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Bob Tuschman was promoted to general manager of the Food Network just a short time before the "Next Food Network Star" attracted the network's largest audience for a debut episode in its history.
With 12 years at the network -- he started as executive producer of the early series "In Food Today" and was most recently senior vice president, programming and production -- Tuschman has seen firsthand the evolution of the network. He also has programming and production responsibilities for the newly launched Cooking Channel that is also owned by Food Network's parent, Scripps.
The new job means Tuschman will have responsibilities in business development, digital, marketing and culinary activities, balancing the needs of viewers whether they be cooks looking for Tuesday night dinner plans or folks looking to bring Eastern flavors to Western kitchens. Those subjects -- along with competition shows, the Cooking Channel slate, taco trucks and booze -- were covered in a recent interview.
Digital, meaning online and mobile content, is now part of your domain. When do you develop the digital side? Is it side by side with the development of a show?
The relationship between digital and programming is very intertwined. We view the digital world as the other arm of our programming. It's part of the viewer experience, either online while watching or after watching. We think about what we can do online to enhance the viewer experience. It's very much a part of our development of new programming.
Obviously it's crucial in the "Next Food Network Star" show.
This is a show that people feel passionately about. They're voting as they go along and they're very vocal and not shy about expressing their opinions when they disagree with us or are not happy with something we have done. We have a live chat now during the show with my fellow colleagues answering questions. We like to have a close dialogue with our viewers and this is a good way to do that.
That one was easy to single out because it needs that closeness with the audience, it requires feedback to work. Does it make that kind of show more desirable, knowing you have an audience you can communicate with?
It's ideal because people feel so passionately. Our talent, like Guy Fieri and Bobby Flay, is up for (the online dialogue). Because of the passion for Food Network as a brand, we have a way to reach out to viewers. They tell us they don't want it to be a one-way experience.
While "Next Food Network Star"has found hosts such as Guy Fieri, is there any sense that it should generate a star who could dominate the ratings? Instead, you have a competition show that is consistently your highest rated show. (The Season 6 premiere attracted an average of 2.5 million viewers, 1.3 million adults 25 to 54, according to Nielsen Media Research.)
They're not quite equivalent because ("Next Star") is a one-time-a-year event show. You have to look at it with a different eye from a week-in, week-out show. Guy Fieri's "Diners, Drive-ins and
Dives"' is the No. 1 show after "Next Food Network Star," but since ("NFNS") is on only once a year, the anticipation is much higher. It has a different kind of viewership. "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" is
on four nights a week so it would not have the same impact as an event show.
How does the presence of the Cooking Channel affect the types of shows the Food Network will do in the future?
It won't affect specific shows on the Food Network, but it will allow us to do a broader range of programming and to find different subject areas, different stars and different chefs. It doesn't mean Food Network is going to do less instructional cooking shows. Our Saturday and Sunday block that we call "In the Kitchen" stays an incredibly strong and important day-part for Food Network.
It's the backbone for so much of what Food Network is about in terms of helping viewers with cooking. We're going to be able to play in a much wider field with the addition of a second outlet. The same team that books and produces shows for Food Network is also doing that for Cooking Channel. When we get an idea for a show or find a new cooking talent or get a pitch, we can decide if something is better for Cooking Channel than Food Network.
You have been there from the start, experiencing that brand loyalty from about 10 to 12 years ago. But there have been changes, most noticeably after that first wave of stars. What do you see in the current kitchen shows that's different from four or five years ago?
I think we're looking for broader diversity of talent and topics. We had a large wave about five or six years ago with hosts who appeal to home cooks -- people like Rachael Ray, Giada De Laurentiis, Ina Garten (aka "Barefoot Contessa"). We're always going to have the home cook in mind, but we're starting to bring shows for people who are slightly more advanced in their cooking than the average home cook. "Alex's Day Off with Alex Guarnaschelli" or "Secrets of a Restaurant Chef" -- we think of them as Cooking 102. We hope to always be adding in more shows, more cuisines, more personalities to appeal to a growing audience with a wide range of cooking skills and interests.
As you expand, though, it seems that you would want to connect with current trends, whether it's the fusing of Latin and Asian cuisines we're seeing in California or the adventurous cooking done in Chicago at a place like Alinea. How do you gauge what's new and hot and what can translate to TV?
We distinguish between the trends that appeal to home cooks and are things people want to replicate in their own homes versus the restaurant trends. On Cooking Channel, there's the show "Unique Eats" that profiles a lot of the most cutting-edge restaurants that are setting the trends. But that's not necessarily for people sitting in their kitchens trying to figure out what to have for dinner on Tuesday night; they're not thinking about Asian-Latin fusion for their kids that night. We're not focusing on the week-to-week or month-to-month trends. We really focus in on solution-oriented cooking information, help people with their time, with their money, with ideas and inspiration. We don't need to follow the trends that pop up every few months, but there are shows that might profile a trend. We're covering food trucks in August with a competition show. That's a very fun way of incorporating food trucks, telling people what they are about and putting them in a very entertaining format.
Anything else on the schedule that's a reaction to current trends?
On Cooking Channel, we're putting in more ethnic cuisines. introductions for people looking to expand their palettes. There's an Indian food made easy, French food at home, the spice goddess,
Caribbean food made easy. The Cooking Channel is where we think we can explore a lot of different cuisines that maybe not everyone is trying to master, but there are enough people in our viewership that we want to satisfy.
Other channels have broadened the palate by bringing in a travel element. So many of them become about the bizarreness of food rather than the culture of food. That's my interpretation, but how do you draw the line so it's not the tabloidization of food?
We want to cover food in all its aspects and all its glories. At times we will look at the most extreme aspects of food, but we do it in respectful ways. We have a show that's coming back for its second season in August called "Extreme Cuisine" with Jeff Corwin. He does travel the world. He does explore some very exotic dishes, but it's not "Fear Factor." It's meant to use food as a window into the culture he's exploring. We're always trying to find hosts who are smart, curious and respectful.
The other fringe element is alcohol. It seems like that subject has been tough, whether it's wine or cocktail trends, to translate on TV.
I don't know how to say this without just saying "we love alcohol." Clearly alcohol is a part of many people's food experience. We encourage our hosts to make cocktails or wine pairings when they want to. We have "Drink Up" with Darryl Robinson who explores the world of cocktails. It's a little harder for a weekly show on Food Network to look at, say, just wine. It doesn't necessarily lend itself to television on a full show daily basis. It's certainly an important part that we want to get at, so we encourage all of our chefs to explore it as how to have a party or what to drink with dinner on Tuesday night.
Phil Gallo is an entertainment journalist who writes about music, television, theater and film in addition to food and wine.
Photo: Bob Tuschman, general manager of the Food Network, and Ina Garten, the "Barefoot Contessa."
Credit: Food Network
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