We do! It's one of the few shows DH and I watch together, along with Top Chef. He's not a big TV person.

I haven't picked a favorite yet. I do like Amy for her sheer determination to be there.

I have always watched! I’m not sure yet for this season.

We watched Comeback Kitchen, and I agree with you about Amy. But there's something about Adam that I never warmed up to. If they can tame Christian a little, he's fun. The blonde Southern girl just doesn't do anything for me, like a Barbie compared to heart-on-sleeve Amy. Harrison? Pretty boy, but can he cook?

I like Amy. She's memorable and I think her food looks good. I think Palek could be good but I'm not sure she'll get there before the show ends. I don't like that they're doing more games and stand ups (think Guy Fieri) than actual cooking and cooking demos. They may need talking heads more than cooks, but I miss the days when Food Network was about the food. It'll tell you something that I usually see the show on Monday, today is Friday, and I can't remember other contestants but one--a firefighter from Florida?--who has a lovely personality but hasn't cooked anything that has impressed me enough to remember it.

I agree about Matthew, the Hashtag boy. How annoying! Katie's the name of the perky blonde. Amy looks like she's actually lived by comparison. Here are the finalists. Manny is the firefighter, who seems like a really sweet guy. I don't think I could watch a whole show of Jess's lipstick, it's very offputting. And what exactly is a food novelist?

I was surprised when Adam showed up AGAIN, snooze fest. And I agree with sooz, if I never see Grunwald again it will be too soon, he's terrible, and not even arrogant-likeable in a Marcel Vigneron (from Top Chef) way.

I like Palak, Christian, and Manny.

Diane, you got that perfectly! Which one is Christian (yes, I could look it up, but several episodes in, I shouldn't have to...I may not have remembered Manny's name, but I did remember his face, and that he's a firefighter from Florida)?

Christian is the big guy, looks like a Marine, very Italian.

Soooo, TWO went home on Sunday! What did you think? I'm oka with those two, more so one of 'em!

And who were you impressed with? Manny really shined with his food knowledge. Palek was good. I love Amy with her heart on her sleeve. Christian is smart.

I love that show! Amy is my favorite.

I agree with Sushipup. I'm concerned about Amy. She started strong, but seems to be checked out. I could happily watch her on Food Network, so I think she has the star part down, but don't they have to be in New York a lot? That isn't going to be easy from Hawaii, and I don't think I could move from there to the Northeast. :) She definitely outshines most of them on the warmth meter. That's what I love so much about Aarti. She's so genuinely warm. Her food is great, but I could just listen to her chat.

Manny has "it" power. He's charismatic but warm, and knows a lot without being brash about it. He doesn't have great presentations skills, but that's the easiest of it to learn on the fly. I liked Christian more this time out. He's starting to be more real. So is Jess (? is that her name? The novelist?). A lot of writers are poor spontaneous speakers, but she has command of her tongue, and also seems to be warming up. She could be a dark horse if she figures the whole thing out. She's also becoming more memorable.

I like Palak a lot but she doesn't project the kind of warmth that Amy has in spades. I think her food is much more interesting, but, frankly, she reminds me a lot of Giada, who has, herself, learned to project a lot more warmth in recent years, but is more composed and tight by nature.

I'm making no predictions, however. The show I would have added to my DVR list would have been Dom's. By far one of the best cooks that's come through the show, charming without trying, and warm without gushing. I could listen to him describe food in Italian laced English all day. But they didn't want a cooking show cook, they wanted someone to prattle about restaurants, and out he went.

I miss the old Food Network before there were stars. Sara Moulton was a favorite. Ming Tsai, too, though I don't cook his kind of food. Dom would have fit in with them... But maybe not the stoner set whose glassy eyeballs watching seem to keep the lights on at Food Network.

I think Amy might be my least favorite. from day one (this time and last... or is this her third shot?) doesn't seem to know what she's doing or even care.

I probably have a bit mre skepticism than the average person, but this is a "reality show" when you come down to it. I would hope that contestants don't know the outcome going in, but no doubt in my mind the "judges" (Food Network) have a great deal of input.

the contestants keep popping up on one cooking show or another. in a way, I doubt they are super heart-broken if eliminated. they've gotten publicity and exposure for themselves and/or restaurant they're associated with.

I think the cynic in me is most bothered by what I kinda see as a formula for contestants. certain profiles seem to always be present.

I've noticed that many of the NFNS contestants come FROM the ranks of people in other shows, contestants on Guy's Grocery Games or Chopped, for example. The winner rarely becomes a true star, but rather carry on as judges on those shows. Yes, it's a reality show, but I honestly don't think that the network puts a finger on the scale until a little later in the process that where we are now, at 6 finalists. But would they really want a perky blonde like Katie when they already have two previous winners with that profile?

and will anyone actually get a "show"... at a time anyone would watch it? on occasion, usually out of boredom, will watch DDD. Fieri gets more and more annoying every day. I think he was the last person to actually get a hit, prime-time show out of this competition.

I enjoy those "worst cook" shows and they come with not a grain but a CUP of coarse sea salt.

"Hell's Kitchen" is a fun diversion, though the drama has become painfully forced in past few seasons. i'm sorry, but no matter how well you cook, is Ramsey actually gonna put a 25 year old in charge of one of his huge operations and pay them a quarter of a million dollars??

"Top Chef" - maybe the most real cooking competition, imo.

I have no clue when any show is on so I don't catch any that are weekly series...I suppose I just run across repeats.

The best thing about tripple D is they visit real kitchens, and lately, great single-owned restaurants. Good small town stuff. I've learned more from them than the competition shows. Fresh food, good ingredients, homemade spice rubs, biscuits and pasta from scratch, etc.

I agree that there is some standardization of the casting. There would be. They're bringing in people who already have some kind of presence and experience. The rank amateurs aren't good enough. Plenty of chefy people become TV stars from judging FN shows, so I'm not sure they're that starved for judges, but that may be the warmth factor again.

What I am fairly certain of is that once the casting for NFNS is done, they play fair. I'm pretty sure most of these shows fall under the game show laws, and I've seen the editing disclaimer on some, though I can't say whether NFNS has had it. True "reality" shows, where they just show people doing what they do, like DDD, aren't subject to any such laws. They aren't required to be verté documentaries, and can do as many retakes as they want, rehearse, etc. Competitions are specifically required by law not to be rigged in any way, and the disclaimer says that portions not affecting the outcome have been edited out.

That doesn't mean that Bobby and Giada don't have an inkling from day one of the ones they think are most likely, but it still has to play out. The players have to get through all the tests. Some crash spectacularly. Like trying to tell Giada how to cook pasta. :)