Valerie Bertinelli Says ‘It’s Sad’ Food Network Is ‘Not About Cooking and Learning Any Longer’
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Bertinelli hosted 14 seasons of 'Valerie's Home Cooking' and 12 seasons of 'Kids Baking Championship' on Food Network
Zach Pagano/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty
Valerie Bertinelli Says ‘Food Network Is ‘Not About Cooking and Learning Any Longer’Valerie Bertinelli has some feelings about the fate of Food Network.
On Tuesday, April 10, the cookbook author shared her thoughts about the beloved cooking channel on Threads.
“I fell in love with Food Network two decades ago because of all the amazing ITK (in the kitchen) shows,” Bertinelli, 63, wrote, adding specific shout-outs to Rachael Ray, Ina Garten and Giada De Laurentiis. “I learned so much. It’s sad it’s not about cooking and learning any longer. Oh well, that’s just business, folks.”
The Hot in Cleveland star previously starred in 14 seasons of Valerie’s Home Cooking before the series was canceled last year. In April 2023, just ahead of the final season airing she told fans the news in an Instagram Stories video.
"Food Network canceled us last summer, I have no idea why. And I didn't say anything last summer because honestly, I was hoping they would change their mind. But they have not. So this is it, this is the final season," said Bertinelli.
At the time, an inside source told PEOPLE that the actress would stay on the network's Kids Baking Championship, which she already shot the next season.
But, after hosting Kids Baking Championship alongside Duff Goldman since its first season aired in 2015, Bertinelli announced this January that she wasn’t returning to the competition series.
She told fans that she was "not going to be asked back to be on Kids Baking Championship" during an Instagram Stories video on Jan. 20.
"It really hurt my feelings," a visibly upset Bertinelli said multiple times in the clip. "It really sucks." She continued to cite “budget cuts” as the reason she was told she would no longer co-host the show.
At the time, a source close to the show's production told PEOPLE that returning to Kids Baking Championship was "absolutely discussed" when Bertinelli's last contract ended. However, her team "decided they wanted more and talks stalled."
While she was sad to leave the series, Bertinelli said that she filmed her final season in the summer of 2022 when she was going through a difficult divorce and that filming helped her through the hard times.
Fortunately, things are looking up for Bertinelli. In last week’s PEOPLE cover story, she opened up about how she found love again after ending her marriage to her second husband. “I’m in love,” Bertinelli told PEOPLE. “It’s a seesaw of emotions because I was adamant I was never falling in love again."
Just yesterday, Bertinelli re-shared her boyfriend’s Instagram and blog post in which he gushed over the cookbook star. Her new man, who goes by “Hoarse Whisperer” online, wrote about feeling immensely proud of his “girlfriend” during her cookbook release week in which she had several press interviews.
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