Viewer Voting for NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR Opens Tonight, 7/15

Food Network is giving viewers the opportunity to choose the NEXT FOOD NETWORK STAR as audience votes will determine which finalist and mentor - Alton Brown, Giada De Laurentiis or Bobby Flay - gets the ultimate prize: the winner's own show, to be produced by their superstar mentor.

Voting information can be found at www.FoodNetwork.com/Star with actual voting opening at the end of tonght's, July 15th premiere episode at 10pm ET and closing on Tuesday, July 17th at 5pm ET. The winner will be announced during the Food Network Star season finale on Sunday, July 22nd at 9pm ET/PT.

Food Network Star's eighth season premiered in May with a brand-new format and fresh twists as culinary icons Alton, Giada and Bobby each hand-selected a team of five finalists to mentor through a grueling elimination competition to find one winner who possesses personality and kitchen chops. In the Sunday, July 15th episode, the six remaining finalists star in promos for their own shows, directed by their producers/mentors. Network stars including Sunny Anderson (Cooking For Real), Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef, Worst Cooks in America), Melissa d'Arabian (Ten Dollar Dinners), Robert Irvine (Restaurant: Impossible), Jeff Mauro (Sandwich King)and Aarón Sanchez (Chopped, Heat Seekers) give feedback on the promos and the finalists who survive the drastic and dramatic cut move on to shoot show pilots, produced by their mentor.

In the season finale, airing Sunday, July 22nd at 9pm ET/PT, the finalists return to the studio, before the winner is announced, with mentors Alton, Bobby and Giada, along with Food Network executives and judges Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson to tell all and view never-before-seen footage from the season. Then, the results are in as the audience vote results are announced and the new Food Network Star is crowned.

Food Network Star is produced by CBS EYE Too Productions.

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.4 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com), is the manager and general partner.