Friday, May 23, 2008

More great news to share!!

Well, again I've kept a secret ... I promise it's only cuz I couldn't talk about it until the release came out and now it's out, so naturally I'm talkin' :-), plus I've been really tired due to taping the new episodes of Cooking for Real. Now that we've wrapped taping and I've slept some ... I'm back in biz ... ok, I'm really excited to share the news with you that beginning in July, Food Network debuts a new primetime show hosted by me!

It's called How'd That Get On My Plate? and I describe it like a cross between History Channel's Modern Marvels and Unwrapped. The crazy thing is I love both of those shows, so it's really neat that I feel I have a bit of a hybrid. Basically, on the show I follow food from it's rawest form to the various finished products that use it for an ingredient. Like saaaaaaaay peanuts. I'd visit a peanut farm, harvest, then visit a plant and show the various ways it is transformed into peanut butter, oil, brittle, etc. I've already taped one episode and just this week saw the rough cut. I really like it and hope you catch it when it begins. I'll check and see if I can run my mouth about the pilot and if I can I'll tell you what product we started with and some funny things I learned. That's what I actually love about the show, it allows me to share what I know about food and I also learn some stuff in the process. Really neat. Really neat. In addition to that I'll be a rollin' stone so I'll get to eat in new cities, see new places and meet new people. So keep the restaurant suggestions coming, I'm making a file for my travels. Next week Denver and San Jose ... any food tips? Here's the official release about the show from Food Network! I'll post the airdate and time soon and then read below it for a quick blog admin msg ...

FOOD NETWORK PRIMETIME IS IN FULL SWING THIS SPRING!

Production Begins on Three New Series, Debuting Later This Year


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Production begins this May on three new primetime series for Food Network, it was announced today by Bob Tuschman, Senior Vice President, Programming and Production for Food Network. Featuring both up-and-coming talent and a brand new addition to the Food Network family, the series tackle a variety of subjects from travel and behind-the-scenes info to personal food journeys that will change lives. The series include: 


ROAD TASTED WITH THE NEELYS 

Premieres: July, 2008

Food Network’s favorite new husband and wife team – Pat and Gina Neely – hit the road on a cross-country search for the best local, hand-crafted foods on Road Tasted with the Neelys. This next iteration of the popular show follows the fun-loving couple to cities including San Diego, Baltimore, Portland, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, and Kansas City where they’ll highlight specialty stores and family-run businesses that make one-of-a-kind edibles. Armed with the knowledge of what it takes to launch a successful family business and a passion for all things food, they'll even show viewers how to get all the fabulous food finds delivered right to their doors.


HOW’D THAT GET ON MY PLATE

Premieres: July, 2008

Sunny Anderson, host of Cooking For Real, begins a fact-finding food adventure in her new series, How’d That Get On My Plate? Each episode follows the fascinating journey of a single ingredient (such as eggs, garlic, honey or apples) as it moves from its raw state into the finished, iconic product. Watch Sunny as she travels the country from the farm, through the factory and to the market and showcases the technology and innovation it takes to get our favorite foods to the plate. Whether milking a cow, making a martini out of potato vodka, harvesting honey or driving a corn-harvesting combine, Sunny dives into the behind-the-scenes action and finds out how food gets on our plates! 


THE CHEF JEFF PROJECT

Premieres: October, 2008

Chef Jeff Henderson (author, "Cooked") had a rough life as a young adult, following a path that turned him into a drug dealer, which eventually led to his arrest. In prison, Henderson found his passion for cooking while serving nearly 10 years for drug trafficking, and through food turned his life around, becoming an award-winning chef, best-selling author and popular motivational speaker. As Executive Chef at CafĂ© Bellagio at the renowned Bellagio Hotel and Casino and holding top positions at other Las Vegas resorts including Caesar’s Palace, he has become one of the most influential African-American chefs in the country.  Now, Chef Jeff wants to give back to six young adults who are heading down a similar path but who have a strong desire to improve their lives. In The Chef Jeff Project, the young adults will work under his watchful eye at his new LA-based catering company, Posh Urban Cuisine. As they learn about food under Chef Jeff’s strong and inspiring hand, they will also be instructed in the life lessons necessary to remake themselves and succeed, including appearance, attitude, respect, motivation and behavior


FOOD NETWORK (HYPERLINK www.foodnetwork.com www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network and Web site that strives to be way more than cooking.  The network is committed to exploring new and different ways to approach food - through pop culture, competition, adventure, and travel - while also expanding its repertoire of technique-based information. Food Network is distributed to more than 90 million U.S. households and averages more than seven million Web site users monthly. With headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Knoxville, Food Network can be seen internationally in Canada, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, Monaco, Andorra, Africa, France, and the French-speaking territories in the Caribbean and Polynesia. The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE:SSP), which also owns and operates HGTV (HYPERLINK www.hgtv.com www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (HYPERLINK www.diynetwork.com www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (HYPERLINK www.gactv.com www.gactv.com) and FINE LIVING (HYPERLINK www.fineliving.com www.fineliving.com), is the manager and general partner. 



