Food Network Star Final Four, Celeb Sighting, and SPOILERS

Well, if you've seen last Sunday's episode then you know that our friend Paul was kicked off the show. It happened after a mini Iron Chef competition (Iron Chef-Lite?... I Can't Believe It's Not Iron Chef?) where Paul's cooking didn't exactly wow the judges and his work as a commentator wasn't stellar.

A couple people have left comments on some of my earlier posts comparing Paul to JAG and how it wasn't right that Paul was kicked off. But Paul even acknowledges in the episode that he lagged in certain areas. We've spoken, so this isn't me just being critical from behind a computer, and the bottom line was that JAG spoke really passionately about cooking and Paul admitted his nerves on camera-- always a fatal flaw in reality television, but between exhaustion and pressure a lot of reality participants make this same mistake.

The person who was spot-on this week was Amy (to the right). Her food impressed, and her on-camera commentary was fun and entertaining. Even when she didn't know the answers Alton Brown asked, she knew how to find them. She went with the flow and showed a savvy sensibility that's needed when dealing with TV hosting.

Honestly, now that Paul's gone she's the one with my vote. Besides, I love a mamma that cries about missing her family but then comes back to kick ass.

Another thing to keep in mind is that this isn't a show about who WE want to win. Not really. No matter how much the Food Network publicity machine wants us to believe that, it's really about finding a show they can sell to advertisers and one of the key things lacking with Food Network is ethnic diversity.

I think execs hoped to have a show with someone like JAG. He offers a Latin spin. And let's face it, Latin cuisine is hugely popular and includes a very large untapped market. Food Network's new show, Simply Delicioso, practically matches JAG's show pitch but it's hosted by Ingrid Hoffmann, a spicy Latina with Rachel Ray's haircut and Giada De Laurentiis' boobs-- I mean, fashion sense. (Go with what works, right?)

JAG also offers a real "guy's guy" sort of attitude that Food Network has been adding to their development slate over the last couple years (the Paula Deen boys, Guy Fieri, the winner from last season's FNS, and Ace of Cakes, being the obvious examples).

SIDE NOTE CELEB SIGHTING: When we went to see Transformers this weekend, Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes was inside Kitchen Academy at the Arclight building shooting some sort of special or segment. He's very short. I'm talking smaller than Tom Cruise short. But we did see cake stuff. We got hungry. Unfortunately, they didn't give out samples.

We will no longer watch his show.

Anyway, speaking as a former D-boy (development person) who tried to sell shows at various networks around town, I can look at Next Food Network Star and see that Paul's show pitch (gay host, catering parties on a budget) is similar on some level to Party Line With The Hearty Boys and Good Deal With Dave Lieberman. But JAG offered something that Paul didn't-- Latin fusion from a hyper masculine chef-- so even if the two contestants were tied it's obvious why the judges would pick him over Paul; develop the show you want on the air.

Unfortunately, no one counted on JAG lying about his whole back story. Interesting that Food Network hasn't really addressed that yet in the media. Do you think they're seeing if it will blow over? If no one-- like the military-- will make a stink about his lies?

The only way Food Network can really save themselves at this point is by disqualifying JAG. We'll see what happens-- hell, he may just get kicked off next week so it will be a moot point-- but I can't picture America wanting to watch someone who deliberately lied about his back story to the judges and viewers.

And on one final note, why is it that all my straight comic book girlfriends want to know if I've met Alton Brown and if I can set them up on a date with him? I mean, I know the dude has made geek look cool, and his show is really entertaining, but come on! Can you just imagine the sex talk?

"Oh Alton... Talk nerdy to me!"