Three generations of chefs inspired by Grandma's Old World recipes face off against a tight-knit family of young Mexican women with their own family recipes. The Steiner family has roots in French and Moroccan cuisine, with young executive chef Josh serving many of his grandmother's recipes at his own restaurant. Sisters Bianca and Irlanda, along with their cousin, Salma, grew up with traditional Mexican recipes passed down through generations, and now they run a catering business. Host Valerie Bertinelli challenges the teams to make brunches that represent their families, hearty meat and potatoes meals and their best guilty pleasure dishes, and judges Antonia Lofaso, Bricia Lopez and Johnny Spero decide which team blows them away.
When Brad enlists the Shed's catering services for a friend's wedding, things quickly spiral out of hand. First the bride requests the Shed cook a whole hog for the reception, which is a four day process that she needs finished in less than two. But the icing on the situation is the wedding cake, which Mama Shed and Hobson must attempt to cook in the barbecue smoker. Her off-menu order for crawfish falls upon Coal Miner and Big Hoss, who after failing to trap enough of the critters, must buy, clean and cook them ... all of which creates a huge challenge for Brad and the Shed crew to get to the church on time!
Yoshi Okai was born and raised in Kyoto, Japan, where he was introduced to the culinary world at a young age through his family’s catering company. In 1998 he landed in Austin, where he went on to serve as head sushi chef of Uchi, Uchiko, East Side King and Qui. In 2015 he joined the New Waterloo team as head chef of his 12-seat omakase restaurant, Otoko. In 2017 Okai gained national recognition when he was named Best New Chef by Food and Wine Magazine.
Danielle Sepsy is the chef and owner behind The Hungry Gnome Catering & Baked Goods in NYC. Her love of cooking began at the age of 13 when she started her own scone business out of her parents' home. But Sepsy is no one-trick pony: she has since received recognition for both her sweet and savory dishes. A graduate of Penn State University’s School of Hospitality Management and The International Culinary Center's Professional Culinary Arts program, she has managed several restaurants in NYC's most elite luxury hotels, including the Peninsula, Plaza, and Waldorf Astoria.
It's adventure on the high seas ... or at least in the Gulf ... when Brooke books a catering job aboard a fishing boat for friends visiting from New Zealand. Brad, however, has other business ideas, and uses the downtime on the cruise to set up a Shed pulled pork sandwich concession with Hobson, right there on the beach. While Brooke and crew catch fish (and have a close encounter with a shark), Brad races back and forth to The Shed on his speed boat when he runs out of sandwiches to sell. Back on land, Big Hoss is recruited by his daughter's summer day camp to give a demonstration on barbecue, and the gentle giant in turn recruits Hazel to come and help him out.
In the season five premiere of The Next Food Network Star, the 10 finalists are immediately thrown into their first challenge. They head to Food Network Kitchens and are greeted by the selection committee (Iron ChefBobby Flay and Food Network executives Bob Tuschman and Susie Fogelson), who inform the finalists that they’ll be split into two teams and catering Food Network’s "Sweet 16" party.
The teams are tasked with creating delicious dishes and serving tables packed with Food Network stars like Giada De Laurentiis, Alton Brown, Duff Goldman, Sunny Anderson and Masaharu Morimoto, and also Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O’Dell! The first finalist is then eliminated.
When Roberto Guerra moved to Miami from Cuba, he found a city passionate about all things Cuban, especially the food. He helped his father start a successful catering company and together they developed an ingenious roasting vessel called La Caja China. Roberto has invited Food Network to participate in a big outdoor Cuban BBQ, where he’ll use La Caja China to cook his renowned Cuban Roast Pork. It’s marinated in a tangy mojo, and cooked till crispy on the outside and succulent on the inside. But Roberto has no idea that an uninvited guest – Bobby Flay -- is rolling into town with his own Caja China and a challenge to a Roast Pork Throwdown! At this party, the warm flavors of Cuba are spiced with heated competition. Whose pork will pack the biggest punch?