The Food Network Announces New Shows For 2012

Yesterday Scripps Networks Interactive announced the lineup of 22 new series set to air on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel in 2012. There are another 35 shows returning and the new shows include projects from Eddie Huang, Pat LaFrieda, Anne Burrell, Bobby Flay and more. Here's what the Food Network has in store for 2012:

· Meat Men: This new series starring New York butcher Pat LaFrieda explores his third-generation meat purveyor business and the hurdles of keeping it running, including "last-minute requests, creating custom blends and menus for new clients, or navigating the personalities of a work staff." (April 9, 11 pm)
· Cupcake Champions: For a prize of $50,000, this show "pits 16 of Cupcake Wars' best and most memorable winners against each other in a tournament to name the ultimate cupcake champ." (May 13, 8pm)
· Invention Hunters: "Steve Greenberg and Patrick Raymond are two “invention scouts”, scouring America in search of the next great kitchen invention." (May 14, 9pm)
· Mystery Diners: In which "undercover operatives go into restaurants, bars and food service establishments with hidden cameras to find out what’s really going on when the boss isn’t around." Watch out restaurant employees. (May 25, 10pm)

· The New Anne Burrell Project: Anne Burrell "puts four candidates through the toughest job interview of their lives" to test out chefs' skills at being executive chefs, all to determine who will win the job as an actual executive chef at an actual restaurant. (June 2012)
· Bobby Flay’s Opening Night: Celebrity chef Bobby Flay offers aid to first-time restaurateurs "stepping in to save restaurants from opening without all the crucial elements in place, hoping to prevent an opening night-nightmare. (July 2012)
· Chopped: Grill Masters: "Food Network blows the roof off Chopped, traveling to the glorious Arizona desert for a breathtaking event. Sixteen grilling professionals face off in an old Western town in this captivating five-part tournament." (July 22, 10pm)
· Undercover Critics: "Alex Guarnaschelli (Chopped), Troy Johnson (Crave) and Simon Majumdar (Next Iron Chef) go undercover as restaurant critics armed with hidden cameras to unfold the good, the bad and the ugly of established restaurants." (September 2012)
· Sugar Dome: "Each week, three teams comprised of three artists from different disciplines, battle it out to create never-seen-before, jaw-dropping masterpieces of food art." (October 2012)
· Blind Dinner Party: Comedian Margaret Cho hosts this "bizarre social experiment" show in which "seven strangers – who come from completely different backgrounds, beliefs and views on everything – come together to break bread in the most dysfunctional family dinner imaginable." So kind of like Real World but just eating? (October 2012)
· Trisha’s Southern Kitchen: Country music star and cookbook author Trisha Yearwood shares her "family-inspired recipes and food traditions." There will also be "nostalgic stories and visits from family and friends." (April 14, 10:30 am)
· Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen: Featuring grease queen Paula Deen's son Jamie preparing family dinners with the help of, surprise, members of his family such as his mother or his own son. (June 16, 10:30am)
· Sunny Travels: "Sunny Anderson travels the country to discover the best home-cooked recipes she can find." (July 2012)
· The New Sandra Lee Project: "Best known for her Semi-Homemade & Money Saving Meals, Sandra Lee will offer fans a new take on her cooking and entertaining tips." (Fall 2012)

And the Food Network has some specials in the works as well:

· Hunger Hits Home: Narrated by The Dude himself Jeff Bridges this special offers "a first-hand look at the crisis of childhood hunger in America through the eyes of the people on the frontlines of the battle—parents and children, anti-hunger activists, educators and politicians committed to eradicating the problem." (April 14, 8pm)
· Grilling Live!: "Bobby Flay and Alton Brown get together with their Food Network friends to talk about all things grilling." (June 2, 12pm)
· Thanksgiving Live!: "The experts at Food Network come together to answer viewers toughest questions about holiday meal-making." (November 18, 12pm)

Meanwhile, the Cooking Channel also has a bunch of new shows in the works for 2012:

· Roadtrip with G. Garvin: a culinary tour of the American South with chef and "larger-than-life personality" Gerry Garvin. (Premieres May 29, 9 pm )
· The Culinary Adventures of Baron Ambrosia: The self-proclaimed "culinary ambassador to the Bronx" travels to places like Brighton Beach and Bethlehem, PA, "discovering America’s unsung heroes of culinary excellence in cities-less-traveled." (June 1, 10 pm)
· Eden Eats: "In each episode, Eden [Grishpan] travels to a new American city taking only 24 hours to uncover the global culinary scene." (August 2012)
· Cheap Bites: The Cooking Channel officially picked up Eddie Huang's show back in February and now declares the chef will be exploring cheap eats "free pizza in New York to 25-cent donuts in Memphis." (August 2012)
· Eat the Street: An exploration of a single street in various American cities where "you can experience a magical, mouthwatering tour through cultures and cuisines of every conceivable variety." (September 2012)
· Man, Fire, Food: Heat Seekers' Roger Mooking "features the cooks who take the fundamental formula of fire and food to make delicious culinary creations." (September 2012)
· My Grandmother’s Ravioli: Comedian Mo Rocca — "a foodie who doesn't know how to cook" — learns how from the grandmothers and grandfathers of America.

· Food Network & Cooking Channel Serve Up A Robust 2012 Menu [Scripps Networks Interactive]
· Upfronts 2012: Food Network, Cooking Channel to Launch 22 New Series [B&C]
· All Previous Food Network Coverage on Eater [-E-]
· All Previous Cooking Channel Coverage on Eater [-E-]