BORN-AND-BRED SOUTHERNERS DAMARIS PHILLIPS AND RUTLEDGE WOOD SHARE THEIR FAVORITE DOWN-HOME FOOD SPOTS IN "SOUTHERN AND HUNGRY"

Series Premieres Monday, October 9th at 10pm ET/7pm PT on Cooking Channel

NEW YORK - September 18, 2017 - Food expert Damaris Phillips and NASCAR personality Rutledge Wood are obsessed with everything Southern, especially the food and the people behind it, and they take viewers on a mouthwatering road trip through the region to visit the down-home food spots they love in the new series Southern and Hungry. From legendary whole hog barbecue in Charleston, South Carolina and delectable shrimp and grits in Savannah, Georgia to Southern staples fused with Asian flavors in Damaris' hometown Louisville, Kentucky, the two friends explore the most memorable dishes and restaurants that bring them back to their childhood. Southern and Hungry premieres on Monday, October 9th at 10pm ET/7pm PT on Cooking Channel.

"Damaris and Rutledge eat, sleep and breathe the South - the people, the culture and most-of-all, the food," said Courtney White, Senior Vice President, Programming, Scripps Networks Interactive. "Southern and Hungry is a delicious celebration of the places and dishes that remind them of home."

In the first episode, Damaris and Rutledge sop up the sauce in Charleston, South Carolina as they discover the pleasures of whole hog barbecue with legendary pit master Rodney Scott. Then they are on to one of the best burgers in America, where the meats are butchered in-house at the Neon Pig in Oxford, Mississippi. Finally, it's a feel-good lesson in down-home cooking with fall-off-the-bone oxtail at Addielee's Restaurant in Moncks Corner, South Carolina. Upcoming episodes visit Savannah, Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky.

Southern spitfire Damaris Phillips won season nine of Food Network Star, leading the Louisville native to her own daytime series Southern at Heart; The Bobby and Damaris Show, which she currently hosts with Bobby Flay, and many other appearances on Food Network. She graduated from Jefferson Community and Technical College with a degree in Culinary Arts and then taught at the same school inspiring up-and-coming chefs to follow their dreams. One of five kids, Damaris learned to cook at an early age and was responsible for cooking one night a week for her large family. Damaris' modern twist on Southern classics and her signature wit pack a one-two punch in the kitchen. Her first cookbook "Southern Girl Meets Vegetarian Boy" will be published in October.

Rutledge Wood has been around food and cars all his life. From buying restoring and selling cars with his dad as a kid to sampling the latest creations at his parent's BBQ restaurant, Rut's roots run deep. After moving from Birmingham, Alabama to Peachtree City, Georgia and completing high school, Rutledge went on to graduate from the University of Georgia. He has hosted or co-hosted various NASCAR shows and events for Fox Sports, including SPEED Road Tour Challenge, NASCAR Smarts and NASCAR Live, as well as the annual NASCAR Awards Banquet. Rutledge has also starred on History Channel's Top Gear USA and Lost in Transmission. In 2015, Rutledge joined NBC Sports where he covers the biggest sporting events in the world from the 2017 Olympic Games in Rio and the Kentucky Derby to the upcoming Winter OIympics in South Korea.

Viewers can find top-rated Southern recipes and learn more about Southern and Hungry at CookingChannelTV.com/SouthernandHungry and join the conversation on social media using the hashtag #SouthernandHungry.

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