Anthony Anderson Discovers America's Best Food Festivals On New Food Network Series Food Fest Nation

NEW YORK, June 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthony Anderson is on a mission to discover the most flavorful food festivals in the country on the new primetime series, Food Fest Nation, premiering Monday, July 21^st at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network. Tasting everything from classic interpretations of regional fare to surprising twists of favorite foods, Anthony uncovers what is truly at the heart of America – one delicious food festival at a time. 

"Viewers got a taste of Anthony Anderson's true passion for food during his appearances as a judge on Iron Chef America and Chopped," said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Food Network. "Anthony's love of food, quick humor, and engaging way with people make him the perfect guide through the quirky and wonderful world of food festivals."

Over the course of eight half-hour episodes, Anthony visits the most unique food fairs in the nation, sampling local specialties and meeting the characters devoted to the regional cuisine. Along the way, Anthony visits the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival in Fernandina Beach, Fla. and highlights delicious classics such as shrimp tacos, shrimp boil and shrimp jambalaya, as well as innovative shrimp ice cream. In one episode, he attends the Magnolia Blossom Festival & World Championship Steak Cook-Off in Magnolia, Ark., where over 4,000 different kinds of mouthwatering ribeye steaks compete to be the best of the best and for a $10,000 prize. Anthony also visits the Long Grove Strawberry Festival, where over 20,000 attendees flock to Long Grove, Ill. for three "berry" special days of enjoying all things strawberry, including Strawberry Ricotta Ravioli and Strawberry Balsamic Chicken. In another episode, he stops by Ribfest Chicago for a world-class rib-eating showdown that draws top competitive eaters from around the globe.  Throughout the season, Anthony also gets a taste of the South Carolina Poultry Festival in Batesberg, S.C., the Jambalaya Festival in Gonzalez, La., the Blue Ridge BBQ Festival in Tyron, N.C., as well as the Rockwood Ice Cream Festival in Wilmington, Del.

Fans can visit FoodNetwork.com/FoodFestNation all season long for additional video, blogs and photo galleries from Anthony's travels, as well as connect on Twitter with the hashtag #FoodFestNation.

Anthony Anderson is no stranger to the Food Network audience, having competed on Chopped and appeared as both a judge and competitor on Iron Chef America, making his transition to host of Food Fest Nation a natural and delicious progression.  He is an accomplished actor with roles on both the big and small screen, including over 20 films and the Emmy® Award-winning drama Law & Order, playing Detective Kevin Bernard. His performance on that series earned him four consecutive NAACP Image Award nominations for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series. Anthony also appeared in the DreamWorks' blockbuster Transformers, directed by Michael Bay; as well as in Martin Scorsese's Oscar® winning feature, The Departed. Anthony can also be seen in the upcoming ABC sitcom, Black-ish, this fall, in which he will both star and produce.

Food Fest Nation is produced by Magnetic Productions.

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, empowering and entertaining through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and up to 35 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine's rate base has grown tenfold and is now the second largest monthly magazine on the newsstand, with over 11.6 million readers.  Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24-hour networks in the United Kingdom, Asia, and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. Scripps Networks Interactive SNI, which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com) and Great American Country (www.gactv.com), is the manager and general partner.

SOURCE Food Network