Cooking Channel, the upcoming Scripps Networks offering, will have Bruce Seidel as its top programming chef.
Seidel, who was a programmer at sister network Food Network, will have the title senior VP of programming.
He will be responsible for leading program development, acquisitions, production, and scheduling for the newest Scripps Network.
It will replace 55-million-subscriber Fine Living on cable and satellite lineups this fall.
At Food, according to Scripps, Seidel gets credit for bringing in hit shows Iron Chef America, The Next Food Network Star, The Next Iron Chef,Worst Cooks in America and most recently the record-setting Iron Chef America: Super Chef Battle.
According to his Food Network bio, Seidel came from a foodie family in Los Angeles and was a "box boy to the stars" at a fancy L.A. grocery store.
"He's respected inside and outside of our company for his endless creativity and uncompromising integrity, both of which will be a huge benefit to this new network," Cooking Channel general manager Michael Smith, to whom Seidel reports, said in a release.
Seidel was previously SVP, program planning and special projects, at Food, where he oversaw the network schedule, Scripps said. He began his tenure at Food in 1998 as director of scheduling and acquisitions, where he brought in popular British culinary programs featuring Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson and imported the original Japanese version of Iron Chef.
Seidel also worked in programming at Animal Planet, building co-productions with the BBC and overseeing scheduling. Earlier, he was with Discovery Communications where he served in the development and co-production areas for Discovery Channel Worldwide. His television career began as an agent trainee in television for the William Morris Agency.
