'Food Nextwork Star': Meet Penny Davidi of Los Angeles

 
Season 7 of "Food Network Star" kicks off Sunday night with three SoCal competitors all vying to be the next Guy Fieri. We chatted with the local finalists in advance of the new show. Yesterday, it was Jyll Everman. Today, we meet Penny Davidi of Los Angeles, restaurateur and former owner of Pizza Rustica, which she helped turn into a successful franchise:

This much is guaranteed: Penny is going to be the talk of Season 7. She teeters in on impossibly high heels and never stops. Before the first episode is over, she'll be labeled a cougar, threated with bodily injury ("I'll literally beat you over the head," her nemesis tells her) and she'll receive high praise in the judge's room.

Susie Fogelson, Food Network's senior vice president of marketing and brand strategy, who is constantly chiding contestants for not staying true to their authentic selves, says of Davidi: "She really is an empowered woman. Whether you like it or not, Penny is who she is."

Season 7 of "Food Network Star" kicks off Sunday night with three SoCal competitors all vying to be the next Guy Fieri. We chatted with the local finalists in advance of the new show. Today, we meet Penny Davidi, 39, of Los Angeles.

She's not surprised she was chosen to be among the 15 finalists. "I knew I had what it takes to make it and to bring a new culinary point of view of new flavors, textures, spices," says Davidi, 39. She said Fogelson's comment is spot on. "I am totally about female empowerment. You can do it do if I can do it, and I’ve never gone to culinary school."

She wasn't intimated by her lack of cooking prowess, but she did feel like she needed to bring her A-Game to a competition where many of the competitors were classically trained. If the first episode is any indication, it leads to fireworks at every turn.

"Watch out 'Top Chef,'" she said. "This season is over the top. Everyone was truly truly skilled. You really had to step it up with every challenge...I felt like I needed to step it up that much more and really excel over those that were schooled.”

She says her goal is to "bring sexy back into the kitchen," and if she wins she wants to have a show called "Stilettos in the Kitchen" cause that's exactly what she wears when she's cooking for her two teenage girls.

"I like to bring a bit of that sexiness into the kitchen," she says. "I just want to give that same feeling of empowerment to women out there. In January of 2010 I decided 'I want to be on the Food Network.' And look where that got me? That's female empowerment."

She says there's an added reason why she should win: She brings a completely unique point of view: "I want to be the first Middle Eastern ever in the history of the network. It’s huge for them. It will be so impactful...This is what I want. Rachael Ray did it. Giada did it. I think it's time for a Middle Eastern Cook on the Food Network. This is what I want."

"'Stilettos in the Kitchen' means bringing a little bit of ethinc flair to an American palette. 'Let me introduce you to my culture, and let me show you how I embrace yours.' I think it will have an impact on people...It will give people a different vision of the Middle East...If I could bring just a little bit of that, then I am more than happy.”

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--Rene Lynch
twitter.com / renelynch

Photo: Food Network

Comments

[Earl]

Penny is very unlikable. I love Middle Eastern Food and I hope Food Network eventually has a show for it...but if Penny is hosting it, I refuse to watch.

[Christine]

Sorry, but woman or man, disgusting and disingenuous are not synonyms for sexy and confident. Stop playing the gender card. Penny does not represent sexy, just ugly, inside and out.

[RA]

If the directors and producers have indeed asked the contestants to make certain gestures and repeat statements that they plant, statements that are clearly made to insults others, and they follow through with it, then they have no one to blame but themselves for any public hatred they had brought upon themselves. If the person is truly confident, then they should not feel the need to succumb to the pressures they get from the producers or directors.

Society has grown to accept confident and competitive women. What society has not learned to accept is needless bullying and arrogance.

Go Penny indeed, go home.

[Lauren]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought she was extremely rude for no reason! Some of it may have been editing but either way it certainly wasn't a good look on her part.

[JB]

When a camera captures someone rolling their eyes, editors can place that image anywhere in the episode so you never know what that reaction truly related to. Directors and producers also ask contestants to make certain gestures and repeat statements that they plant. This is far from reality TV, it is simply TV employing a false reality format. Certainly Penny acts confident but when are we going to grow enough as a culture to fully accept overt confidence and competitiveness in women? Go Penny!!!!

[RA]

I hope Penny leaves soon. There is nothing likable about her from the first episode and I'm not expecting it to get better. You can blame some of it on editing but she clearly said some hateful things and expressed her feelings by rolling her eyes more often than necessary. So unless she was dubbed in editing and specifically asked to roll her eyes, then I see no misunderstanding made at this end.

As for "every woman should be empowered enough to feel sexy and exude confidence", I agree. However, there is a fine line between being confident and arrogant. She's on the wrong side of this line.

In addition, she does not seem to get to know her fellow teammates before spewing her personal insults that can be hurtful to them. Thus, I do not feel she deserves the same courtesy.

She may have given "much" to the community. But I'm not sure if it has been determined if it is much good or otherwise.

[tbplayer]

39? That must've been some rough years in there.

[JB]

Your comments and misconduct are far worse than those you are complaining about. Every woman should be empowered enough to feel sexy and to exude confidence. That does not warrant hatred. And, who knows what the producers of the show did to elicit from this contestant, and then edit to create controversy. Let the show play out and get to know the person before spewing personal insults that can hurtful to a woman that has given so much to her community and children. Remember, all the comments you may have dislikd related solely to the competition, were not personal and are nothing Simon Cowell wouldn't have uttered. Why is it OK for a man and not a woman to be blunt? Grow up and maintain composure, we are all human!!

[Linda]

Of course, editing is everything, but while this woman wants to appear sexy, she comes across as merely vulgar.

[HT]

One word: Biatch. I don't care if you can cook, you're a nasty, hateful person, and don't deserve to move on.

[JessePforParking]

Hey Penny. You need to put sexy away. You are internally awful, externally disgusting, and your personality resembles something dangerously close to a cartoon cactus. Your disingenuity compliments your complete lack of camera presence. You belong on this program. You are literally perfect for the Banana Zoo that is NFNS. Best of luck dude. I hope you cut your knuckles frequently.

[JB]

Hey guys, there is no more of a team player and self-effacing human being than Penny. Let the show play out and see what Penny does in real life, then you can make less emotional (should I say hateful) assessments. Besides, remember that reality TV is an oxymoron. And, after all, this is a cooking competition!! Is Gordon Ramsay always politically correct? Cheers!

[LindseyM]

Penny is disgusting. How could she treat someone like that. What an out right bitch. She comes off overly confident... when she shouldnt be..... shes NOT sexy and not fun to watch on tv. What a horrible roll model. Shes cockoo.

[Damien]

Penny came off as unlikable, aggressive and had a very inflated sense of her own sexiness. She valued cutting the throat of her competition over supporting her own team. She represents hyper cattiness , not so much "empowerment".