What does it take to be a chef on food network?!
Food Network has proven that it doesn't really take cooking skills - you just need to know some basics.
Most of the professional chef personalities have been booted off the network - Mario Batali, Tyler Florence, Emeril (to some degree), Ming Tsai, Sursur Lee, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken, Sara Moulton, Dave Liebermen... etc.
You're stuck with pretty faces or outrageous personalities - Nigella Lawson, Giada (who is actually professionally trained), Sandra Lee, Paula Deen (and her faux Southern belle act)... etc.
Answers: A personality, sort of good looks.
Food Network has proven that it doesn't really take cooking skills - you just need to know some basics.
Most of the professional chef personalities have been booted off the network - Mario Batali, Tyler Florence, Emeril (to some degree), Ming Tsai, Sursur Lee, Susan Feniger, Mary Sue Milliken, Sara Moulton, Dave Liebermen... etc.
You're stuck with pretty faces or outrageous personalities - Nigella Lawson, Giada (who is actually professionally trained), Sandra Lee, Paula Deen (and her faux Southern belle act)... etc.
Talent
lots of cooking
You should be a pasionate cook with lot sof talent and a pleasant personality and you need a lot of luck as many cooks want these jobs as it makes marketing their restauranst much easier.
Food Network is really about entertainment...not cooking. Sure, the "entertainment" is predominately based on food, but you'll notice that, over the last few years, a great many of the prime-time shows that featured a single chef cooking several dishes (with or without a studio audience) have been replaced by shows about restaurants, travel, or some sort of competition.
The remaining hold-overs are either extremely informative (Good Eats), insanely popular with a core audience (Emeril), or feature a host that appeals to a certain demographic element that the network wants to cater to (Rachael Ray...young, hip, budget and time conscious yuppies; Paula Deen...family oriented folks who want to cook comfort food for a crowd; Giada DeLaurentis...Men (and, statistically, some women) who like her low cut outfits.)
Honestly, if you really want to be on the food network, then you need to cultivate two things:
1) Your appreciation for and understanding of food.
This could certainly be accomplished by attending culinary school...but even that's not required. Rachael Ray never went to culinary school...neither did Paula Deen; but they both cooked a TON before even getting a sniff at the food network.
2) Developing and perfecting your entertainment skills.
I'd suggest getting involved in either theatre or broadcast journalism, so that you're comfortable in front of an audience. You'll also need to think about developing a "hook" or idea that you specialize in that people want to know more about.
Really, what it all boils down to is this: It's pretty simple to get in front of a camera and make a cheeseburger....the trick with the food network is getting people excited about that burger and the chef/cook preparing it.
Best of luck to you....
Talent, schooling, and a lot of LUCK. Knowing the right people after culinary school to be exact, or like Rachel, just grow up in the business, and you can skip the hard part. School