TLDR: Giada De Laurentiis exited Food Network in February 2023 after more than two decades with the network, signing a multi-year unscripted production deal with Amazon Studios instead.
The move let her step into producing as well as starring in new projects, while continuing to grow her Giadzy lifestyle brand and other business ventures outside of cable television.
For more than twenty years, Giada De Laurentiis was one of the most recognizable faces on Food Network. Her first show, Everyday Italian, premiered in 2003, and she went on to host a long run of follow-ups, including Giada at Home, Giada in Italy, and Giada Entertains.
She also became a familiar judging presence on competition shows like Food Network Star and Beat Bobby Flay, often trading good-natured jabs with longtime friend and rival Bobby Flay.
So when news broke in February 2023 that she was leaving the network, it caught a lot of longtime fans off guard.
The Amazon Studios Deal
The exit wasn’t framed as a falling out. Deadline first reported that Giada had signed a multi-year overall unscripted production deal with Amazon Studios, one that would let her both develop and executive produce new projects, with the option to star in them as well.
That kind of behind-the-camera control was the real draw. After two decades of being primarily a talent for hire on someone else’s network, the Amazon deal gave her a stake in shaping the projects themselves.
Lauren Anderson, Amazon Studios’ head of AVOD original content and programming at the time, said the studio was looking forward to building out a slate of new projects with Giada as she expanded into new territory. Giada herself shared the news on Instagram with a simple, excited caption.
She later described the move as the start of a new chapter, noting she’d been a longtime fan of Amazon and was eager to see what they could build together.
Food Network’s Response
Food Network didn’t treat the departure as a clean break, either.
A network spokesperson described Giada as culinary royalty in a statement to press at the time, crediting her with teaching audiences how to properly pronounce nearly every pasta shape imaginable over the better part of two decades.
The network also made a point of saying the door would always be open for her to return. Reruns of her Food Network catalog have continued to air on the network and on discovery+ since her departure, so longtime fans haven’t lost access to the shows that made her famous in the first place.
What Burnout Had to Do With It
Beyond the business logic of the Amazon deal, Giada has also pointed to simple exhaustion as part of what pushed her to make a change.
After decades of filming, producing, and traveling non-stop for a long list of shows, she’s described reaching a point of genuine fatigue that made stepping back from the daily grind of cable television feel necessary rather than optional.
That same period lined up with her putting more energy into Giadzy, her lifestyle and e-commerce brand built around curated Italian ingredients, cookware, and recipe content, along with other ventures like her own catering business and her Las Vegas restaurant.
She hasn’t disappeared from Food Network entirely. Older programming still airs, and she’s continued to show up for the occasional one-off special on streaming platforms, including a Prime Video project that let her keep cooking for an audience without being tied to a single network’s schedule.
For a chef who built her entire public identity around bringing Italian cooking into American homes, the shift looks less like leaving a chapter behind and more like rewriting how she wants to tell the rest of the story, on her own terms and with more ownership of the work itself.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Giada De Laurentiis leave Food Network?
She signed a multi-year unscripted production deal with Amazon Studios in February 2023, which let her develop and produce projects rather than just star in them. She’s also cited burnout after two decades of nonstop filming.
Is Giada De Laurentiis still on Food Network?
She’s no longer filming new Food Network shows, but reruns of her catalog, including Everyday Italian and Giada at Home, continue to air on the network and on discovery+.
What is Giada De Laurentiis doing now?
She’s focused on her Amazon Studios production deal, her Giadzy lifestyle brand, her catering business, and her Las Vegas restaurant, alongside occasional streaming specials.
