Giada De Laurentiis Is Leaving Food Network but 'Will Always Have an Open Seat' at the Network
Giada De Laurentiis is parting ways with the Food Network.
After 21 years as a host and chef personality at the network, she will no longer collaborate on new projects there, and instead signed a multi-year deal for unscripted series production with Amazon Studios. Deadline was the first to report the news of her new deal.
In an exclusive statement, a Food Network spokesperson confirms the news to PEOPLE.
"Giada De Laurentiis is culinary royalty, someone who has taught audiences how to properly pronounce every cut of pasta imaginable for nearly two decades. Food Network will always be proud of the beautiful content we have created together, and our table will always have an open seat for Giada," the spokesperson says.
Reruns of De Laurentiis' shows, including Giada at Home and Giada Entertains, will still be shown on Food Network and discovery+.
De Laurentiis shared the news in an Instagram post, which included a screenshot of Deadline's announcement of her new deal. "Big week! Super excited for what's to come! @amazonstudios," she wrote in the caption.
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Her fellow chef friends shared their well wishes, including Alex Guarnaschelli, who wrote, "Congratulations ??." The Kitchen co-host, Katie Lee Biegel commented, "Yessss congratulations ??."
In an Amazon Studios release shared with PEOPLE, the food TV veteran further expressed her excitement. "I'm looking forward to this next chapter. I've been a fan of Amazon for a long time, and I'm excited for what we will accomplish together," she said.
Lauren Anderson, head of AVOD Original Content and Programming at Amazon Studios, also shared that the company is looking "forward to developing an exciting slate of projects with Giada, as she expands into new areas and we broaden our crave-worthy slate of cooking and lifestyle content," said Anderson.
A representative for De Laurentiis did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
According to Deadline, the celebrity chef and cookbook author will not only star in new projects, but also executive produce.
RELATED: Giada De Laurentiis Says She 'Wasn't Secure Enough' with Herself When She Made Her TV Debut
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The Emmy Award-winning chef has been a Food Network favorite since she joined in 2002. According to the Food Network website, she was discovered by a company executive after they read about her in a Food & Wine article.
Her first show under the network's umbrella was Everyday Italian where she shared go-to meals inspired by her family and Italian background. Following the inaugural success, Giada at Home premiered in 2008 and featured De Laurentiis cooking dishes for friends and family.
Over the past two decades, she's also been featured on Giada Entertains, Giada's Holiday Handbook, Giada in Italy and Food Network Star.
Along with her cookbooks and restaurant in Las Vegas, De Laurentiis founded her own lifestyle brand, Giadzy, and, most recently, Giada Catering, a catering company in Southern California, where she lives with her daughter, Jade and boyfriend, Shane Farley.
In 2018, the accomplished chef spoke with PEOPLE about her early TV debut. "In the beginning it was very intimidating," said the chef, who was working as a food stylist when Food Network recruited her to host Everyday Italian with no previous on-camera experience.
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"I think I just wasn't open enough; I wasn't secure enough," she said. "Italian culture and Italian food were such a part of my every day that I didn't realize other people wouldn't understand certain things."
Eventually she got the hang of it, but De Laurentiis will also never forget her first time on live television as a guest on the Today show.
"Al Roker was my host," she said. "I made a grilled chicken with three different pestos, but it was actually the stylist who cooked the food…we get to the point where Al says, 'Let's taste it' and cuts into the chicken, and it was raw inside!"
Now a pro at handling on-air mishaps, De Laurentiis said it's "those terrifying moments [that] end up being the things that can change your career."