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Hey all! I'm also writing a blog about taking pretty food pics. This time around while taping episodes of Cooking for Real, I actually got time to smell the roses and take in the scene. One of them was a corner of the studio sectioned off for "beauty shots".  This is where they took my food after I cooked it so they could take pics of them for stills. Anyway, I found it pretty fascinating. What goes into making food stay pretty for a pic is pretty neat and I asked the food stylist to give my blog readers some tips cuz I know I have some food bloggers reading. I dunno about you guys, but my food pics could use some help sometimes :-) so check in for the food pic blog later tonight or over the weekend. It'll feature tips from the expert on my set with photos and food styling secrets included! 

23 comments:

Jay said...

A new show!!! OMG! That's so awesome! Your gonna take over the whole network! LOL

Great job Sunny! You rock!

Sunny Anderson said...

jay!!!! can you believe it? i was actually taping the pilot in california when i got the news about exactly how many new episodes of cooking for real i would get to tape ... it's been a crazy year thus far ... man, thanks so much for the support. i really do appreciate it.

Unknown said...

Oooh girl..I gotta rub your tummy like Buddah, for good luck. Brilliant, good to hear about the new show...when you head out to SF, what you gonna check out wine? sourdough? and if you head back to Chicago, there are so many food factotries there..all good. Hope to join you someday! :)

Anonymous said...

oooh weeee I will be watching!!! Congrats! And continue to do the damn thang :)

Anaylli said...

Oh wow...that is amazing! I love the concept of the show and I know you'll do a great job :o) Congrats & can't wait to see it! I'm looking forward to the food stylist tips too ;)

Theresa said...

I love the show. I never miss it. I am a Georigia Peach and as such I must correct you, though. On your show May 25,08 you stated Vidalia onions come from Columbus, Georgia. Actually Vidalia onions come from Vidalia, Georgia. The sand there is apparently special!

Well I'm certain Vidalia onion growers are going to be all over this one...I wanted to give you a heads up!

Keep cooking!

A fan in Columbus Georgia!

Anonymous said...

Sunny I love you and your show!! I remember seeing you and Remy on Emeril and you did your famous hot wings and I said to myself , You are going to be on that network soon because your face lights up the screen. Keep doing ya thing and represent HIP HOP!!! ONE from Chi- Towns finest

Sunny Anderson said...

theresa!! you are right, i meant when i said i lived in columbus, ga and vidalia onions are from there, i meant georgia, but the emphasis was wrong, none to worry, in the new 13 shows i make sure i give the vidalia onion and the citizens of vidalia some love :-) ... i am so glad you watch the show, do they still do that fair on the state line?? had so much fun my 1 year there lol ...

dave... oh my ... remy, what can we say about that huh? we had fun and boy have our lives changed since then huh? so glad you caught me then and are back now ... hope i do ya and chi-town proud!

Anonymous said...

Actually some
Vidalia onions are grown outside Vidalia Georgia, and since there is no appellation control on onions yet, the Vidala growers may get persnickety, but if you use the actual seeds, you shouldn't get in too much trouble.

The soil in parts of Georgia are well suited to growing these onions.Did you know some Vidalia's have sugar contents of over 24% ? Some cooking onions are topped out 8%. One reason why they last in storage so long.Vidalias spoil quickly due to the high sugar content

The only other "sweet" onion that comes close to Vidalia is the Mauii variety. Again a soil issue. Some of other sweets aren't all that sweet.

Now Sunny.Why don't you do something with Chef Alex Lopez out in the Bay Area ? She could help you with something Mexican themed . Jeez you should be able to find a worthy storyline in Northern California.

What do you say ?

Sunny Anderson said...

alec ... yeah persnickety is right! there's a champagne region thing down there for vidalia's so they aren't all grown in vidalia proper, but the region actually is regulated. and yes, i knew about the sugar content silly ... and ever hear of a walla walla onion? those are my go to sweet onions if vidalia's aren't around. they sell em up here in nyc sometimes. check here and read up, you seem like an onion fan! http://www.sweetonions.org/ .... and lemme tell ya about chef alex, she's a busy chick, cuz she asked for some advice and such about getting on the network and both times i called her to chat she was unavailable. both times. and my personal time is tight these days. so, i'll reach out to her again, but will soon have to focus on spending my free time being free teeheehee ... she's a cool diva tho!

