Food Network & Cooking Channel Announce 2012 Programming Line-Up

Food Network and Cooking Channel look to again satiate the audiences' appetite, showcasing a 2012 line-up of returning favorites and new programming faces and formats, including -- 22 new series and 35 returning shows across both networks, as announced today by Brooke Johnson, President, Food Network & Cooking Channel.

COOKING CHANNEL

NEW SERIES PRIMETIME:

Roadtrip with G. Garvin
Series Premiere: Tuesday May 29th at 9pmET/6pmPT
Acclaimed cookbook author, host and larger-than-life personality, Chef Gerry Garvin, aka 'G.', takes viewers on a tour of his native South, to explore the best eats this part of the country has to offer. Travelling to Atlanta and Houston, North Carolina, South Carolina and more, G. visits a different city each episode to discover the hidden gems and the people behind the magic. From traditional ethnic food and urban farms to BBQ pit masters extraordinaire, G.Garvin leaves no stones unturned in his quest to find the hottest, most delicious spots in the country.

The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia
Series Premiere: Friday, June 1st at 10pmET/7pmPT
Baron Ambrosia,the self-proclaimed 'Culinary Ambassador to the Bronx', uses his eccentric cinematic persona to take culinary consciousness to a whole new level. His discerning palate and passion for flavor leads him beyond his backyard, discovering America's unsung heroes of culinary excellence in cities-less-traveled including: Baltimore, Md.; Bridgeport, Conn.; Brighton Beach, Brooklyn; Bethlehem, Pa. Along the way, the Baron finds himself tangled in stories of mystery, comedy and intrigue.

Eden Eats
Series Premiere: August 2012
Eden Grinshpan is a world traveler and culinary adventurer on a mission to eat around the world without using a passport. In each episode, Eden travels to a new American city taking only 24 hours to uncover the global culinary scene. She discovers authentic recipes and incredible stories from the locals who make up the backbone of every city and come together to create some of the most delicious food in the world. Eden makes stops in Baltimore, Charlotte, N.C., Honolulu, Nashville, Tenn., Phoenix, San Diego, Salt Lake City and Tampa, Fla. In every city, Eden's journey will lead to a mouthwatering adventure, but there is no telling who she'll meet or what she'll eat with only a day to conquer the culinary diversity of each city.

Cheap Bites
Series Premiere: August 2012
New York City chef and outspoken food writer, Eddie Huang, takes viewers on a road trip to find America's best food deals. Each week, Eddie tackles a new food category and uncovers the best eats at the best price. Irreverent, candid and up for anything, Eddie's journey will be a funny and surprising guide the best cheap bites. From free pizza in New York to 25-cent donuts in Memphis, Tenn., Eddie shows viewers the cheapest eats around.

Eat the Street
Series Premiere: September 2012
Every city has one - a single street where block after block, restaurant after restaurant, meal after meal, you can experience a magical, mouthwatering tour through cultures and cuisines of every conceivable variety. Join Cooking Channel's own Chuck Hughes as he takes a tour of America's great food streets, tasting his way through cities and learning about the people and history that have made these flavors special.

Man, Fire, Food
Series Premiere: September 2012
Roger Mooking (Everyday Exotic, Heat Seekers) explores cooking at its most basic as he features the cooks who take the fundamental formula of fire and food to make delicious culinary creations. Along the way, he samples fire-cooked favorites from local joints on backroads and byways from coast to coast.

My Grandmother's Ravioli
Series Premiere: FALL 2012
Mo Rocca is a foodie who doesn't know how to cook, so he's set out to learn from the masters: America's Grandmothers and Grandfathers. Join Mo as he visits these warm (and very patient) grandparents in their kitchens to learn treasured recipes, hear their stories and ultimately cook for their families.

RETURNING SERIES PRIMETIME:

Easy Chinese
Season Two Premiere: Saturday, June 2nd at 8:30pmET/5:30pmPT
In season two of Easy Chinese, Ching-He Huang is out to find both the traditional and unexpected as she explores New York and Los Angeles in search of mouth-watering Chinese inspiration. Through the culturally diverse neighborhoods on each coast, Ching shows viewers what authentic Chinese food is, how to find it, and how to easily make it at home.

Not My Mama's Meals
Season Two Premiere: August 2012
Bobby Deen takes his mother'srecipes and transforms her Southern comfort food into lighter, leaner, yet still delicious dishes. Each week, Bobby recreates one of his Mama's famous meals with healthy substitutes that cut down on calories and fat, but still deliver on taste.

Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen
Season Three Premiere: September 2012
Cooking Channel returns to the wildly popular world of Culinary It-Girl Nadia G with a third season of the comedy-cooking show Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen. Just as skilled in strutting in stilettos as wielding a meat cleaver, Nadia brings her savvy chef know-how and rock star attitude to the series while sharing recipes and cooking tips for both beginner and seasoned at-home cooks.

Symon's Suppers
Season Two Premiere: September 2012
Chef Michael Symon cooks with soul. Growing up in a Greek and Sicilian family, the Cleveland native creates boldly flavored, deeply satisfying dishes at his restaurants and with Symon's Suppers, Michael shares his favorite recipes and culinary stories, while cooking alongside his family and closest friends.

Unique Sweets
Season Three Premiere: October 2012
Unique Sweets is an insider's peek into innovative eateries across America that are creating the most unique and exciting desserts today. Each episode runs the gamut on the sweet spectrum: restaurants with revolutionary pastry chefs; candy shops inventing eye-popping confections; chocolate boutiques with wild artisanal flavors; and bakeries producing one-of-a-kind pastries, cakes and cookies in the middle of the night. Wherever there are gooey, crunchy, sticky and sweet treats that you won't find anywhere else, Unique Sweets goes there.

