For food lovers, the Kentucky Derby is a chance to indulge in the region's famous dish, the Hot Brown. John and Joe Castro have become the go-to chefs in Louisville for anyone who wants to indulge in this classic dish. The Castro Brothers think they have been tapped to serve up their Hot Browns at a pre-Kentucky Derby party for the Food Network's new special, with no idea that Bobby Flay will be showing up to crash their party and challenge them to a Hot Brown Throwdown!
Three teams go head to head to head in this festive holiday battle as Iron Chefs are paired with Cooking Channel chefs: Michael Symon with Ching-He Huang, Masaharu Morimoto with G. Garvin and Jose Garces with Bobby Deen. ThejJudges are Simon Majumdar, Karine Bakhoum and Ed Schoenfeld.
Emeril Lagasse takes a bite out of the Big Apple's classic restaurants. First, he strolls into the Silk Stocking district for some authentic Northern Italian food at Il Vagabondo. After tasting their world famous Veal Parmesan, he competes in a bocce ball match on a court that was built a hundred years ago. Then it's off to King Yum in Flushing's Chinatown to try their butterfly shrimp and savory Wonton Soup, topped off by King Yum's Tiki-themed Zombie, their mind-bending house beverage. Finally, it's off to Keens Steakhouse for their popular Porterhouse steaks and timeless mutton chops under an amazing ceiling covered in old antique tobacco pipes. The pipes are signed by legends such as Babe Ruth and Michael Jackson, and Emeril adds his own autographed pipe to their ninety thousand piece collection.
We're getting all hot and spicy with south of the border specialties! Mexican Motorcycle Mama, Silvana Salcido Esparza is making stuffed poblanos and afterwards we'll fill up at Bachman's Tacos and Grill, Dallas's gas station taqueria with some Trompo tacos! Then Mexican food expert Patricia Jinich makes some Mexican chicken with an Asian persuasion, author Fany Gerson makes some Day of the Dead bread and Chef Felipe Mendez of La Superior Restaurant brings authentic Mexican street food to the heart of hipster Brooklyn!
Actress Judy Greer saddles up side-by-side with Chef Antonia Lofaso learning to cook her favorite ravioli and experience life as line cook for one night only. Step by step, Judy gets a crash course in making her culinary dream come true. As dinner service begins and the rack quickly fills up with tickets for ravioli, Antonia also has Judy fill an order for Fluffer Nutters. There's drama at every turn for Judy in the kitchen at Black Market.
The recruits wake up to surprise houseguests Chef Bobby and Chef Anne who crave the most important meal of the day, breakfast. While the most important meal, it's not the only meal and the recruits get in the habit of cooking on a regular basis with two challenges in a single day.
Andrew heads to the Motor City to grab a slice of Detroit-style pizza, line up for a Coney Island dog and chili fries, fill up on timeless Middle Eastern classics and dine at a Detroit institution in the making.
Ted Allen and the Food Techs investigate whether it's turkey from your Thanksgiving feast that actually makes you sleepy ... or just your uncle's boring stories. Also on the agenda is the best way to get gum out of your hair. Lastly, just how unsanitary are public water fountains? The team will not rest until they find the dirty truth.
Ben Sargent and his bike roll into the heart of the Bayou, Breaux Bridge, a place that bills itself as the "Crawfish Capital of the World." He joins the local debate as to which is best -- farm-raised or wild-caught crawfish. But Ben's seafood adventures extend beyond freshwater crustaceans to include another staple of the bayou, catfish. Post catch, Ben and local mayor Sherbin Collette drop in on Cafe des Amis, a culinary institution, for some Zydeco music and Cajun catfish with crawfish au gratin sauce.
Four champion grill masters are each already $10,000 richer, and now they return to see who will claim $50,000 more! Half of the appetizer basket is taken up with a porky surprise. Then, the entree round features a serious display of grilling acrobatics as the remaining champs figure out what to do with a surf and turf combo. Finally, bananas and wine are two of the tricky dessert ingredients that the last pair of chefs must grapple with as they battle for the grand prize.