FOOD NETWORK SCORCHES SUMMER LINE-UP IN NEW SERIES "HEAT SEEKERS"

Season Premiere Friday, July 22nd at 10pm ET/PT on Food Network

NEW YORK - June 30, 2011 - Food Network's primetime programming catches fire this July with the series premiere of Heat Seekers Friday, July 22nd at 10pm ET/PT. Hosted by chefs Aarón Sanchez and Roger Mooking, Heat Seekers takes viewers on a tongue-testing odyssey to discover the most delicious and dangerous spicy food in the country and figure out why the smoking hot dishes are still so much fun to eat. Aarón and Roger travel to Miami, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Santa Fe, Chicago, Seattle, Charleston and Los Angeles in search of outrageously mouth-watering creations. In each city, they discover the spicy secrets of everything from broiled crawfish and buffalo frog legs, to fiery ribs and seafood ceviche and then subject themselves to a test of who can handle the heat.

Upcoming episodes include:

Premiering Friday, July 22nd at 10pm ET/PT

"Chicago"

Roger and Aarón visit the Windy City making a stop at Hot Doug's to sample famous hot dogs including The Atomic Bomb made of pork sausage, jalapeno and habanero peppers. At Heaven on Seven, they take in the Wall of Fire featuring more than 400 bottles of hot sauces and dig into Cajun-inspired dishes like the aptly-named Hot as a Mutha pasta. Their quest ends at Bricks where they attempt the Super Painful Pizza Challenge: eating a 10-inch pizza covered in jalapeno and scotch bonnet peppers with only water in just ten minutes.

Premiering Friday, July 29th at 10pm ET/PT

"Seattle"

Roger and Aarón start with a fire in Seattle hitting up Easy Joe's for the notorious "Bloody Joe," a sizzling specialty brunch item with ingredients including pepper vodka, house pickles and copious amounts of habanero peppers. They also stop by Araya's Place, a Thai restaurant featuring some of the hottest cuisine in all of Seattle, including the Tom Yum Soup served with an actual flame in the dish. Aarón and Roger's last stop is the Wing Dome, where the 7 Alarm Challenge is not for the faint of heart. Chiliheads must sign a waiver to take their turn at seven wings in seven minutes with no napkins or water. It's a challenge only one in ten complete.

Premiering Friday, August 5th at 10pm ET/PT

"Santa Fe"

Roger and Aarón head to the southwestern border for a tongue-twisting taste test. At Tomasitas, located in the Santa Fe Railyard, Roger and Aarón challenge their palate with sopapillas smothered in chiles guaranteed to leave mouths smoking. They also head to Kakawa Chocolate House where they create fiery Chili Chocolate Elixir drinks and sample whole chiles dipped in caramel and chocolate. Last stop on the Santa Fe tour is The Cowgirl for a pulled pork sandwich showdown, where they risk their tongues on a sandwich that's soaked in chipotle barbeque sauce for more than ten hours.

ABOUT ROGER MOOKING:

Roger Mooking, host of the Cooking Channel's Everyday Exotic, makes his Food Network debut with Heat Seekers. As a third generation restaurateur and chef, Roger began his formal training through the George Brown Culinary Management Program where he earned a Top Student Honors diploma and is now the Chair of the Professional Advisory Committee. He continued his training at Epic Dining Room in Toronto's Royal York Hotel before co-owning and consulting on several food and beverage operations.

ABOUT AARÓN SANCHEZ:

Son of celebrated Mexican cooking authority Zarela Martinez, Aarón Sanchez brings passion, commitment and skills to the kitchen, making him one of the country's leading contemporary Latin chefs. He began his career with Food Network as co-host of Melting Pot and has since appeared on multiple Food Network shows including Chopped, Chopped All-Stars, Chefs vs. City, Iron Chef America, The Next Iron Chef (season one) and Throwdown with Bobby Flay. In 2005, he was nominated as the "Rising Star Chef of the Year" by the James Beard Foundation.

# # #

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.25 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com), is the manager and general partner.