Chef Nicole Gaffney talks ‘Food Network Star’

LSU alum and New Jersey chef Nicole Gaffney is keeping her spirits up after she lost out on Food Network Star over the weekend. Gaffney placed in the top three on the show, where contestants from around the country compete for their own cooking show on the Food Network. Chef Lenny McNab of DeBeque, Colorado, won and will produce a cowboy-style cooking show.

After Sunday’s season 10 finale, Gaffney says she wasn’t surprised at the results, but overall, she had a good experience.

“Lenny [McNab] is a born entertainer, and [runner-up] Luca Della Casa has that Italian charm,” she says. “Both can cook their pants off. It was an honor to sit next to them both, and I’m so happy for Lenny. He deserves it.”

At first, Gaffney says she had a hard time warming up to the camera. But throughout the season, she opened up and started to surprise the judges with her talent on camera and in the kitchen.

“My entire life, I’ve always wanted people to like me,” she says. “I’ve never been OK with having rivalries and enemies. I’d much rather get along. But when you’re in the mainstream media for anything, there will always be people who love you and people who loathe you. All summer long, that really dug into me. Through the process, I learned to accept that when you put yourself out there, that is just the way it is. I learned that if you try to appeal to everybody, you wind up appealing to nobody.”

Gaffney added that she probably wouldn’t do a competition like this again, but would love having her own cooking show. For now, though, she’s taking a little break.

“The summer has been emotionally exhausting,” she says. “Long term, I still want to focus on teaching people to cook, sharing tips, ideas and recipes and inspiring them to be fearless in the kitchen. The future is bright, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store.”

For more information on Gaffney, visit her blog toofullforschool.com.