This trip, Guy Fieri's going from the-bomb breakfast to a taste of Italy! First, a brunch bonanza in Columbus, Ohio, is channeling Latin and Southern with their decadent dulce de leche pancake balls and a funkalicious fried chicken French toast sammy. Then, a Boston joint is doing locally sourced, elevated eats, like rock star rum baba and an amped-up, pepperoni-piled-high pie. Finally in San Luis Obispo, Calif., a lights-out Italian place is plating a punchy parmesan pasta in a righteous ragu and killer carbonara pizza.
It's ladies' night at the Food Network kitchens, and Eric Adjepong invites Guy's Grocery Games judges Aarti Sequeira, Catherine McCord and Damaris Phillips to spend their night out at his after-hours card game. Their revels get kicked up a notch when they each put up $5,000 of their own money on a no-holds-barred culinary showdown with the final round hinging on the best French toast. These close friends must keep their poker faces on and take the gloves off to walk away with their friends' cash.
It's ladies' night at the Food Network kitchens, and Eric Adjepong invites Guy's Grocery Games judges Aarti Sequeira, Catherine McCord and Damaris Phillips to spend their night out at his after-hours card game. Their revels get kicked up a notch when they each put up $5,000 of their own money on a no-holds-barred culinary showdown with the final round hinging on the best French toast. These close friends must keep their poker faces on and take the gloves off to walk away with their friends' cash.
Duff has a face-off with a Maple Glaze Bacon donut in a shop run by New Orleans cops. Across town, he learns to make fluffy Sno Ballz on the first-ever shaved-ice machine at Hansen's Sno Bliz. And in the historic French Quarter, he indulges in Bananas Foster and learns why 35,000 lbs of bananas are set aflame each year to satiate the city's appetite for this New Orleans original. With endless flair for the theatrical, the Big Easy will be a Mardi Gras in Duff's sugar-craving mouth.
The Kitchen kicks off the New Year with resolutions for brunch. Geoffrey Zakarian starts off with one of Spain's most popular dishes, a Brunch Tortilla, and Katie Lee cooks up the crowd-pleasing mashup Pizza Waffle Sticks with Ranch Dip. Expert baker and host of "Baked in Vermont" Gesine Prado brings festive Lemon Blues Muffins with a Crumble Topping and Chef Patrick Connolly shares his recipe for Banana French Toast. Then hosts predict the biggest food trends of 2018 and round out brunch with a Spiked Coffee Punch.
The Kitchen is welcoming spring with fresh ingredients, starting with Geoffrey Zakarian's juicy Pork Chops with Spring Vegetables, Marcela Valladolid's Apple Peel Snacks and Jeff Mauro's Veggie Top Pesto. French fries get two new twists with Sunny Anderson's Matchstick Fries with Mint and Katie Lee's Parmesan Green Beans Fries, and Marcela makes Churro Cupcakes. Geoffrey shakes up a cocktail in honor of DIY Network's Vanilla Ice, who stops by to share kitchen makeover tips and give an impromptu performance with The Kitchen's own rap duo, Herb and Spice.