After 21 years of being the host of one of America’s most popular culinary shows, Rome-born Giada De Laurentiis is leaving the Food Network. The 52-year-old culinary personality signed a multi-year deal with Amazon’s Prime Video. She will not only be starring in but also executive producing various cooking and lifestyle content.
After nearly two decades as one of Food Network’s most recognizable faces, De Laurentiis shared an Instagram post on February 10 announcing her move. She shared a screenshot of Deadline’s announcement of her new deal writing: “Big week! Super excited for what’s to come! @amazonstudios.”
"Giada De Laurentiis is culinary royalty, someone who has taught audiences how to properly pronounce every cut of pasta imaginable for nearly two decades," a Food Network spokesperson said in a statement to E! News. "Food Network will always be proud of the beautiful content we have created together, and our table will always have an open seat for Giada."
De Laurentiis’ programs for Food Network have focused on her recipes, cooking at home with her family, and culinary travels to Italy. She first debuted on the Food Network in April 2003 with “Everyday Italian,” where she shared some of her favorite recipes inspired by her Italian family, according to E News!. Her other shows over the two decades have included “Giada at Home,” “Giada Entertains,” “Giada in Italy,” “Giada’s Holiday Handbook,” and “Simply Giada.”
Lauren Anderson, the head of AVOD Original Content and Programming at Amazon Studios, said in a statement to E News! that the company is looking "forward to developing an exciting slate of projects with Giada, as she expands into new areas and we broaden our crave-worthy slate of cooking and lifestyle content."
The celebrity chef has released a number of cookbooks and has a restaurant in Las Vegas. She also founded Giadzy, a lifestyle brand. All of her preexisting Food Network programs will continue to stream on Food Network and Discovery+.
Asia London Palomba
Asia London Palomba is a trilingual freelance journalist from Rome, Italy. In the past, her work on culture, travel, and history has been published in The Boston Globe, Atlas Obscura,The Christian Science Monitor and Grub Street, New York Magazine's food section. In her free time, Asia enjoys traveling home to Italy to spend time with family and friends, drinking Hugo Spritzes, and making her nonna's homemade cavatelli.