The ninth season of the American reality television series Food Network Star premiered Sunday, June 2, 2013.
Season 8 chef mentors Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, and Alton Brown returned for season 9, but they were not assigned to a team, nor did they hold a final elimination challenge between the bottom contestants. Season 9 featured 12 contestants, just three short of the prior season.
Contestants
Winner Damaris Phillips, 31, Culinary Teacher - Louisville, Kentucky
Runner-Up Rodney Henry, 47, Pie Shop Owner - Baltimore, Maryland Russell Jackson, 49, Underground Chef - San Francisco, California
Eliminated (In order of elimination) Daniela Perez-Reyes, 28, Caterer/Bartender - Haleiwa, Hawaii Andres Guillama, 26, Childhood Obesity Prevention Coach - Waynesville, North Carolina Danushka Lysek, 37, Private Chef/Model - New York City Connie "Lovely" Jackson, 27, Caterer - Los Angeles, California (Returned to competition after winning Star Salvation) Viet Pham, 33, Chef/Restaurant Owner - Salt Lake City, Utah Chris Hodgson, 26, Chef/Restaurateur - Cleveland, Ohio Chad Rosenthal, 37, Restaurant Owner - Ambler, Pennsylvania Connie "Lovely" Jackson, 27, Caterer - Los Angeles, California Nikki Dinki, 29, Food Blogger/Online Host - New York City Stacey Poon-Kinney, 34, Restaurant Owner - San Diego, California
At least six competitors have appeared on other Food Network programs. Pham defeated Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America and also competed on Extreme Chef. Lysek and Henry appeared on Chopped; both were eliminated before the final round. Henry also appeared on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, while Lysek also won during an appearance on 24 Hour Restaurant Battle. Poon-Kinney appeared on Restaurant: Impossible, where Robert Irvine gave her family's restaurant a makeover. Hodgson competed on The Great Food Truck Race; his truck, Hodge Podge, was a runner-up on season 2.
Contestant progress
Contestant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11Damaris IN IN SAFE IN IN HIGH IN IN LOW IN WINNERRodney IN IN SAFE LOW IN LOW IN LOW IN IN RUNNER-UP Russell LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW HIGH LOW LOW HIGH IN RUNNER-UPStacey HIGH HIGH LOW HIGH WIN HIGH SAFE IN IN OUT Nikki HIGH LOW HIGH HIGH IN LOW WIN IN OUT Lovely IN IN LOW OUT OUT Chad HIGH HIGH HIGH IN IN LOW OUT Chris IN IN IN IN IN OUT Viet IN IN IN LOW OUT Danushka LOW LOW OUT Andres IN OUT Daniela OUT
: Lovely won Star Salvation and returned to the competition, but was eliminated the same week she came back. : Russell was eliminated from the final three midway through the finale. (WINNER) The contestant won the competition and became the next "Food Network Star". (RUNNER-UP) The contestant made it to the finale, but could not make it. (WIN) The contestant won the 'Star Challenge' for that week. (SAFE) The contestant won 'immunity' from elimination by winning the Camera Challenge. (HIGH) The contestant was one of the Selection Committee's favorites for that week. (IN) The contestant was neither one of the Selection Committee's favorites nor their least favorite. They were not up for elimination. (LOW) The contestant was one of the Selection Committee's three or four least favorites for that week, but was not eliminated. (LOW) The contestant was one of the Selection Committee's two least favorites for that week, but was not eliminated. (OUT) The contestant was the Selection Committee's least favorite for that week, and was eliminated.
Episode summaries
Week One: Are You Ready For Prime-Time? Camera Challenge: The 12 contestants must make a 30-second pitch to network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson; the pitch is also shown to a focus group, who are given reaction meters to rate their impressions. Following this, they have 45 minutes to create a dish that highlights potatoes. Top 3: Chad, Nikki, and Stacey Bottom 3: Russell, Danushka, and Daniela Eliminated: Daniela Original air date: June 2, 2013
Week Two: Burger Bash Camera Challenge: The contestants must make a burger for 100 burger enthusiasts and make a two-minute presentation to the audience. Each audience member has a token and will give their token to the contestant whose burger they want to taste. Top 3: Russell, Chad, and Stacey Bottom 3: Nikki, Danushka, and Andres Eliminated: Andres Original air date: June 9, 2013
Week Three: A Star is Chopped Mentor Challenge: The contestants are separated into two groups, led by Alton and Bobby, and must prepare a dish using an exotic ingredient. The winners from each group receive an advantage in the next challenge. Team Alton winner: Rodney Team Bobby winner: Damaris Chopped Challenge: The contestants face the Chopped Challenge, in which Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli, Alton and Bobby judge two heats of a Chopped-style competition. For winning the Mentor Challenge, Damaris and Rodney earn a place on the judging panel for their respective teams and are safe from elimination. Round 1: Viet, Danushka, Chad and Russell face off against one another using foods found at a baseball game: cotton candy, hot dogs, peanuts and beer. Damaris joins the judges for this heat. Round 2: Chris, Lovely, Nikki and Stacey face off against one another using kids' foods: chicken nuggets, fruit leathers, cheddar fish crackers and apple juice. Rodney joins the judges for this heat. Top 2: Nikki and Chad Bottom 3: Stacey, Russell, and Danushka Eliminated: Danushka Original air date: June 16, 2013
