TASTE AWARDS add new category for Best Series Pilot

Lexy Hammonds (courtesy of Jolene Photo)

What is a program or series without a good pilot? This is often the critical and important content that can help get a project Greenlighted, funded, or simply let important people know what the entire concept for it is and how it’s going to be produced. A good pilot might lead to the entire program being redesigned, or it could end up being Episode #1 of many.

Either way, the series pilot is a very important part of any program. This is why the TASTE AWARDS Committee has this as a new competition category for the 10th Annual TASTE AWARDS.

BEST SERIES PILOT

Pilots entered can be for existing programs, or ones that have yet to be fully produced or broadcast.

 

TASTE AWARDS CLOSEUP: Vincent Fiore of The Wiseguy Kitchen

TASTE AWARDS Finalist & Winner Chef Vincent Fiore is a 2018 Taste Award Winner. He hosts The Wiseguy Kitchen Show, a television cooking show, and performs nationwide with The Wiseguy Kitchen Live, one of the only Comedy Musicals with Live Cooking in the country. Vincent is also the Executive Chef at The Kapok Special Event Center in Clearwater FL.

TASTE AWARDS CLOSEUP

  • Vincent, what have the TASTE AWARDS meant to You?: Making the finals in 2017 was a great honor , winning the 2018 Taste Awards was a blessing and an honor; to be in the 2018 Taste Awards with Guy, Anne, Martha and many others was truly a blessing
  • Where are you from originally?: Brooklyn NY
  • Where are you based now?: Tampa FL
  • Why?: Moved to Florida to work on my live cooking show The Wiseguy Kitchen
  • What is your Favorite Vacation Spot?: Disney .. Big Fan !
  • What is your favorite food or dish?: I love all foods but my go to dish is Penne Ala Vodka.
  • What is your favorite restaurant?: Biga On The Banks…San Antonio Texas. Chef Bruce Auden and his staff do an incredible job and the view of the Riverwalk is awesome. Try the grilled quail and venison!
  • Name Your Favorite: Wine, Beer, Cocktail, Juice or Water?: Opus One
  • What is Your Favorite Item of Clothing or Designer?: I love Tommy Bahama when in Florida and suits when in NYC. Happy Chef or Chef Wear in the kitchen.
  • What is your Camera of Choice?: We use a HD Canon for our show.
  • What is your Favorite City?: NYC is a foodies paradise 24/7
  • What is your passion?: I love to cook for family and friends and I love being on stage entertaining our fans across the country.
  • What was the inspiration for your TASTE AWARDS project?: I heard about the Taste Awards a few years ago and decided to enter the competition in 2017 after watching some of my favorite TV Personalities and Chefs like Guy Fieri, Ann Burrell , Martha Stewart and many others. I decided to give it a shot, we were amazed and honored to have been selected for the finals in 3 categories in 2017 and taking home the win in 2018. It is such a great honor to be part of The Taste Awards and I am extremely proud to have been selected as a winner to be in such talented company.
  • How did you come up with the name?: I was cooking Sunday dinner and a friend walked into my home and said “It smells like a wiseguy kitchen in here,” so that night I could not sleep thinking of his comment and I created THE WISEGUY KITCHEN. I never looked back, it’s been a great ride.
  • What do you love about it?: I love the fans — the audiences at our live shows are just great — the interaction with talented cast like actors Phil Card of Orlando, Tracy Roese of Tampa, and producer Chuck Powers make the whole process a great experience for me as well as the fans.
  • What is the most challenging part?: Scheduling travel between shows, juggling live shows and taped TV shows.
  • How did you go about getting involved or even starting this endeavor from a business or professional standpoint?: I listened to my friend Carlos Jimenez comment about my house smelling like a Wiseguy Kitchen and I just ran with it thinking what a great idea for a cooking show with flair, a little bit like the Sopranos and a little bit like the Food Network, so I combined the two types of shows that people watch and rolled it into one fun show!
  • Has it reached your goals for it?: Yes, we are reaching more people through our live performances, and we are filming episodes for TV plus talking to networks
  • What kind of trends are you seeing now in this space?: I see that fans of the live show want to know where they can watch the TV Show and fans of the TV Show want tickets to the live show, and both want merchandise. I get asked for Pasta Sauce every day.
  • Anything you wish you had known in this industry when you first started?: That everything takes time and patience
  • Any tips for those aspiring to do better in this media space?: Never give up, stay focused, stay the course, and hard work pays off.
  • How much do you use Social Media as part of the business or project?: We use social media daily to promote our shows
  • Any tips for those aspiring to do better in social media?: Find someone who knows how to do it well.
  • How do you get your ideas for the project?: I combine past experiences , current situations, and what I believe the audience wants to see. We basically created a cooking show with a little sitcom flair to it and the fans love the interaction.
  • Who is doing work in this space that you really admire?: We have our home base at a beautiful venue in Clearwater, Florida called The Kapok Special Events Center. Pam Rubinson the owner has done an amazing job with this historical venue that was built in 1956 and looks like an Italian villa. We really love filming and performing our live show there.
  • Do you find that people recognize you on the street?: Yes, it’s funny because when I’m with my kids they don’t get why people come up to me, and when I’m alone I don’t get why people come up to me. But seriously, it is a great feeling and very much appreciated.
  • What’s next for You and this Project?: We will continue filming The Wiseguy Kitchen and we have added a new project called Coast To Coast with Vinny Fiore, a show about Fun ,Food and Travel!

