For decades, the Food Network has been the ultimate comfort viewing for millions of Americans. Everyone from accomplished home chefs looking for inspiration to cooking novices who just want entertaining shows have found reasons to keep tuning in over the years. Its long-running success is also undeniably due to some of its shows helmed by stars it turned into household names, including Ina Garten, Rachel Ray, Bobby Flay, Ree Drummond, and more. But as TV as we know it continues to change amid the rise of streaming services, some Food Network fans are starting to complain that they’re fed up with what the beloved channel has become in recent years.
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In a recent post to the Food Network subreddit, one person claims to have created a new account just to air her grievances about how different the once-familiar channel now seems. “I’ve been watching Food Network since I was 13 (I’m 30), and something just feels off this year,” they write.
They go on to cite several examples, calling the absence of chef Alex Guarnaschelli from The Kitchen “loud” and bemoaning the fact that the network shortened Be My Guest with Garten from one hour to 30 minutes. They also call out parent media company Warner Bros/Discovery for cutting Kid Baking Championship, saying they “basically ghosted” host Valerie Bertinelli when it came time to renew her contract.
“[And] on an episode of The Kitchen, Marcus Samuelsson came to promo a show called House of Knives, hosted by Scott Conant, and it is nowhere to be found,” they complain.”What is going on over there? Food Network is basically all I watch, and it's just off.”
Other long-time fans are airing similar complaints. In a separate thread on the subreddit, user @LisaNuzzo called out the channel for an undeniable trend in its programming changes and said the Food Networks seems “to have lost their way.”
“Everything is competition shows,” they write. “I loved watching a cooking show, seeing something I thought I might cook for my family, and then looking up the recipe online. And as much as I love watching [Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives] for opportunities for travel, having it on all day most days is tiring. Can’t we just get back to real cooking?”
Even some of the network’s top names have weighed in on its current state. In a recent post on Threads, former host Bertinelli talked about the personal sting of losing her own show while grieving the loss of other classics.
"I fell in love with Food Network two decades ago because of all the amazing [in the kitchen] shows," she wrote. "30-Minute Meals, Ina, Giada [De Laurentiis]...the list goes on. I learned so much. It’s sad it’s not about cooking and learning any longer. Oh well, that’s just business, folks."
Bertinelli isn’t the only star to shoot off from the network in recent years. In 2023, De Laurentiis announced she would be leaving the channel after just over two decades to create cooking shows for Amazon Studios, People reported. And earlier this year, Ray walked away from her popular eponymous daytime cooking show on CBS, ending a 17-year run after signing a contract with A+E. Some speculate that this came after she was unable to close a new deal with the Food Network, Salon reports.
Following her decision, Ray shed light on why so many of the channel’s names appear to be moving on to different projects.
“Food Network has a terrific formula—but they have a formula,” she said, per Variety. “They like games, competitions, stuff like that. That’s not the type of programming I want. I want a little more freedom to be in charge of the actual content, rather than just hosting something. I don’t want to host anything. I just want to make shows.”
But some of the changes are most affecting the people who once made the network a staple of their cooking inspiration. Responses to both subreddit posts were filled with mournful remembrances of what the channel once was.
“I used to stay tuned into Food Network on Saturdays to learn new recipes,” one user wrote. “I’d have it on in the background while I was doing other things. There are still a few running on Saturdays, but for the most part, it’s competition shows.”
“I used to be a loyal watcher, but now it is all competition and no cooking,” another wrote. “I have switched over to watching the Tastemade channel instead. I can’t imagine that the [Food Network] can last on their current trajectory.”
Fortunately, it’s not all lost. Other users jumped in to point out that many traditional-format cooking shows are still available on other networks and streaming platforms—including one widely available channel.
“PBS is the best for straight-up cooking shows,” they suggest. “If you’ve never explored America’s Test Kitchen, Lidia’s Italy, Simply Ming, Cook’s Country, Justin Wilson Louisiana Cookin’, Yan Can Cook, or Julia Child shows they feature…You’re missing out! I highly recommend these.”
