Television, Pitch

Celina Tio battles Michael Symon on Iron Chef America episode Sunday

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 08:30:00 -0600

Celina Tio, the owner and chef at Julian who is now managing the Kansas City Cafe, will discover if her cuisine reigns supreme on the next episode of Iron Chef America. That's when she takes on chef Michael Symon and has the chance to exact a bit of revenge for her elimination on The Next Iron Chef.…

Oklahoma Joe's gets a star turn on The Mind of a Chef

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:19:37 -0600

A show narrated by Anthony Bourdain and hosted by chef David Chang was eventually going to end up in Kansas City for barbecue. And in the 15th episode, appropriately titled "Smoke," of the PBS show "The Mind of a Chef," there's a loving tribute to Oklahoma Joe's.…

Julian's Celina Tio to challenge Michael Symon on Iron Chef America

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 11:05:00 -0600

Julian's Celina Tio didn't win the third season of the Next Iron Chef reality competition, but she'll get her chance to defeat one of her judges in kitchen stadium. Tio will do battle with chef Michael Symon (currently one of the co-hosts of The Chew) in an episode slated to run on the Food Network next month.…

Rod Gray, Stretch compete on BBQ Pitmasters Sunday, January 6

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 14 Dec 2012 09:42:47 -0600

While barbecue teams from across the country competed to get called to the stage at the American Royal this October, Rod Gray and Jeff "Stretch" Rumaner were competing on a different stage. Gray's Pellet Envy team, Truebud BBQ, and the Grinders' owner were contestants on BBQ Pitmasters. The episode that was filmed at the contest in the West Bottoms airs on Destination America ~~this Sunday~~ Sunday, January 6, at 8 p.m.…

Poco's on the Boulevard Restaurant Impossible episode airs again this Wednesday

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 08:27:00 -0600

If you want to remember the old Poco's on the Boulevard (3063 Southwest Boulevard) and find out how the new look came to pass, turn your television to the Food Network Wednesday. That's when the Restaurant Impossible episode filmed earlier this year at the Kansas City restaurant re-airs.…

Man Fire Food episode featuring Grain Valley's Swine Flew airs tonight

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 06 Nov 2012 10:00:59 -0600

Roger Mooking just can't stay away from Kansas City barbecue. The co-host of Heat Seekers (with Mestizo's Aaron Sanchez) is back with his own show — Man Fire Food airs tonight on the Cooking Channel at 9 p.m.

The episode, entitled Monster Rigs, is about customized smokers and grills.…

The Sweet Tooth is selling the cupcake flavors it made for Cupcake Wars this week

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 16 Oct 2012 08:17:54 -0500

The Sweet Tooth (3100 South 7 Highway, Suite D) may not have walked away as the winner of this past Sunday's episode of Cupcake Wars, but the Blue Springs bakery left with plenty of inspiration [h/t to The Examiner].

Owners Trevor and Amy Goodwin are celebrating their first baking-competition appearance by selling the cupcake flavors they prepared for the show that put another area cupcake shop, Smallcakes, on the map.…

Restaurant Impossible is remaking Poco's on the Boulevard right now

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 14:53:00 -0500

Chef Robert Irvine has likely yelled and quite possibly cried at Poco's on the Boulevard in the past 48 hours. His crew for the television show, Restaurant Impossible (a mash-up of Extreme Home Makeover and Dinner: Impossible), has spent the beginning part of this week remaking the eatery at 3063 Southwest Boulevard [h/t to @o_line].…

Food Network deems banh mi and speck state sandwich of Kansas and Missouri

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 08 Aug 2012 09:35:00 -0500

The cuisines of Missouri and Kansas are being celebrated without a mention of barbecue, pork tenderloins or fried chicken. Either we're making progress or somebody only had time for a few bites.…

Debbie Gold's quest to win Top Chef Masters begins Wednesday

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 09:58:15 -0500

Chef Debbie Gold is back for a second bite at the reality-television apple tonight. The executive chef at the American is a cheftestant on the fourth season of Top Chef Masters.…

Chopped is looking for home cooks ready for the light of reality television

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 09:00:53 -0500

Chopped, the cooking competition show that asks cheftestants to pair unlikely ingredients in a mystery basket (think jelly beans and sardines) in a series of elimination challenges, is opening up its kitchens to the untrained masses.

