Food Network Challenge has jumped the shark

When I first heard of "The Food Network" I thought it was the craziest idea I had come across. Imagine - an entire network about nothing but *food*. Don't get me wrong, I like to eat as much as the next computer geek, but I thought a Food Network was a little much.

Then I discovered the joy that is Good Eats, Iron Chef America, and Unwrapped. All these shows appeal to the inner geek, which is quite a feat. I even enjoy Food Network Challenge - it's amazing to see the artistry that people can put into cakes, and the dedication people have to their craft and profession, which I admire no matter what the person does ("Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.", Colossians 3:23-24, NIV). However, it seems that lately the execs at Food Network have run out of ideas, as evidenced by the ridiculous challenges we are seeing lately (Big City Cakes and Sugar Towers are two examples).

These challenges are, for all intents and purposes, impossible. You're asked to pull off amazing feats like make skyscrapers out of cake and fondant, or make a 20 foot tall tower out of sugar, or make bridges out of cereal (!), usually with disastrous results. All the while Kerry Vincent is wandering around, telling you how much you suck, how you don't deserve to be there, and how she could do it better. (I'm not fond of Ms. Vincent, can you tell?) Honestly, I don't know of many of the competitors that can stand her, and to be honest her constant nitpicking and griping is getting on my last nerve. My theory is that she has pictures of Food Network Executive Management is a compromising position.

I'm just waiting for the next Food Network Challenge: Eiffel Tower - where you have to make a 1/50th replica of the Eiffel Tower, entirely out of cooked spaghetti. All while Kerry Vincent is critizing you for cooking the pasta al dente.