Giada De Laurentiis is explaining why she decided it was time to leave the Food Network.

The 53-year-old celebrity chef announced she was leaving the cooking channel after 21 years back in early 2023. At the time of her announcement, she revealed she signed a new multi-year deal with Amazon Studios.

Keep reading to find out more…

Giada said she ultimately became interested in exploring her entrepreneurial side, and could not do both hosting for the Food Network and pursuing her new line of work.

On Rebecca Minkoff’s Superwomen podcast, Giada shared, “It took a while for me to make this decision because I was very fearful of leaving Food Network. Because when you’re a big fish in that pond and then you get out, who knows what’s gonna happen next? But I really started to become interested in the entrepreneurial sort of journey. And I realized I couldn’t do both.”

She continued, “So about two and a half years ago, I finally was like, okay, I’m gonna make the jump, and I’m gonna put my energy in [her lifestyle brand] Giadzy. I’ll still do TV. I have a deal with Amazon, so I still do a little bit of that, but it’s definitely not the schedule I used to keep. Definitely not.”

When asked if she missed the Food Network, she responded, “No. I know, I should say yes. I think it’s because I got burnt out. I really worked so hard for so long. I got burnt out and I couldn’t see a path that was exciting anymore. I need excitement. And if I’m getting bored, my viewers are getting bored.”

Be sure to head to Giadzy to check out some of the yummy purchase options, including different olive oils, pastas, cheeses, sauces, and more.

Details were recently revealed about another Food Network mainstay who was let go.

Disclosure: Each product has been independently hand curated by our editorial team. Some products on this site use affiliate links and we may earn commission for any purchase made through the links.