In a first for The Next Food Network Star, three finalists instead of two -- Lisa Garza, Adam Gertler and Aaron McCargo Jr. -- will compete for the title when Season 4 wraps up on Sunday.

We don't know if this break from tradition is because executives think that all three could carry their own show -- or that maybe none of them can. It's a crucial decision for the judging panel, which includes senior programming VP Bob Tuschman, marketing VP Susie Fogelson, and celebrity chef Bobby Flay. Because unlike Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen, whose winners fade into obscurity, the Food Network does what it promises by giving its winners their own television shows. Or in the case of Season 2 winner Guy Fieri, three shows.

We like Guy. We like Bobby Flay. Heck, we even like executives, who are writing entertaining blogs on the Food Network website.

In fact, likeability is the network's most marketable asset, sometimes even more than cooking talent. Is Rachael Ray's face on Triscuit boxes because she makes a killer fois gras? Doubtful.

So the deciding test for the three finalists is: who's most watchable?

Lisa Garza
With her severe haircut, stiletto boots and military precision, she'd be the Food Network's next Lilith Sternin.

Garza, a 32-year-old former model and restaurant owner from Texas, was voted one of Dallas's five chefs to watch in 2006, and the judges on Star concur that her French-inspired dishes were among the competition's best.

But despite her beauty, occasional warmth, and a jaw-dropping singing voice she broke out before last night's competition in Vegas (seriously, Bob Tuschman's jaw dropped), it's hard to imagine her loosening up enough to fit into the network's casual friendliness.

Adam Gertler
He's a performer first and a chef second, which means he clung by his fingertips throughout the competition. Even as his food improved, Bobby Flay remained unimpressed.

The other judges, though, are probably calculating his marketability. He's funny, he's engaging, he could be the next Guy Fieri, whose personality far outshines his big-food culinary point of view. It's easy to picture Gertler, a 30-year-old waiter from Pennsylvania, sliding into the network's expanding lifestyle programming, where he could yuk it up like Fieri in Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Then again, Gertler's cooking range is questionable. He ran a barbecue restaurant in Philly, which went belly up, and his signature dishes are pretty much stuff that's smoked. And even with the Food Network's emphasis on personality, it would be a stretch to promote someone with such limited chef's credentials.

Aaron McCargo Jr.
We get the feeling that he's the guy the judges are secretly rooting for. The 36-year-old hospital chef from New Jersey has an undeniable warmth and his comfort food got high marks throughout the competition except for the last one where he choked.

And for a network that suffers from a lack of diversity, executives are no doubt anxious to sign on another African-American host. (The network only recently introduced Down Home With the Neelys, hosted by Memphis barbecue restaurateurs Patrick and Gina Neely.)

But McCargo stumbles when he tries to perform for the cameras -- he can't cook and talk at the same time. And despite the judges' urgings, he hasn't opened up much, sharing the kinds of personal details that helped Rachael Ray and Paula Deen connect with viewers and become household names.

So the show is left with no obvious front-runner, much the same as last season when eliminated contestant Amy Finley returned to take the top prize. Her show, The Gourmet Next Door, ended after one season. (She says it was her choice.) Season 1 winners Steve McDonagh and Dan Smith are still on the air with Party Line With the Hearty Boys.

Foodies will no doubt be rooting for Garza to win, but with selection in the hands of the network instead of the viewers (who chose Finley last year), the title probably will go to McCargo. In a choice between cooking, personality or television skills, the latter is the easiest to teach.

The Next Food Network Star finale airs at 10 p.m. on Sunday.

Shirleen Holt is a freelance writer, former newspaper editor, and aspiring foodie living outside of Portland, Ore.

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