Extra Virgin
Season Three Premiere: Fall 2012
Actress Debi Mazar and her Tuscan-born husband Gabriele Corcos return for a third season of food, family and friends. Debi, a modern girl from Queens, and Gabriele, a food purist from the hills of Tuscany, invite viewers into their life and home kitchen in the original series - with hilarious and delicious results.

RETURNING SERIES DAYTIME:

The Perfect Three
Season Two Premiere: Saturday May 12th at 2:30pmET/11:30am PT
Cooking Channel and Food Network's favorite faces spotlight the perfect three dishes in 13 classic categories, from burgers and brownies to sandwiches and salads. As an added bonus, Kelsey Nixon (Kelsey's Essentials) shares her indispensable tips for mastering the recipe, and in each episode, the winner of the online recipe submission contest cooks with Kelsey, showing how to make his or her winning recipe that was voted as category favorite by fans.

Kelsey's Essentials
Season Four Premiere: Fall 2012
Kelsey Nixon inspires a new generation of food lovers with her fresh take on essential cooking basics. In her fourth season, she gives savvy tips on must-have pantry items, the latest gadgets and essential kitchen techniques like roasting, baking, and knife skills. Whether she is sharing unique entertaining tips and food gift ideas or classic yet sophisticated recipes for sauces, stews, and eggs, Kelsey is a master at using the basics to create dishes that are anything but ordinary. She targets the DIY home cook - breaking down the steps, teaching proper technique and making everyone feel comfortable in the kitchen.

Drop 5lbs With Good Housekeeping
Season Two Premiere: January 2013
In partnership with Good Housekeeping magazine, Drop 5 Lbs. is based on the magazine's popular Drop 5 Lbs. column. Packed with cooking and shopping tips, fat burning exercises, dining-out do's and don'ts, the show makes losing weight easy and manageable. Drop 5 Lbs. shows viewers that small changes give big results. We've done all of the legwork so you don't have to put a lot of effort into losing weight. Just pick the strategies that fit into your lifestyle, select the foods you enjoy and you'll be on your way. Whether viewers want to lose 5 pounds or 50 pounds, this show can help.

FOOD NETWORK

NEW SERIES PRIMETIME:

Meat Men
Series Premiere: Monday, April 9th at 11pm ET/PT
Famous New York butcher and meat purveyor Pat LaFrieda brings Food Network viewers inside the fascinating and compelling world of Meat Men. Running Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors, a third-generation wholesale meat purveyor business, Pat, along with his cousin Mark Pastore, and his dad Pat Sr., supply more than 500 customers, including some of the most prestigious restaurants and bistros in New York City. Expanding from a small corner shop in New York City to a 35,000 square-feet facility in New Jersey, this growth comes with great pressure to maintain the high-quality product for which Pat has become known, and to manage the many hurdles that occur. Whether it's last-minute requests, creating custom blends and menus for new clients, or navigating the personalities of a work staff, Meat Men takes viewers on a high-'steaks' ride with a side of humor, served medium rare.

Cupcake Champions
Series Premiere: Sunday, May 13th at 8pm ET/PT
Cupcake Champions pits 16 of Cupcake Wars' best and most memorable winners against each other in a tournament to name the ultimate cupcake champ. The series features star-studded, themed events including Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark, Glee, Madagascar 3, Pixar's Brave and a special Food Network Star-themed finale. These bakers are the best of the best, but only one can fend off the challenges and survive the war to win $50,000.

Invention Hunters
Series Premiere: Monday, May 14th at 9pm ET/PT
Steve Greenberg and Patrick Raymond are two "invention scouts", scouring America in search of the next great kitchen invention. In each episode, they come across three home inventors who each believe they have a million-dollar kitchen gadget. Steve and Patrick put the inventions to the test ensuring they work as promised and determine whether there is a market for the idea. They will then choose one invention to bring to buyers in the retail manufacturing world to convince them to buy it and make the inventor's dreams a reality.

Mystery Diners
Series Premiere: Friday, May 25th at 10pm ET/PT
What happens in the food world when a bad employee starts to take down an otherwise thriving establishment or when restaurant owners suspect someone of not doing their job appropriately? They call in the Mystery Diners. These undercover operatives go into restaurants, bars and food service establishments with hidden cameras to find out what's really going on when the boss isn't around.

The New Anne Burrell Project (Working Title)
Series Premiere: June 2012
When top restaurants are in need of an executive chef - the critical employee who can make or break a restaurant - they turn to Anne Burrell. Each week Anne puts four candidates through the toughest job interview of their lives - testing everything from their culinary mettle to business acumen. It all ends with the biggest test of all: running the restaurant. After a grueling "interview" process, only the chef who serves up the most profitable and delicious dinner service lands the dream job as the restaurant's new Executive Chef.

Bobby Flay's Opening Night (Working Title)
Series Premiere: July 2012
Bobby Flay, critically-acclaimed chef/owner of 14 restaurants, offers his expertise to first-time restaurateurs. Bobby arrives just in time, stepping in to save restaurants from opening without all the crucial elements in place, hoping to prevent an opening night-nightmare. Without Bobby's sage advice, the restaurants would have little chance to succeed, but with less than a week to opening the doors to customers, Bobby works with the restaurateurs to see their business start off on the right foot.