And the winner is . . .

Melissa d'Arabian! Melissa won The Next Food Network Star and will have her own show, $10 Dinners, starting this Sunday on the Food Network. Read more about her at foodnetwork.com.

I can't honestly say that I was rooting for her the whole time; I really thought she would be one of the first to go. She was the only one who had no formal training or work experience in cooking. But in the end, that seemed to give her the edge. Melissa is very likable, you can relate to her, and she is full of cool little tips, tricks, acronyms, etc. to use in the kitchen. As her biography says, she is a stay-at-home mom to 4 daughters--all under the age of 4. Crazy! She was the only one who never cooked a meal that the judges disliked. They didn't always love her dishes, but she always made something that was "good enough." Love it!

I'm excited to watch her show, assuming I'm not in church at the same time it's on. Can't wait to see what the next season has in store!