Chefs 'Discover' New TV Competition Utensil

Competing on reality television shows has become a rite of passage for aspiring celebrity chefs. Now Discover Financial Services (DFS) is trying to follow their recipes for buzz.

The perpetual underdog has put its orange-stamped cards into the hands of the contestants on "Food Network Star," the eponymous network's effort to find the next Bobby Flay — or at least the next Guy Fieri. The series, currently airing its eighth season on the Food Network, follows wannabe celebrities as they cook, present their food and try to convince the network's talent-development executives that they have the screen presence and the knife skills to host television shows about food.

As with other competitive cooking shows, the "Food Network Star" contestants usually have to shop for ingredients once an episode - and this season the camera has made sure to linger lovingly on the Discover cards they use to pay for their groceries. On the episode that aired Sunday, the credit card company also gave $10,000 to the contestant who made the most "fashionable" version of a classic dish (in the winner's case, a deconstructed beef stroganoff).

Discover is hardly the first company to take advantage of food-competition shows' rampant product-placement offers; "Top Chef" and other competitive-cooking shows have also frequently plugged the kitchen equipment contestants use, the cars they drive to their various challenge locations and even the chewing gum or snack crackers they have to turn into gourmet meals.

But the reality-TV sponsorship is somewhat unusual for Discover, which has been trying to promote its brand — and its acceptance — beyond its staid Midwestern roots in Riverwoods, Ill. In recent years the company has signed sponsorship deals with the National Hockey League and the Orange Bowl, and is trying to close the "acceptance gap" for cardholders who want to pay for everything with their Discover cards but still find retailers and restaurants that turn them down.

Discover and the Food Network declined to comment on the sponsorship.

Discover is not the only credit card company to dabble in food-related reality TV sponsorships. JPMorgan Chase's (JPM) Chase Sapphire Preferred credit card is currently "presenting" Bravo's travel-cooking competition mashup "Around the World in 80 Plates," which sends teams of chefs darting from London to Marrakech in an effort to make the most authentic fish and chips, quenelles and tajines.

JPMorgan Chase is going all out with its commitment to the show, creating a special page on its website for "Around the World," and even — for the truly die-hard fans — selling its cardholders tickets for "exclusive access" to a finale-watching party.