Food Network is facing another wave of fan frustration after beloved chef Carla Hall was confirmed to be leaving Halloween Baking Championship after 11 seasons, with viewers increasingly calling out the network’s heavy reliance on Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri.

Carla Hall’s departure has clearly struck a nerve with longtime Food Network viewers. After more than a decade as a familiar face on Halloween Baking Championship, her absence from the upcoming season has prompted fans to question the direction the network is taking.

According to reports, however, Hall’s exit does not appear to be the result of a feud with Food Network. Sources say she does not have an exclusive contract and wanted greater freedom to pursue projects outside the network, including her work on Fox’s Next Level Baker.

But that explanation has not stopped the backlash.

For some viewers, Hall’s departure has become another symbol of what they believe is a much bigger problem: Food Network no longer feels like the same channel it used to be.

Instead of focusing primarily on chefs teaching viewers how to cook, critics argue that the network has increasingly shifted toward competitions, reality-style programming and game shows. Food Network itself describes its nighttime programming as food-related entertainment, including cooking competitions, travel shows and reality programming, while its daytime schedule continues to feature instructional cooking content.

And when fans discuss that transformation, two names repeatedly appear: Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri.

Both chefs have become enormous parts of the Food Network brand. Flay remains one of the network’s most recognizable stars through programs such as Beat Bobby Flay, while Fieri continues to anchor major franchises including Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Food Network itself highlights both men as major figures in the channel’s history and current lineup.

That dominance has led to increasingly sarcastic comments online suggesting that Bobby and Guy “own” Food Network.

The rumor has even evolved into a more extreme conspiracy theory: Did Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri somehow buy Food Network?

There is, of course, no evidence that either chef owns Food Network. The channel is operated by Television Food Network, G.P., with ownership tied to Warner Bros. Discovery and Nexstar—not Flay or Fieri.

Still, the joke exists because viewers increasingly feel that the programming reflects the personalities of its biggest stars.

Recent schedules certainly give fans plenty to talk about. Food Network has continued expanding programming connected to Fieri’s Flavortown universe, while new Bobby Flay projects are also arriving on the network.

And this frustration is not entirely new. Last year, fans threatened to boycott Food Network after the cancellation of Christmas Cookie Challenge and Holiday Wars, arguing that the network was moving away from the kinds of cooking and baking programs that originally attracted them.

Now Carla Hall’s departure has reopened that debate.

“I’m done watching Food Network” may be an exaggeration for some viewers—but the anger behind the statement is very real.

The question now is whether Food Network can convince longtime fans that it still has room for the chefs, recipes and culinary personalities that built its reputation—or whether the future really belongs to bigger personalities, bigger competitions and, increasingly, the worlds of Bobby Flay and Guy Fieri.