At one point you’ve probably clicked on the Food Network. Maybe you even stopped when you were in between shows, or you tuned in if you were really really hungry and wanted to satisfy the eye. You probably even enjoyed a show or two and said, “Wow, I bet I could make that!” It’s what makes the Food Network so delightful and what makes you flip back to see what may happen next.

Here’s a list of the top five shows that will bring that level of joy, devotion and enthusiasm to learn every single time:

5. Paula’s Home Cookin’ 4:30 pm Central

Paula Deen is one southern belle who you just can’t stay away from. Maybe it’s her infectious laughter, her love for her two sons and husband Michael, or maybe it’s the fact that she always finds a way to incorporate six pounds of butter into every recipe. She brings the idea of southern comfort right to the box in your favorite room in the house.

Her show not only highlights her recipes, but also recipes from local restaurants and viewers. Paula’s show is a collaboration and an inspiration for viewers because she gives you plenty of options when it comes to customizing these recipes. She is not a chef, but she could’ve fooled us with some of the incredible dishes she showcases.

The best part about her shows is the love she has for her sons. She started out with a small business known as the Lady & Sons, creating lunches that were sold by her sons door to door. It gives you the feeling that you are close to her heart. I love the idea that her shows are filmed in her own kitchen because she opens her arms to you in a way that only a Savannah girl can.

4. Barefoot Contessa 4 pm Central

She’s from the Hamptons and knows exactly how to throw a killer party without even breaking a sweat. She uses the best ingredients she can find with simple rules to help make a meal taste incredible. Simplicity is the key to her cooking, and she remembers that it was a mere box of brownies that sealed the deal for her and her husband Jeffery while he was away at college.

Ina Garten is like the aunt that tucks you into the warmest, softest, most comfortable places in her house when you just need to escape the noise. She makes you feel at home even when you are miles from it. She can give you a sense of warmth even on the coldest of winter days. She is not a professional chef. Ina is a home cook that brings you satisfying recipes that can be done with the slightest of ease.

My favorite aspect of the show is you rarely see Ina leave even a scrap of food on the cutting board. If she intends to use an ingredient, she chops what she needs and uses every little bit. It’s so nice to see a cook not being wasteful.

3. Everyday Italian 3:30 pm Central

Giada DeLaurentiis (pronounced Gee-ah-duh Dee-lauren-tis) is the shy Food Network beauty who does not go overboard with her cooking style. When you think of Italian food, you think of large Italian women with a rolling pin, flour and eggs making the best pasta imaginable. Giada is certainly capable of going the old-fashioned route, but she doesn’t by choice. She recognizes that the home cook is more comfortable taking on simple extravagance.

Giada is the granddaughter of the famous Italian director Dino DeLaurentiis. Though she is certainly beautiful, she was never comfortable in front of a camera to go into the family business. She enjoyed spending time in the kitchen with her mother behind the scenes so that everyone could enjoy the final production at the dinner table. It was this passion in the kitchen that led Giada to Le Cordon Bleu in France.

She learned the hard ways to cook incredible foods. She brought that knowledge back with her and found shortcuts for the home cook to make the same idea, only faster and with less stress. Giada gives you the sense that you’re not just making this for yourself, but you are showing the people you love just how much you love them. She makes one show-stopping meal after the other, even a couple cocktails. One of my favorite Giada recipes is her blueberry almond cookies; they are like a daydream in every fluffy bite.

2. Jamie at Home 8:30 am Central

Maybe it’s the earthy, organic and rustic look to his dishes. Maybe it’s his flare in preparing his meals, tossing fresh ingredients together and whipping up something tantalizing. Maybe it’s the fact that he was with Food Network from the get-go. Or maybe, just maybe, it’s his incredible British accent and boyish good looks...

Whatever it is, Jamie Oliver stands and delivers. The approach to his show is simple. Go out in the back yard, pick something you have grown yourself, wash it (sometimes not!) and cook with it. The idea behind it is simple, organic and natural use of the freshest ingredients you can find to achieve an elegant and tasty meal.



Jamie gets you in the habit of having an eye out for the best ingredients, and it’s not just in regard to having your own garden, even though it’s not a bad idea. It’s more along the lines of: if it looks good, eat it, even if that involves your local grocery store. As he has stated numerous times, nature’s way of telling you to eat something is by the way it looks and smells. So what if he uses the metric system when he cooks? Food Network.com has done all the conversion work for you, so don’t sweat. Just sit back, enjoy, and learn.

1. Good Eats 7 pm Central (or a full hour on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights)

He may be a nerd. He may be a science geek. He may be losing his hair. But Alton Brown and all the wacky characters that appear on his science-meets-grub show make this a double-whammy experience worth missing other primetime shows for.

Alton does more than cook stuff. He gives you the physical reasons for why food “cooks”: what’s going on in the foods that have heat applied to them, what makes a meringue so light and how to ensure that happens, and the best part, what tool to use in order to achieve the perfect end result.

Alton explores everything from chemical reactions (using large and sometimes wacky models to help make the process easier to understand) to which pot is best for use with what dish. He also firmly believes in the “multi-tasker principle,” ensuring that you aren’t buying something that will only perform one task in the kitchen. As he’s said in so many episodes, the only uni-tasker you want in your kitchen is a fire-extinguisher that you will (hopefully) never have to use.



He also dares to try new things based on what he knows about a food’s chemical make-up. One of my favorite episodes is his avocado episode where he does more than make guacamole. Ever heard of avocado icing? How about avocado ice-cream? I made his avocado ice-cream recipe and let me tell you, it was one of the most incredible experiences I ever had, all from the amazing alliterations of culinary commodities that every home cook ought to have. Did I mention he is funny?

Story by Kristin M. Koltz
Starpulse contributing writer