Food Network Star (season 9)

The ninth season of the American reality television series "Food Network Star" premiered Sunday, June 2, 2013.
Season 9 continued the season 8 concept of having Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, and Alton Brown mentor the contestants, but dropped the specific assignments of teams to mentors, and the final elimination challenge between the bottom contestants. Season 9 also featured 12 contestants, down from 15 in season 8.
Contestants.
Eliminated.
"(In order of elimination)"
At least six competitors have appeared on other Food Network programs. Pham defeated Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America and also competed on Extreme Chef. Lysek and Henry appeared on "Chopped"; both were eliminated before the final round. Henry also appeared on Throwdown with Bobby Flay, while Lysek also won during an appearance on 24 Hour Restaurant Battle. Poon-Kinney appeared on "", where Robert Irvine gave her family's restaurant a makeover. Hodgson competed on "The Great Food Truck Race"; his truck, Hodge Podge, was a runner-up on season 2.
Episode summaries.
Week Eight: Food Stories From The Road.
Prior to the announcement of the Mentors Challenge, Robert Irvine announced the winner of the Star Salvation was Lovely, who returned to the competition.
Star Salvation.
This season, Food Network Star added a five-week online "Star Salvation" competition, which will allow one eliminated contestant a second chance to return to the main competition. Hosted by Robert Irvine, each episode will feature the most recently eliminated contestant competing against the remaining previously eliminated contestants. Each episode features one or two rounds of competition, judged by Irvine.