Paula Deen's Out: Check Out 5 Other Food Network Stars You Should Be Watching

Paula Deen's Out: Check Out 5 Other Food Network Stars You Should Be Watching

Food Network dropped Paula Deen after the N-word controversy, but there is no use crying over spilt butter. If you think you'll be missing Mrs."South in Your Mouth" on your television, you should know there are plenty of awesome people on the network who will fill up that hole in your heart.

Here are five of our favorite Food Network stars that you can fall in love with if you want to move on from Paula Deen:

1. Sunny Anderson: She's bubbly. She's loveable. And she's relatable! It's the perfect trio for cooking show hosts. Her series Cooking For Real is all about putting a unique spin on classic comfort foods. Plus, she's not afraid of using lots of cheese, butter and the like for her recipes, which we always appreciate. 

2. Jeff Mauro: How can you not love someone who has been dubbed the sandwich king? Born and raised in Chicago, Mauro won the sixth season of Food Network Star and quickly proved that the camera will continue to love him with his successful series Sandwich King. Need to know how to make any meal into a sandwich? Mauro can do it, and he'll probably make you laugh in the process. 

3. The Judges of Chopped: Before you do anything else, please read our love letter to Chopped. We'll wait. … And welcome back. Chopped is a highly entertaining show, but it's the judging panel that makes it special. There's silver fox and Iron Chef Geoffrey Zakarian, the flawless and talented Alex Guarnaschell and don't you dare forget about the Italian stallion Scott Conant. Fire up the DVR now, because you'll never be able to get enough of the folks behind the chopping block.

4. Michael Symon: There are plenty of Iron Chefs on the Food Network whom we love dearly, but Symon is one of our favorites. Not only is he just a damn talented chef, but he seems to have so much fun while he's cooking, even when he's in the unforgiving kitchen stadium. And have you heard his maniacal laugh? Priceless.


5. Ree Drummond: It's like Paula Deen…on the prairie! Ree Drummond's series The Pioneer Woman follows her life as a ranch wife in Oklahoma. She calls herself an "accidental country girl," but she's cooking up good food for her family and friends so we'd call it a happy accident.