see everybody and say 'Hey, I made it through,
hi!'"
 
"And to all the bakers that are coming in for the new season, even though I
won't be there, I'll be there with you in spirit and I just want you to
remember this: You are there for a reason. You're some of the best bakers in
America right now and if you don't make it to the next round, please always
remember this, it's not because you're not a good baker, you just had a bad
day," she concluded.

Valerie Bertinelli Says Food Network Canceled VALERIE'S HOME KITCHEN after 14
Seasons: "I Have No Idea Why"  (April 8)
 
I do. It's because it's one of the few shows left on the Food Network that
isn't a ridiculous competition.
 
You used to be able to watch Food Network to watch people make interesting
dishes and teach you how to cook them. Now every show is a half dozen chefs
racing around like lunatics, hyperactively edited like a John Wick fight
scene, trying to throw together something to beat a relentless clock counting
down to zero, then a panel of the same judges from every other Food Network
show decides which one wins.
 
I liked Bertinelli's show because it was just her, in a kitchen, teaching you
how to make good stuff. And that's why Food Network is dumping it.