Who's your favorite on the new season of 'The Next Food Network Star'?

Have you been watching? I just dove into the first two episodes of the new season and I'm having a little bit of a completely innocent girl crush on Aarti Sequiera. She's warm; she's real; she has self-confidence issues and somehow it's no problem at all. And! Her Indian twist on cooking looks (see below) -- and by all reports sounds -- like something I'd like to try as soon as possible.

There are other lovely contestants, too. A gorgeous Italian ex-ballerina/lawyer, Serena who talks too fast but it's still charming at this point and judge Bobby Flay agreed that her tomato sauce was good enough for jarring.

All the hope, gratitude, awe, and passion of the contestants as they roll through Hollywood cuts through the entertainment biz B.S. and I found myself pulling for everyone in a way.

We all know how sad an elimination can be and the first one of this season had me near tears. Alexis was lovely, knowledgeable, gay, and something about the camera's eye crumpled him. As a result, he was last to be picked for the team on the first star challenge, which made me wonder why these shows insist on making us relive our worst gradeschool fears.

To support the contestants (and the more touchy-feely viewers) Giada debuts as mentor on this season. She sets a respectful tone but isn't afraid to tell the painful truth. The worst cutting remark on the show so far came from Wolfgang Puck at his restaurant, yes, Cut. In a reference to Alexis' beignets he said, "If I gave this to my wife to eat she would divorce me." Lucky for the contestants (and me), Wolfy was just a guest judge.


Sundays at 9pm/8pm central, Food Network