‘The Kitchen’ is closing: Reactions as food talk show is nixed

It’s almost a wrap for “The Kitchen.”

Food Network announced Monday that its long-running weekend culinary talk show “The Kitchen” is coming to an end. The final episode of the series, co-hosted by network favorites Sunny Anderson, Katie Lee Biegel, Jeff Mauro, Geoffrey Zakarian and recurring guest Alex Guarnaschelli, will air Dec. 13.

“It’s the end of an era,” Biegel said in her Instagram story sharing the news. “Thank you so much to all of our fans. The Kitchen was the greatest professional honor of my life and I will be forever grateful.” Biegel has served as one of the show’s co-hosts since its 2014 premiere.

Mauro, who has also been with the show since the beginning, echoed her sentiments on his own Instagram post.

“I always knew what we had was special — rare, a unicorn, an anomaly,” Mauro said in a lengthy caption thanking fans and colleagues. “I got to spend a dozen years with my best friends — cooking, laughing, and eating life-changing bites from some of the world’s greatest chefs and cooks.”

Currently in its 40th season, the Daytime Emmy-nominated cooking-themed talk show featured its hosts and guests sharing recipes, discussing food trends and offering other food tips. In addition to celebrated chefs and culinary personalities, “The Kitchen” opened its doors to various actors, musicians and celebrities.

“For over a decade Sunny, Katie, Jeff, Geoffrey and more recently Alex have engaged audiences with their individual and distinct food sensibilities and sense of humor that together make ‘The Kitchen’ a delicious way to spend an hour,” Warner Bros. Discovery head of food content Betsy Ayala said in a statement.

“Everyone knows all good parties end up in ‘The Kitchen,’ where the conversation, laughs and food flow; the best parties probably end a little bit earlier than some guests would like, but we’ve got twelve years of memories and wanted to celebrate this team’s hard work during one final holiday season.”

Food Network titan Bobby Flay congratulated the show’s team for “an iconic run” in the comments on Food Network’s Instagram post sharing the news.

“Thank you to the Kitchen and its fabulous chefs and hosts for holding it down in daytime on [Food Network] for the last decade,” Flay wrote.

Other Food Network stars also chimed in with tributes in the comments responding to the announcement.

“I loved this show because it reminded me of why I fell in love with cooking in the first place,” wrote Aarti Sequeira, Season 6 winner of “The Next Food Network Star,” “lots of voices and hands working together in a kitchen with equal servings of love and sass!!!!”

“[C]ongrats on an incredible show — one of my favorites to watch and to be part of,” “Chopped” judge Marc Murphy wrote. “You’re all legends.”

Fellow “Chopped” judge Tiffani Faison also congratulated the show’s staff for “a run worthy only of this team.”