Anonymous said...

Sunny,

Yeah I know all about Walla Wallas, Texas Sweets etc . They don't even come close to Vidalia (or Maui's) It seems the sweeter the onion, the more disk like they are, like a flying saucer.

When I see chefs or Food personalities refer to a red onion as "sweet" I know they are full of it, as onion experts know this isn't so.Same with Spanish or larger white onions. It's almost like they are making up stuff to say.

Chef Lopez.Get unbusy when Sunny calls.

Thanks for the onion link. One more thing to scan and store in the data bank.

Unknown said...

Sunny! Please don't give up on me. I apologize for missing your calls, both times I was cooking with my students. The first time making dim sum, had my hands in the wrappers, second time making crepes. Your call is my #1 priority...thank you for even taking time for me..it means so much! Any advice is greatly welcome, I am looking forward to your call..third time will be the charm!! Funny how Alec got into the mix...

Sunny Anderson said...

alec, u should start a blog. i'd love to read your voice, maybe not all the neg. stuff towards my new coworkers, but i bet you have similar comments about pop culture and the such ... and yeah, i dunno why anyone would say a red onion is sweet ... i think by comparison to a spanish or white it is, but i think people confuse "sweet" with less bite ... i'd call it mild and peppery, but not sweet. does that pass the alec test? cuz really ... you're a bit of a litmus lol ...j/k anyway, u owe me a link about food since i gave ya a new one to bookmark ...

alex!! never apologize for being busy ... especially not if you were cooking!!!! shoooooot ... i actually yell at the phone if it rings while i'm cooking teeheehee ... i'll give a call around our regular time again this week :-) 3 times a charm ... and oh yeah alec is all ova! i like how he/she stuck up 4 ya! foodies fending for foodies is all right with me :-)

Anonymous said...

First what made you think I was a woman ? You totally guessed wrong Sunny.

As for any snide remarks towards your new "coworkers", well, I just want to say one thing. I think they are deserving of the criticism levelled by me and many others. One reason why I kind of took a shine to you was that you appear to be grounded and will not take the " I am the future of Food" route. I feel the same way about Adam Roberts too. I think your fans will really appreciate the grounding you offer and this help form part of the bond you develop with fans.

If I see someone getting too big for their brtiches, then I have to say something.

I mean it starts out fairly calm. Then all hell breaks loose.ie Paula Deen,Fee'Numb Nuts, Gina Neely (record time) A few of these people are so painful to watch. But we keep watching, kind of like the trainwreck reasoning.

As for me wrting a blog, sure I have thought about it, but my job as a driving instructor leaves me little time. To do it right would take more time than I have now. I actually moderate at a few industry blog forums where people actually take my advice. Go figure.

As for Chef Lopez, if you read her blog and see the passion for food and the drive to spread the food gospel. well that is why I piped up my witty support for her.Aside, we could use a real Mexican cooking show and it might be good to have a real chef do the cooking. PBS has Bayliss. FN has ??

Onions. Yeah it pains me hear how some FN personalities describe ingredients or processes and not know what they are talking about, but you seem to know your onions.

As for a food link, man you got me there.

I was in the Washington airport(National) 2 months ago ,waiting for a flight needing to eat something. Not feeling like the usual $12.00 Sbarrro's or Manchu Wok or Burger King. I saw a sandwich place, Potbelly Sandwich Works was the busiest restaurant in the airport.

Boy I can see why. Lunch was $5.50. Sandwich, mac salad, and a soda. In an airport !!! Can you believe that ? And it was very tasty.

www.potbelly.com And they don't franchise... yet.

Sunny Anderson said...

alec, teeheehee ... ok, the woman part was only really because i thought you wanna really hide your identity, what with the moniker and all ... so why not go 1 step further and switch genders? i'm goofy that way, soooooo ready for a conspiracy theory! lol ... and for real ... i do appreciate your honesty, like i said in the beginning, candid is cool with me ... and yeah, chef lopez' blog is sumthin ... i read it ... hey alex! :-) as for the onion thing, when i replied to our similar annoyance of non onioneers i didn't make it specific to anyone, very general, people talk food all over the place, not just tv ... come on dude (right? :-P), don't try to back me into something ... and omg, an airport meal for under 20bux??? i just saw a report about how it takes like $1.67 a mile in gas to run an 18 wheeler and the drivers only get like $1.27 per mile ... those are approximate and i'm sure the pay and gas guzzlin is on a sliding scale, but omg ... either truckers need to get paid more or we gotta figure out this oil thing. do truckers have a union? and duh, i'm assumin' you teach truckers ... and oh yeah, i'm luvin me some adam roberts. real cool dude, we are working on something together and hope you like it when it drops ... matter of fact if you'd come out of the shadows you would be fun to include...

