Aarti with the judges, and Susie Fogelman on the far right.
What went through your mind when you were announced the winner? What was the first thing that popped into your head?
Aarti: I think I yelped. I’ve watched it over and over again, and I think I just went ‘Oh!.' So I don’t think it was a really coherent thought, and if it was it was probably a word I should not repeat. It was really just a bittersweet moment, I was so happy, so happy, and also so sad for Herb and Tom, because I thought, These are my brothers now. Me winning means that they don’t win, but there’s always good stuff happening. Tom now has a show on Food Network, I’m so excited for him, and I’m positive that something’s going to happen for Herb, because he’s just too talented not to be scooped up.
How will Aarti Party differ from your web series?
Aarti: On my web series, Aarti Party is a cooking variety show. It was a great way for me to showcase the talents and abilities of my friends, because I live in LA, my friends are a lot of amazing actors and performers. So I think that would be the biggest difference, because with Aarti Party on Food Network, we didn’t have time to really get around to that. But it’s still my hope that in the future I can do that because it’s something that I really believe in it as a great vehicle for people who don’t normally watch cooking shows, to watch them. Teenage guys were watching my show, and I’m like, Your future wives will thank me when you’re making them dinner!
Does the selection of Aarti show a trend in Food Network representing more multicultural cuisine, cuisine from different parts of the world?
Susie: Absolutely, but I think it’s a growing appetite - it’s a pun intended, I should say based on what people are interested in. I think that peoples pallets are you know; what is the number one condiment now? I think it’s salsa. Where it probably used to be ketchup. Don’t hold me on that but I think it’s probably true and I think that Latin flavors, we obviously have Marcella on air that is doing a show about Mexican food and I think that Cooking Channel, our sister network, has a lot of programming on that is more global. So we do think that this is right in line with what Americans are looking for and I think we need to do it in a way that is not intimidating and is approachable and inspiring. I think if we strike the right balance with that we could have a real homerun on our hands, and I think it is definitely answering the call of what people are thinking about today.
When did you see Aarti kind of emerge ahead of the rest of the pack? When was that moment for you?
Susie: Aarti kind of had me at hello, to be honest. She has such a kind spirit and I think it started, but you try not to get too excited in the beginning because I think that certainly for me I wanna make sure that, you are as fair and un-biased as possible; because anybody could become a front runner. Anybody could have a bad week; anybody could have a great week. You know confidence is a really big issue in this job, so I feel like I kind of loved Aarti. There wasn’t any one moment; the first time I met her in all seriousness she had me at hello. Her accent is beautiful, her smile is beautiful, I was so intrigued by her background and how she brought these flavors to American cuisine. She had a lot of check marks in the boxes that mattered to me, but I’ll go back to the confidence thing. You have to confident in this job and if you cannot maintain that and sustain that it’s the kiss of death so I think I worried. There was no one epiphany when I was like, She’s our girl. I really sort of fell for her in the beginning but needed to see that she can go the distance. There were moments that I thought; wasn’t it interesting for those of you who watched the episode about the Iron Chef competition - wasn’t it interesting how Bob and Bobby were really focused on how her calm demeanor and then obviously her lack of commentating looked like she sort of snowballed that whole thing? When in actuality she brought in the most delicious flavors and did a beautiful job presenting them. I think when you’re sort of about to count her out she comes back really strong and she did that enough in order to be impressive.
Be sure to tune in this Sunday and check out the Season Premiere of Aarti's new show on the Food Network, Aarti's Party, at 12pm. On the season opened, Aarti journeys back home with recipes inspired by her family in India. First, she cooks up Sloppy Bombay Joes, an all-American classic updated with warm Indian flavors like garam masala and cumin. As a refreshing starter, she prepares a crisp Massaged Kale Salad with pumpkin seeds and honey. For an indulgent end to this savory meal, Aarti whips up cool Creamy Pistachio Pops. Sounds delicious!
Susie: Absolutely, but I think it’s a growing appetite - it’s a pun intended, I should say based on what people are interested in. I think that peoples pallets are you know; what is the number one condiment now? I think it’s salsa. Where it probably used to be ketchup. Don’t hold me on that but I think it’s probably true and I think that Latin flavors, we obviously have Marcella on air that is doing a show about Mexican food and I think that Cooking Channel, our sister network, has a lot of programming on that is more global. So we do think that this is right in line with what Americans are looking for and I think we need to do it in a way that is not intimidating and is approachable and inspiring. I think if we strike the right balance with that we could have a real homerun on our hands, and I think it is definitely answering the call of what people are thinking about today.
When did you see Aarti kind of emerge ahead of the rest of the pack? When was that moment for you?
Susie: Aarti kind of had me at hello, to be honest. She has such a kind spirit and I think it started, but you try not to get too excited in the beginning because I think that certainly for me I wanna make sure that, you are as fair and un-biased as possible; because anybody could become a front runner. Anybody could have a bad week; anybody could have a great week. You know confidence is a really big issue in this job, so I feel like I kind of loved Aarti. There wasn’t any one moment; the first time I met her in all seriousness she had me at hello. Her accent is beautiful, her smile is beautiful, I was so intrigued by her background and how she brought these flavors to American cuisine. She had a lot of check marks in the boxes that mattered to me, but I’ll go back to the confidence thing. You have to confident in this job and if you cannot maintain that and sustain that it’s the kiss of death so I think I worried. There was no one epiphany when I was like, She’s our girl. I really sort of fell for her in the beginning but needed to see that she can go the distance. There were moments that I thought; wasn’t it interesting for those of you who watched the episode about the Iron Chef competition - wasn’t it interesting how Bob and Bobby were really focused on how her calm demeanor and then obviously her lack of commentating looked like she sort of snowballed that whole thing? When in actuality she brought in the most delicious flavors and did a beautiful job presenting them. I think when you’re sort of about to count her out she comes back really strong and she did that enough in order to be impressive.
Be sure to tune in this Sunday and check out the Season Premiere of Aarti's new show on the Food Network, Aarti's Party, at 12pm. On the season opened, Aarti journeys back home with recipes inspired by her family in India. First, she cooks up Sloppy Bombay Joes, an all-American classic updated with warm Indian flavors like garam masala and cumin. As a refreshing starter, she prepares a crisp Massaged Kale Salad with pumpkin seeds and honey. For an indulgent end to this savory meal, Aarti whips up cool Creamy Pistachio Pops. Sounds delicious!
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