I Can’t Wait to Watch Aarti Party

Today’s blog entry is on a topic of great national importance: “The Next Food Network Star.” When I’m not pondering the supposed anti-U.S. implications of building an Islamic community center near Ground Zero or wondering when a jury might send Blago to the slammer, I’ve been busy rooting for Aarti Sequeira, the bundle-of-nerves Indian contestant on the latest season of NFNS. (Chicago connection: she graduated from Northwestern University’s journalism school in 2000.) I have been following the show this summer with my dear mom, herself a seasoned cook with a few recipes that have reached legendary status among our friends. As avid Food Network viewers, but relative newbies to NFNS, we became so emotionally invested in Aarti’s quest that we got up and cheered upon news of her win.

Sure, there is an Indian chef on the Cooking Channel, but who even gets that station? Padma Lakshmi had an “exotic foods” show on the Food Network a few years ago, but it kind of sucked. Even Madhur Jaffrey enjoyed a brief foray on BBC, but that, too, failed to capture my attention or imagination. What Aarti brings to basic cable (and, therefore, the masses) is a recipe for success: first and foremost, a warm and inviting demeanor that instantly makes you comfortable. I completely agreed when the focus group who watched her pilot clip said they wanted to join her book club and enjoy a glass of wine in her house, regardless of whether she taught them how to cook. Aarti is accessible in the best way; she’s ready to be your best girlfriend.

Second, and especially important for the Food Network, she covers an area of cooking not well represented on the channel.

I like that Aarti wants to share traditional Indian recipes as well as ways to infuse Indian flavors and techniques into other types of cuisine. She is not shying away from authentic dishes, which other chefs might consider too complex to include in a mainstream show–but she’s also happy to show you how to make a naan pizza with a mango-chutney tomato sauce, something my mom wouldn’t think to make but that sounds fun and yummy to both of us.

What also made Aarti’s win so delicious (pun intended) is that we weren’t sure it would happen. Throughout the season Aarti suffered from an almost crippling case of self-doubt, despite consistently cooking strong dishes and delivering cheerful presentations. It could have been a fake-out on the part of the producers to focus so much on Aarti’s lack of self-confidence (after all, hers was one of the few original and missing-niche-filling show concepts among the contestants), but after her runner-up Tom started getting stronger and stronger, Aarti losing seemed like a real possibility. [The confidence thing bugged me so much that I almost wrote a blog piece on the frustrating lack of strong South Asian women on reality television and the possible roots of the affliction (it would have included fellow self-flagellator Anchal from Cycle 7 of "America's Next Top Model"). But then I found out other shows have fared a little better with their female South Asian characters.] Luckily Aarti turned it around and found her inner ass-kicker in time for the last challenge.

After a bit of a nail-biting finale in which all 3 finalists taped strong pilots, I was thrilled to see Aarti’s portrait revealed on the Food Network’s wall of fame. She deserved the win, and I really can’t wait to see the premiere of her show “Aarti Party” next Sunday (11am CST).

(Incidentally, for Tom Pizzica fans, it turns out that he, too, will get his own show, “Outrageous Food,” premiering in November. Yay!)

ADDENDUM 8/22: Now that I’ve seen the first episode of “Aarti Party,” I still have high hopes for Aarti. She doesn’t quite have the sheen of a seasoned Food Network star yet, but the show flowed very well. What I didn’t like: the cheesy title sequence (is this a kids’ show?); the fact that she said “chai TEA LATTE” (a HUGE pet peeve of SAPACers); and some of the additions to the sloppy joe recipe (nuts? raisins? cream? No thanks.). What will keep me tuned in: Aarti’s bubbly personality, her subtle introductions to Indian kitchen essentials (masala dabba), and her obvious admiration of pista kulfi (which I may not even mind trying with an infusion of tea). I don’t know how long or successful her Food Network tenure will be, but I’m really happy to keep watching while they’ve got her.