You Gotta Eat Here | TV, eh?

The food-tasting food trip is over. You Gotta Eat Here!, hosted by John Catucci, has been cancelled by Food Network Canada after five seasons on the air.

“We are extremely proud of the volumes of strong Canadian original content we have delivered to audiences over the years,” Lisa Godfrey, vice-president of original content for Corus Entertainment, said in a statement. “After resonating with legions of fans, You Gotta Eat Here! has reached its natural end and has not been renewed for another season.Â The success this series had is a true testament to our exceptionally talented production partners, Lone Eagle Entertainment, and Corus applauds the cast, creators, producers, and writers for their dedication to this Canadian original. We remain firmly committedÂ to developing standout original Canadian content and look forward to sharing more information about upcoming renewals and new series soon.”

Related: Listen to Anthony Marco interview John Catucci

Produced by Lone Eagle Entertainment, You Gotta Eat Here! featured comedianÂ Catucci as he travelled across Canadaâ€”and to the odd city outside of this countryâ€”tasting food, getting his hands dirty making it and spotlighting the big and small-scale restaurants, eateries and watering holes folks should be trying out. Catucci, who never purported to be a chef (but has been churning out what looks like pretty delicious-looking high-end stuff on his Instagram page), was an inquisitive, funny and enjoyable host who clearly loved his job. It clearly resonated with fans and critics: the series debuted in 2012 and won Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lifestyle or Talk Program or Series in 2014 and 2017.

You Gotta Eat Here! is the latest series to be cancelled by Corus leading into the 2017-18 broadcast season. It joins HGTV Canada’sÂ Timber Kings,Â Leave It to Bryan and Income PropertyÂ as projects not moving forward with new episodes.

Repeats of You Gotta Eat Here! continue to be broadcast on Food Network Canada. How do you feel about the show being cancelled? Let me know in the comments section below.

Oh to be John Catucci. I dream of it sometimes. The opportunity to travel across Canadaâ€”with the occasional stop in the U.S.â€”sampling Â things roasted, broiled, barbecued, grilled and steamed? It’s worth what it would do to my waistline.

Catucci is back for Season 4 of Food Network’s You Gotta Eat Here! on Friday night with the same formula that’s worked for the past three. In it, the affable, comedian, writer and actor drops by a trio of eateriesâ€”Pizzeria Via Mercante in Toronto’s Kensington Market neighbourhood,Â Moonshine Barbecue in Montreal andÂ The Cheshire Cat in Carp, Ont., outside of Ottawaâ€”to munch and mingle with the staff and customers.

I wiped away slobber as Catucci and Romolo Salvati worked their way through pizza and pasta atÂ Pizzeria Via Mercante, exclaimed at the size of the smoked ribs and “totini” (tater tots smothered in pulled pork, gravy and cheese) at Moonshine Barbecue and stared in wonder at the pub fare sampled at The Cheshire Cat.

A die-hard fan of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, I at first dismissed YGEH as a cheap Canadian rip-off of what Guy Fieri’s been doing for years. How wrong I was. Yes, Catucci is travelling to restaurants, talking to people and eating plates of food, but his sense of humour, shameless mugging for the camera and open-eyed wonder at the foods placed in front of him makes this project unique. And it’s proved to be quite the triptych of dining moments for me. Thanks to YGEH, I’ve added several fantastic places to chow down to my contacts list and I’m look forward to adding a bunch more thanks to this newest season of 26 episodes.

You Gotta Eat Here! airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network.

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You Gotta Eat Here! cancelled by Food Network Canada

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