Anonymous said...

Sunny,
Just fooling around with the driving instructor job description.

I have used that line to get rid of girls in bars who approach you asking "so what do you do for living? " . I like playing with opportunistic females. Either driving instructor or parking lot attendant. That sends them scrambling quickly.

Amen on the truckers. If we don't do something fast, we are in for some serious trouble. I mean truckers are our lifeblood. We don't get food if they don't work, right ? I mean why go to work if you lose money. It is heartbreaking to see truckers get shafted like this. let's blame Walmart.It's all their fault.

I guess your new show is opening up eyes uh ? Do you know the 100 mile theory ?

I thought St Louis was the donut capital of the USA ?

Sunny Anderson said...

alec ... see you are just a typin camoflauge teeheehee ... ok, so you're not a trucker. i am a gullible fool. but i am glad you agree about the pay ... i really think more attn needs to be paid ... trucking companies are gonna need a federal bail out soon so we can get our 20lb tubs of peanut butter and 40oz bags of chips .... not to mention every other single thing we buy ... and no i don't know the 100 mile theory, but i'll google and wait for your response as well... and the show is more about the egg and not the donut, egg farm was real close by and a spot that uses egg was too, so 2 birds, ya know? so we weren't dissin tha lou, it's an egg story ....

Anonymous said...

Why did you have to all the way to Denver to see an egg farm ? Your air miles I suppose.

This last increase in world crude oil is definitely going to put a few truckers out of business and $200.00 barrel oil will change the face of the economy shortly.

I think this and many other issues surrounding sustainablity are going to impact us and bring about social change, and some may say in a good way.

We keep hearing the phrase "eat local" but what exactly is that about.
http://100milediet.org/why-eat-local/

This link gives you a brief overview.

In many ways, I think this philosophy can and will make us better cooks and help strengthen the area in which we live. Aside I have always wondered why anyone would buy a 8 lb slab of Banquet Mac & Cheese at Walmart when they could make a much better product at home for the same cost. Adding another few bucks on for fuel sucharges and perhaps you will see more people learn how to cook.

Away from eating local, have you ever wondered what all the orange juice companies do with the peels after they finish with them ? I guess you could make orange cleaning products or citric acid, but I imagine they have literal mountains of orange peels after squeezing. Does this perplex you too ?
Could yeah find out and do a show ? You need a trip to Florida right ?

Sunny Anderson said...

alec, in denver cuz it's not where the farms are, it's where the farms are that can accomodate what we need to shoot. takes plenty of clearances ... besides, i don't produce, i host. so much of that isn't my decision. you should've seen the farm. beautiful. i took pics and will post soon or when the episode drops, can't figure out which ... maybe both. and low n behold ... i do the 100mile thing and didn't know it :-) ... i do it in bkyln at the orchard and other local markets and i do the union square market in manny hatty on sats., ... not every sat, but the weather just got nice, so i've been twice. luvvvv me some apple cider and apple cinnamon donuts on a sat morning! alright, off to dinner with the crew. in san jose now ... strawberries.

Unknown said...

Girl you in San Jose? I could have met you half way. Are in town for a few more days? I'm heading to the theater to see "Sex And The City"....too cold outside to play.
Gonna head to the Union Street Fest on Sunday.

Anonymous said...

Wow I didn't know you needed such clearance from egg farms. Afraid the Chinese might pilfer some industry secrets ?

Can you find out how many strawberry crops per year they can produce ? I mean eveytime I look around my supermarket, they have either Fla.or CA berries on special and in recent years, the quality has gotten much better. The taste doesn't seem so muted. In fact, I think it may be cheaper to buy these berries rather than the pick your own version and the taste isn't all that bad.

Shopping at your local farmers market is good if the produce is local. I mean that the whole point right ?

Sunny Anderson said...

alec, no it's more on the usda side ... like chicks get sick and if one gets sick alllll 24 thousand in one barn gotta go ... and i don't wanna be responsible for that, they were cage free roaming you know? so we had to find a place that would let us get in after sanitizing ourselves. we want to tell the story, not ruin it. and i dunno how many strawberry crops a year, but omg on the 50 acres we visited alone some 700,000 pounds a day!!! a DAY!!! tips for strawberries will pop up here when it airs, but a quickie, don't wash until ready to eat, no seed clusters - they should be spaced and no green or yellow flesh towards the top.

Sunny Anderson said...

alex, more like sunnyvale ... quiet town, flew into san jose and the strawberry farm was about an hour or so away. just got back yesterday ...