In the seaside community of Channel Islands, California, chefs Hugo Miranda and Ben Diaz take on Penny Davidi and Michele Ragussis for the $5,000 prize. For the Flavor of the Market challenge, teams must transform a Strawberry Festival favorite, strawberry shortcake or strawberry funnel cake, creating an entirely new dish that will surprise and delight third-generation strawberry farmer Jason Tamai. In Feed the Market, the chefs must create original dishes highlighting seafood they buy right off the dock.
Americans love tacos, and Roger Mooking is scouring the country for the 15 best tacos around. The options for fillings range from pork to fish to alligator in hard, soft and even puffy shells.
Known as The City of Saints, Montreal, Canada is blessed with a cuisine formed by global flavors. From poutine to smoked meat to hand-rolled bagels, Andrew Zimmern digs in to the iconic eats that keep the hungry heading to Quebec.
Andrew digs in to Puglia, a coastal region in the heel of Italy's boot known for its whitewashed hill towns and centuries-old farmlands. Known as "The Garden of Italy" for its prolific wheat fields, vineyards and olive groves, the area's simple but stunning dishes include orecchiette pasta, grilled octopus and stuffed pasticiotti pastries.
Noah Cappe digs in to seven uniquely ooey-gooey versions of the classic American casserole: mac and cheese. Whether it's stacked in a sandwich, layered in a hot dog, rolled into a taco or topped with lobster or edible gold flakes, these mac and cheese creations will have you craving carnival eats!
The family has just arrived at their home in Italy. All Debi Mazar and the girls want is to relax, but Gabriele Corcos has invited guests for dinner so there's no time. Instead, they pick apricots which they will grill for an appetizer, and head to a local goat farm for cheese. They make homemade ice cream for dessert and harvest cherries for a compote to ladle over the sweet treat. Then, to top it all off, Gabriele builds a fire in the heat of the day to make Pasta Alla Norma With Grilled Eggplant and Debi makes a Salad with green radicchio and a Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing.
Halloween means very frightening surprises in the baskets for the chefs. In the first round, they encounter a very troublesome, bloody protein and a can of chips that's more than meets the eye. The three chefs who move on to the second round are in for something gooey and gory -- and something that is just offal. The final two chefs boldly move on to a devilishly difficult dessert round.
Robert must overcome the impossible to save the formerly venerable Flood Tide Restaurant in Mystic, Conn., which has earned a bad reputation due to its coarse owner. Robert evaluates an evening of service during which he finds many problems including a dirty kitchen. While encouraging the staff to take pride in their work, he tackles the kitchen mess. Then, he updates the menu and décor and retrains the staff to make better use of their time and materials. As the clock winds down it becomes a race to the finish to see if Robert will be successful.
Sunny knows finger food at parties means delicious bites, and no dishes! Grab a cocktail napkin and savor beef-filled Bayridge Empanadas and crispy Chicken-Stuf't Potato Puffs, both served with a creamy Ancho Chile Dipping Sauce.
Jesse Palmer challenges the five bakers to create assigned desserts that are inspired by and look like Santa Claus. To secure their place in the final four, the bakers are tasked with creating impressive cakes made to look like another icy North Pole staple: an igloo. Judges Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman and Lorraine Pascale decide which bakers move on to the next round and which one goes home.