In the early days of the Food Network, chefs taped shows in kitchens where sinks emptied into buckets that had to be carted out between takes. One chef’s original set had no oven, so he improvised by lowering the dish out of view, then stamping his foot to imitate the sound of an oven door shutting. A former stripper was the chief financial officer.

How things have changed. Today, the Food Network reaches 100 million homes. Its chefs are stars, and its shows are well-known brands: “Iron Chef America,” ”Chopped,” ”Restaurant: Impossible,” ”30 Minute Meals.”

In “From Scratch: Inside the Food Network,” Allen Salkin guides readers through the history of the network, from its start in the 1990s to today. Along the way, Salkin serves up plenty of stories that will surprise and entertain. For example, one of the network’s first employees sent a cake with her resume and was hired, even though the cake was made from a mix. And an episode of the show “Too Hot Tamales” aired with an unplanned clip of pornography spliced in, leading to visits from the FBI.

Other treats: “Iron Chef America” contestants were given three possibilities for the show’s secret ingredient 24 hours before the episode was shot, a fact that wasn’t revealed to viewers, and Emeril Lagasse was self-conscious about his bald spot, so a makeup artist used a black cosmetic powder to cover it up.

There is one weakness in the book that Salkin concedes from the outset. There are a lot of characters. Keeping track isn’t easy, and Salkin doesn’t do much to help the reader remember who is who. Still, for Food Network addicts hungry to know more about the network, Salkin’s book will hit the spot.