Week Four: Big Screen Bites Camera Challenge: The contestants are divided into teams of three, each representing a classic movie theme. The teams, who will compete at a luxury cinema, must create a menu and a movie trailer based on their theme. Teams: Musical: Lovely, Rodney, and Chris Western: Stacey, Nikki, and Russell Romance: Damaris, Viet, and Chad Top 3: Nikki, Russell, and Stacey Bottom 3: Viet, Rodney, and Lovely Eliminated: Lovely Original air date: June 23, 2013
Week Five: 4th of July "Live" Mentor Challenge: The contestants work with Terrence Jenkins to present live demos of a sausage and pepper sandwich in three minutes. Each contestant is challenged with a different issue during their demonstration including missing peppers, cutting the lights and Terrence walking off the set with a cough. Winner: Rodney Camera Challenge: The contestants take part in an interactive show called "4th of July Live." As part of the show, network executive Bob Tuschman returns to judge the challenge. Each of the contestants will be given one of eight stations which range from cooking to a station with a culinary expert. Chef Station Chad Farm Stand with Farmer Lee Chris Coleslaw Damaris Cocktails with mixologist Marcos Tello Nikki Fried Chicken Rodney Dessert Russell Potato salad Stacey Butcher Station with Lindy and Grundy Viet Chips and Dips
Top 2: Stacey and Nikki Winner: Stacey Bottom 2: Russell and Viet Eliminated: Viet Original air date: June 30, 2013
Week Six: Product Pitch
Star Challenge: The finalists are given one hour to create two potential food products that can be sold on the market. They must then choose which one they will take to market and will have the opportunity to pitch their product to three executives from Kraft Foods, Kellogg's and Target. Top 3: Damaris, Stacey and Russell Bottom 4: Nikki, Chad, Rodney and Chris Eliminated: Chris Original air date: July 7, 2013
Week Seven: Star Charity Auction Camera Challenge: The contestants had to describe Bobby Flay's dish after tasting it and were buzzed by Bobby Flay when they used certain words that were forbidden to use. Top 2: Stacey and Nikki Winner: Stacey Bottom 2: Rodney and Russell Star Challenge: The finalists create their signature dish to tell what type of Food Network Star they are, they then had to describe the dish to a group of adventurous eaters (gastronauts). The dishes were then bid on by the eaters. Whoever earns the highest bid is safe from elimination. For winning the Camera Challenge, Stacey won an extra $10 added on to whatever amount her dish receives in the auction. All proceeds went to Share Our Strength, an organization to combat childhood hunger. Dishes and Bids: Damaris: (Green Bean Casserole) $130 Nikki: (Mushroom & Shrimp Pasta) $130 Chad: (Texas Barbecue Poutine) $150 Russell: (Egg & Bacon Revolution) $150 Stacey: (Maple Bacon Cheesecake) $180 + $10 bonus Rodney: (Berry & Rhubarb Pie) $140 Top 3: Nikki, Damaris, and Stacey Winner: Nikki Bottom 2: Russell and Chad Eliminated: Chad Original air date: July 14, 2013
Week Eight: Food Stories From The Road Prior to the announcement of the Mentors Challenge, Robert Irvine announced the winner of the Star Salvation was Lovely, who returned to the competition.
Mentors Challenge: The contestants had to create an Italian dish for the mentors and then had to come up with a tasty description for the dish. As a twist, two contestants at a time are brought in and then the two chefs switch dishes and describe each other. Damaris and Lovely described each other's dishes, Stacey and Rodney judge one another, and Russell and Nikki critique theirs. The winner would receive an advantage in the upcoming Star Challenge. Winner: Nikki Star Challenge: In teams of three, the finalists must film a three-minute "food story show." Nikki, Stacey and Damaris are paired with The Donut Man, while Lovely, Russell and Rodney take Vito's Pizza. Guest judges Janice Min, Gary Baum and Leslie Bruce from The Hollywood Reporter screen and critique the shows; the least successful team lands in the bottom three. Top 2: Damaris and Nikki Bottom 3: Rodney, Russell and Lovely Eliminated: Lovely Original air date: July 21, 2013
Week Nine: Menu: Impossible Mentor's Challenge: The chefs are asked to create a well-balanced dish in 30 minutes using ingredients from the Food Network Star pantry. During their presentation to Alton, the contestants must explain why they used the ingredients and give a tip for preparing a quick meal. Rodney and Damaris are assigned breakfast dishes, Nikki receives lunch and Russell and Stacey prepare food for dinner. Winner: Stacey Star Challenge: The contestants head to Phil Trani's in Long Beach, California. Restaurant: Impossible host Robert Irvine, along with owner Phil Trani and managers Amber and Ashley, joins Alton and Giada on the judging panel. Irvine challenges the chefs to reinvent failing or outdated dishes on the restaurant's menu. For winning the Mentor's Challenge, Stacey is presented with five dishes and given the opportunity to either cook them or assign them to another chef. Rodney, assigned chicken cacciatore, serves the judges a chicken cacciatore pie. Damaris, assigned tournedos of beef and mashed potatoes, serves a filet with garlic mashed potatoes. Stacey, who chose crab-stuffed halibut with a baked potato, serves a halibut crab cake roulade with potatoes. Nikki, assigned the salmon with onion pepper relish and rice pilaf, serves a broccoli cake with salmon and rice pilaf. Russell, assigned stuffed chicken and rice pilaf, serves a spinach wrapped chicken and risotto. Winner: Russell Bottom 4: Damaris, Stacey, Rodney and Nikki Eliminated: Nikki Original air date: July 28, 2013
Week Ten: Network Pitch