• Variety, Wednesday, April 22, 2009 9:31 AM

The Food Network's focus on cooking competitions continues its new slate of eight new prime time shows unveiled this week. Beginning in July, "Chefs vs. City" is a foodie version of "The Amazing Race" in which chefs Chris Cosentino and Aaron Sanchez take on a pair of local chefs in a different city each week.

Launching in the fall is "Extreme Cuisine With Jeff Corwin." Corwin's former series appeared on Food sister net Animal Planet. The new show will have him heading to foreign locales to taste native cuisines.

"We don't want to overdo it with competition shows, but viewers like them," says network president Brooke Johnson. "We also have the 'In the kitchen' blocks Saturday and Sunday morning and weekdays, which are as important to us as prime time. We're able to develop new shows and draw on talent from the kitchen programs," she says. Food Network was up 16% in total viewers in the first quarter compared to a year earlier.

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