Final Five For New 'Check, Please!' Host Announced

By Chuck Sudo in Food on May 1, 2013 1:30PM

And now it's down to five. The producers of Check, Please! announced the five finalists still in the running to replace Alpana Singh as host.

Let's get the bad news out of the way: Our intrepid Food and Drink editor Anthony Todd is not among them, despite our best efforts at ballot box stuffing. (We still feel Anthony would have made an ideal candidate.)

The final five are:

- Senam Amegashie, freelance writer
- Donny de Castro, owner of Tavern at the Park Restaurant
- Catherine De Orio, president of Culinary Curator
- Sarah Levy, magazine editor and owner of S. Levy Foods
- Ina Pinkney, chef/owner of Ina's

The search for a new Check, Please! host started with over 1,000 video submissions which were culled down to 17. Those 17 taped mock episodes to winnow it down to the five selected. You can view snippets of the final five's mock episodes, their original applications and audition videos here.

The finalists will be featured in a special edition of Check, Please! 8 p.m. May 17, with the winner announced May 29.