Top Ten Food Network Programs

Cooking and food specialty shows have become increasingly popular over the last few years. In fact, the Food Network is completely dedicated to cooking and food related shows. You can find shows on food history, food science, food competitions and of course food preparation. Here are ten of the most popular Food Network programs:

1. Emeril Live

Emeril Lagasse is owner of several restaurants in New Orleans and tapes his live cooking show in New York City. Complete with a band and interactive audience, some of who sit at Emeril's "cooking bar" and get a close up view of the action and food samples too! Emeril get's the crowd worked up when he uses his popular catch phrases, "Let's kick it up a notch", followed by "Bam!" as he agressively throws spices into his dishes.

2. Good Eats

Good Eats is hosted by Alton Brown, often compared to Bill Nye, The Science Guy. Alton shows his viewers the science behind the cooking and has an unbiased opinion of what works in the kitchen and what doesn't. His product recommendations often steer away from gimmicky gadgets and focus more on the practical, tried and true, or even "jerry-rigged" ways to make cooking easy, fun and delicious. Each episode focuses on a theme such as soups, cookies, or even something as specific as lettuce.

3. 30 Minute Meals

In this show, Rachael Ray cooks up an entire meal with main and side dishes in just 30 minutes. Rachael focuses on fast, homemade meals, sometimes using convenience items like bagged salads or boxed mixes. She has been criticized by serious chefs for "dumbing down" the cooking process, but Rachael appeals to real home cooks who would like to find the time to make more home cooked meals. One of Rachael's trademarks is her heavy use of catch phrases, some of which include: "How good is that?", "Yum-O", "Insanely Good", "Good to go", "Figure-friendly", and "E-V-O-O" as an abbreviation for extra virgin olive oil. She also has "cute" names for a few dishes and utensils: "Sammie" is a sandwich, "Stoup" is a soup/stew combination, and a "Spoonula", for a spatula and spoon combination.

4. Iron Chef America

Iron Chef America pits a challenging Chef against one "Iron Chef". Both chefs have 60 minutes to come up with a minimum of 5 dishes all using a theme ingredient or, as it's called on the show, "the secret ingredient." Hosted by Alton Brown, Iron Chef America relies on 3 judges to determine the winner based on taste, presentation and creativity.

5. Paula's Home Cooking

As a newly single mom of 2 boys, Paula Deen started a catering business in her home of Savannah, Georgia where she made bag lunches to sell to businesses and doctors offices. As her success and popularity grew, she opened up a restaurant and eventually landed a show on the Food Network. Paula's show features secrets of good Southern home cooking learned from her grandmother, and good stories from her country kitchen.

6. Semi-homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee

If you want to take a prepared salad from your groceries deli, add one or two ingredients of your own, and call it your own, Semi-homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee is your show. Her show is currently one of the top 3 highest rated shows on Food Network. Sandra Lee sells a "doable" lifestyle and shares lots of clever tricks and short cuts to make delicious food easily.

7. Barefoot Contessa

If you like simple, but warm and elegant entertaining, catch an episode of the Barefoot Contessa. Hosted by Ina Garten from her home in the Hamptons, The Barefoot Contessa tries to show that delicious food does not have to be difficult to prepare.

8. Unwrapped

Hosted by Marc Summers, Unwrapped goes behind the scenes to show how different foods are made. Factory tours and fun history lessons, viewers learn the real story behind cold cereal, TV Dinners, and sour candy.

9. Everyday Italian

Giada De Laurentiis is the host of Everyday Italian which features Italian food with an American influence. This is one of the most popular shows on Food Network and often has De Laurentiis's own family helping her out in the kitchen of the rented homes in Malibu, Pasadena and Pacific Palisades that serve as the back drop for each show.

10. $40 a Day

$40 a Day is a combination travel and food show. Rachael Ray, the host, travels to different locations around the United States and shows how well she can do, "food wise" on $40 a day. She often talks to the locals to get information on out-of-the-way places and even more high end restaurants.