The Food Network television program is the culinary equivalent of House Hunters — the viewer always believes that they could make better choices than the contestant they're watching.…

Debbie Gold is a season four cheftestant on Top Chef Masters

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 29 May 2012 08:02:00 -0500

A Kansas City chef will once again step onto the small screen to cook for charity. Debbie Gold, the executive chef at the American, has been announced as a contestant on the fourth season of Top Chef Masters (see a preview video here).…

Steered wrong: Golden Ox shouldn't have gone for the Wal-Mart 'Steak-Over'

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 17 May 2012 11:09:46 -0500

The Golden Ox and I don't have a long history. I've danced with the restaurant's prime-rib sandwich and enjoyed an unironic Old Fashioned at its bar.…

What Anthony Bourdain thinks of Kansas City

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:30:14 -0500

Barbecue got sexy for an hour. Then it got dirty.…

No Reservations' KC episode will air Monday, April 16

Jonathan Bender — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 10:30:00 -0500

Bourdain will be back. Albeit, for now, just on Kansas City's television sets.…

Aaron Sanchez's Heat Seekers' KC episode airs tonight

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:00:00 -0600

Chileheads and pepper guzzlers, this one's for you. The episode of Heat Seekers, the Food Network program featuring celebrity chef Aaron Sanchez and Roger Mooking that was filmed in Kansas City last year, will be premiering tonight.…

Cable Execs: Stop Overcooking the Drama

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:30:58 -0600

And now, an open letter to those who create programming for food-related television.

To whom it may concern: I haven’t voiced a complaint since Land O’Lakes switched its butter wrapping from gold to silver foil — the same color as its margarine wrapping — thus leading to much confusion for me as a middle school chef. That was an unforgivable mistake, as I kindly explained to the call-center employee who took my call and humored me. She told me that the company appreciated my feedback and would seriously consider my suggestion.…

Lunch Blog KC's Robert Bishop is coming to your TV set

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 10:30:10 -0500

We're not saying that you need to be featured on Fat City to be famous, but ... it probably doesn't hurt. Robert Bishop, Fat City contributor and the creator of Cheesy Blasters in real life (see this 2009 interview), is part of a new series of online and television commercials promoting 30 Rock.…

Dear Coors, man is already equipped to determine the temperature of beer

Jonathan Bender — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:05:00 -0500

I understand where you're coming from, Coors. When you can't focus on taste or bottle shape, you're basically left with only one alternative: temperature.…

Randy Santel hoping to bring Man v. Food back to KC

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 11:30:49 -0500

Man v. Food understands something about America — we are a nation of eaters. As such, they've invented the Man v. Food Nation challenge — wherein the show will come to one city to film an aspiring (or current) competitive eater take down a monster plate of food.…

Carter Holton wins Food Network Challenge competition

Charles Ferruzza — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:48:30 -0500

The funny thing about 24-year-old local pastry chef Carter Holton winning the Star Wars Cake Challenge on the Food Network Challenge series last week is that the competition required Holton and his three competitors -- all bakery owners and professional cake designers -- to create a cake based on a character from the Star Wars film series. And Holton had never seen one of the films.

"I had to learn a ton about Star Wars after we got the assignment," Holton says.…

The Cooking Channel will be at Julian tonight

Jonathan Bender — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 08:30:47 -0500

Chef Michael Smith isn't the only Kansas City chef getting a bit of tube time on Friday -- the Cooking Channel's host Jeffrey Saad is heading over to Julian tonight for the dinner service.

The United States of America crew will be at Extra Virgin during the lunch hour -- 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. -- and then it's off to chef Celina Tio's kitchen to get some shots of her prepping and making the Brookside restaurant's signature dishes.…

The Cooking Channel will be filming at Extra Virgin tomorrow

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 08:30:38 -0500

If you were kicking yourself for missing The Food Network cameras at Extra Virgin earlier this month, you've got a shot at redemption tomorrow. The lights and action return to chef Michael Smith's restaurant, which will be featured on the Cooking Channel show, "The United Tastes of America," with host Jeffrey Saad.…

The Food Network is filming at Extra Virgin today

Jonathan Bender — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:15:15 -0500

The cameras will be rolling at Extra Virgin (1900 Main) this afternoon as the Food Network and chef/host Curstin Stone stop by the Crossroads restaurant from 1 to 5 p.m. Chef Michael Smith will be filmed making the duck-tongue tacos, which went on the menu last year.…

It's Date Night on Top Chef Masters, Gael Greene got freaky with Elvis?

Jonathan Bender — Thu, 19 May 2011 11:35:45 -0500

Love, or as Celine Dion might sing it, "lurve," was in the air on Top Chef Masters last night. As if to prove that nobody scores after taking a date to a fast-food joint, host Curtis Stone dumped Danyelle Freeman for fellow Top Chef franchise host Gail Simmons, and critic James Oseland was reunited with former tablemate Gael Greene.…