What Food Network's new show All-Star Academy, Sundays 9|8c, does is transform eager home cooks into competitive machines. But all of these cooks had to start somewhere — in their home kitchens, where they honed their culinary skills on their friends and family before they were ready for the competition show. Seeing these competitors made us wonder: What makes a good home cook? What makes him or her ripe for competition? So we went straight to the mentors to find out.

Alex Guarnaschelli, Bobby Flay, Curtis Stone and Michael Symon reveal the traits a great home cook must have to put out impressive dishes. And these are skills that can easily translate to the competitive arena once learned and perfected through practice. The 10 individuals who came into the competition were ready to take on the challenge of All-Star Academy. Are you ready?