TASTE AWARDS CLOSEUP: Monique Soltani of Wine Oh TV

TASTE AWARDS Finalist & Winner, and Wine Oh TV Executive Producer and Host, Monique Soltani is a broadcast journalist and wine expert. Monique has reported for The Weather Channel, CBS, NBC, ABC affiliates across the country.

Monique is also a trained SAG/AFTRA actor and studied at The Groundlings, Warner Loughlin Studios, and The Atlantic Theater Company. Monique can be seen on various films, television shows and commercials.

TASTE AWARDS CLOSEUP

  • Monique, what have the TASTE AWARDS meant to You?: It’s a huge honor to be recognized for the hard work and dedication that goes into hosting and producing Wine Oh TV, a show that I love and have put my heart and soul into for so many years. I’m so thankful to the TASTE AWARDS for this honor and for bringing awareness to independently run shows like mine. I am beyond blessed to have such tremendous support from the wine community and from my distribution partners.
  • Where are you from originally?: Los Angeles, CA
  • Where are you based now?: San Francisco
  • What is Your Favorite Item of Clothing or Designer?: Derek Lam
  • What is your Camera of Choice?: Canon
  • What is your Computer of Choice?: Mac
  • What is your Favorite City?: Venice (Italy or LA)
  • What is your passion?: Storytelling
  • How did you come up with the name?: It’s a play on words. Wine Oh, like “OH” I didn’t know that or a Wine Oh someone who drinks too much.
  • What do you love about it?: The people I meet
  • What is the most challenging part?: Finding the time to tell all the amazing stories that are out there
  • How did you go about getting involved or even starting this endeavor from a business or professional standpoint?: I combined my passion for wine with my experience as a broadcast journalist
  • Has it reached your goals for it?: I’m always evolving and so are my goals.
  • Anything you wish you had known in this industry when you first started?: How important it is to ask for what you want.
  • Any tips for those aspiring to do better in this media space?: Expect great things and your life will begin to unfold that way.
  • How much do you use Social Media as part of the business or project?: Daily
  • What’s next for Monique and this Project?: Getting more distribution, telling more compelling stories and always pushing myself to do better work.

TASTE AWARDS Announce Best New Series, Film, and Other Winners

The TASTE AWARDS, the premier awards celebrating the year’s best in Food, Fashion, and Lifestyle programs on Television, in Film, Online, in Apps, and on Radio & Podcasts, announced the final award winners, including for Best New Series, Film, and other categories, on Monday April 9th at a VIP Dinner and Red Carpet Reception in Los Angeles.

The VIP Awards Dinner and Red Carpet Reception took place at the restaurant Viale dei Romani in the new Kimpton La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood.

See photographs from the awards evening here.

AWARD WINNERS

  • Best Food or Drink Radio Broadcast: Louisiana Eats: Stories From The Back Of The House
  • Best Foreign Language Program, Series or Film: Michelin Stars — Tales From the Kitchen
  • Best Green or Organic Program, Series or Film: Wasted! The Story of Food Wasted
  • Best Home Chef in a Series: The Edgy Veg
  • Best Health & Fitness (Food & Diet): TIE – Healthy Voyager TV / Ellie’s Real Good Food
  • Best Drink or Beverage Program: TIE – Online Wine Oh TV / Broadway Bartender
  • Best Food Travel Series Online: Strictly Dumpling
  • Best New Series: The Urban Vegetarian
  • Best Chef in Series: Simply Ming
  • Best City or Regional Program: Louisiana Eats: Stories From The Back Of The House
  • Best Feature-Length Film or Documentary (40+ minutes): Wasted! The Story of Food Waste
  • Best Food Program Television: Simply Ming
  • Best Instructional Web Series: P. Allen Smith’s – Homegrown Seed Collection
  • Best Comedy: Jolene Sugarbaker
  • Best Single Topic Series: TIE – Entertaining with Beth / Wine Oh TV
  • Best Travel Program: Strictly Dumpling
  • Best Branded Program, Native Content, Video, or Advertisement: The Wiseguy Kitchen Show
  • Best Food Travel Series on Television: Moveable Feast with Fine Cooking
  • Best Kids Programs, Films or Documentaries: TIE- Kitchen Little (Tastemade) / Twice As Good
  • Best Short Film or Documentary (10-40 minutes) Lemonade Mafia
  • Best Food or Drink Podcast: Wine Road Podcast — The Wine, When, and Where of Northern Sonoma County
  • Best Food Program Online: Andrew Zimmern Cooks

In addition, previously announced award winners are:

BEST REALITY SERIES

  • Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party

BEST FASHION FILM

  • The Flower oF Life

BEST INTERNATIONAL PROGRAM

  • The Latin Kitchen

BEST DRINK OR BEVERAGE PROGRAM ON TELEVISION

  • Martha & Snoop’s Potluck Dinner Party (tie)
  • Wine Oh TV (tie)

Viale dei Romani at La Peer Hotel named Official Restaurant of the TASTE AWARDS

The TASTE AWARDS Committee is pleased to announce that this year’s TASTE AWARDS Red Carpet Dinner and Reception will take place at Chef Casey Lane’s Viale dei Romani in the new ultra-chic La Peer Hotel in West Hollywood.

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A Sneak Peak at the TASTE AWARDS VIP and Celebrity Swag Bags

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