Valerie Bertinelli is sharing her thoughts on the “sad” direction the Food Network is headed just months after the cable channel fired her from “Kids Baking Championship.”
In a post shared to Threads on Tuesday, Bertinelli, 63, wrote, “I fell in love with Food Network two decades ago because of all the amazing ITK (in the kitchen) shows. 30-minute meals, Ina [Garten], Giada [De Laurentiis] … the list goes on.”
“I learned so much. It’s sad it’s not about cooking and learning any longer. Oh well, that’s just business, folks,” she added.
Bertinelli’s more than 314,000 followers agreed with her in the comments section, with many noting that they’ve stopped watching the network altogether.
“Yeah that’s why I loved food Network too. But now I don’t even bother to watch,” one user wrote.
Another person added, “I am tired of the cooking competitions. So repetitive and egotistical.”
“I don’t enjoy competition shows at all. I used to love the Food Network because I learned things. Now, not so much,” one of her fans said.
Someone else wrote, “I’m growing tired of the game show model and miss the real cooking shows that were so great to watch. Get back to cooking Food Network.”
Another user argued that Bertinelli should start her own cooking show sans Food Network.
“Girl... The Food Network isn’t the only game in town. Pitch your own show, your way. You’re Valerie effin’ Bertinelli!!!,” the fan wrote, before adding, “And add anything you want... celebrities, music, emotional well being... whatever. America loves you.”
The former “Valerie’s Home Cooking” star’s comments come after cookbook author and food blogger Marlynn Schotland declared on Threads that Food Network doesn’t need “another cooking competition show.”
“I miss actual cooking shows on @foodnetwork. Remember those?” Schotland wrote on Monday. “Do you know what this world does NOT need? Yet another cooking competition show.”
Bertinelli’s stance isn’t unexpected considering the “Boston Legal” actor revealed in April 2023 that her show “Valerie’s Home Cooking” had been canceled by Food Network after 14 seasons.
In an Instagram video at the time, she told her fans that she had “no idea why” her show was axed.
“I didn’t say anything last summer because honestly, I was hoping they would change their mind. But they have not,” Bertinelli said.
“So this is it. This is the final season,” she continued. “I have loved making this show. It was such a dream come true. Every single part of it brought me so much joy. I love the crew. I loved everybody in production. They loved making this show for you.”
Less than a year later, she revealed on social media that she was also fired from the “Kids Baking Championship” show, which she co-hosted with Duff Goldman since 2015.
Bertinelli vented about how being let go had “really hurt my feelings” in a January 2024 Instagram video that earned more than 95,000 likes.