What to Know
Valerie Bertinelli wasn’t the only one devastated to lose her gig on Kids Baking Championship last year. Her fans mourned the loss, too, after fellow Food Network star Kardea Brown took over as the show’s cohost. But now, it sounds like the 65-year-old is ready to make her comeback.
In an Instagram post, Valerie teased the cooking project that she’ll be a part of next, and fans are already buzzing about her big return.
Valerie first shared a hint just days ago.
On January 2, Valerie shared a video of a kitchen as the camera panned to show an open oven. Inside, there was a blue neon light that read “Valerie’s Place” and that was it — no further explanation.
“Something is cooking for 2026!” read the caption on the post, which also encouraged her fans to sign up on Valerie’s website to be the first to find out what’s next for the star.
Now, she’s explaining more about what Valerie’s Place is.
Valerie returned to Instagram this week to give her fans a little more insight into what she’s planning for her new project, which she said she’s been working on for two years. She called it “a place all about me,” adding that fans will be able to watch every episode of her previous cooking show, Valerie’s Home Cooking.
“I will have multiple cooking shows and live cook alongs,” she wrote in her caption. “We’re planning on an interactive book group. There will be Getting Naked the podcast. Lots and lots of stuff in the planning stages and lots of content being filmed as we speak.”
Valerie didn’t try to hide how hard it was for her when Food Network chose not to renew her contract for Kids Baking Championship in 2024.
After Valerie found out that she’d been cut from Kids Baking Championship in January 2024, she shared an Instagram Stories post (which has since expired) about how difficult the news was for her after being a part of the show had helped her get through her divorce from Tom Vitale.
“Without sounding like a drama queen, the show saved my life,” she said in the video, according to People. She added, “It was like a floatation device. So it really hurts that I won’t be able to go back and see everybody and say, ‘Hey, I made it through.'”
Now, it looks like Valerie has something even better to look forward to, so hopefully, she will finally be able to move on.
