GREEN BAY – After 33 years as a morning anchor on WLUK-TV (Fox 11), Amy Hanten is leaving the station, but the program associated with her name, “Fox 11 Living,” will continue.
The network announced Monday that Hanten, who is best known to viewers for her time in the studio kitchen whipping up Wisconsin-inspired recipes for brunches, barbecues and holidays, will retire at the end of the year. Her final show as host will be on Dec. 20.
“Leaving Fox 11 after 33 years is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made!” she said in a press release. “This job has been so incredibly special and I’ve loved every minute of it! That’s what makes it so hard. I’m so grateful to those of you who have watched me over the years. I’ve been so lucky to meet so many wonderful people.”
Hanten also shared that she got married last year and that she and her partner are excited to be able to visit their five children, who live across the country and the world, more often. They also want to be able to spend more time with their aging parents in Arizona.
“We are very excited for Amy and her future plans,” said Jay Zollar, vice president and general manager of WLUK and WCWF (CW14), in a statement.
Hanten is a native of Petoskey, Michigan, and graduated from Marquette University in 1988. She joined the station in March 1991 as a morning news anchor and was part of the “Good Day Wisconsin” team. In September 2008, she got her own show, “Fox 11 Living with Amy.”
In the hour-long show, which airs weekdays at 10 a.m., she whips up recipes using ingredients from dairies, meat markets and other local businesses in northeast Wisconsin. She also regularly joins local chefs in the kitchen and offers segments with chefs and other members of the community who are knowledgeable about entertaining, decorating and lifestyle.
In a December 2008 interview with the Green Bay Press-Gazette, Hanten called the show “a dream job” and herself “the queen of casseroles.” Viewers quickly grew fond of her as someone who often cooks with the same ingredients and pots and pans she has in her own kitchen.
“It’s live and I am who I am. You get what you get when you see me,” she said in 2008. “I may not have the fanciest knives or the fanciest cookware, but it’s the same stuff I cook with at home. It’s local. It’s Green Bay. It’s not the Food Network in New York.”
“Fox 11 Living” will continue with new talent and expanded content on radio, online and social media, the press release said. More details will be announced soon.
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In addition to her television career, Hanten launched her own brand and company, The Cooking Mom, in 2012 and will continue to share recipes on television across the country. She is currently working on her third cookbook. She also owns a vacation company where she plans and books group trips in the U.S. and abroad.
“As hard as this decision was, it’s time,” Hanten said in her press release. “I’m so excited to cook some of my very best recipes over the next few months leading up to my final show on December 20th. This is going to be a tough show. Saying goodbye is going to be so hard! I hope to be able to come back from time to time and visit my Fox 11 family to check in and share more recipes with them. Thank you all!”
Kendra Meinert is an entertainment and features writer for the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Reach her at 920-431-8347 or [email protected]. Follow her on X @KendraMeinert.
