The Kitchen hosts a star-studded Thanksgiving with Food Network's Nancy Fuller and Valerie Bertinelli. Geoffrey Zakarian makes his Lemon and Herb Roasted Turkey, Nancy shares her creamy Root Vegetable One-Dish side, and everyone adds their favorite ingredient to the Ultimate Mac and Cheese. Valerie covers dessert and drinks with her Pumpkin Pie with homemade whipped cream and Berry Kir Royale. To ensure the big meal goes off without a hitch, The Kitchen Helpline is open for Turkey Day questions, and guests show how to plate turkey.
In the final week of boot camp, mentors Anne Burrell and Tyler Florence want to remind their celebrity recruits just how far they've come. After watching a highlight reel of their not-so-finest moments, the final two celebrities are asked to recreate their baseline dishes using all the techniques they've learned over the past six weeks. For the final challenge, the two finalists must create a three-course meal for culinary experts Leah Cohen, Zac Posen and Melba Wilson, who decide which celebrity takes home $25,000 for the charity of their choice.
The recruits enter boot camp and find it has been transformed into everyone's favorite game show, Family Food! The teams go head to head in trivia rounds and culinary tasks testing their knowledge of the kitchen. The recruits watch a Teppanyaki chef perform dazzling tricks over a grill, and then chefs Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine teach them how to make a hibachi-style meal for the main dish challenge. The recruits who light up the kitchen will continue on, but those who stumble will go home in a blaze.
To start off their final week in boot camp, the remaining recruits go grocery shopping for ingredients to create dishes using everything they've learned. Then chefs Anne Burrell and Michael Symon teach their final two recruits how to make a three-course, restaurant-quality meal. For the last challenge, the two finalists put all their skills to the test in order to impress a panel of culinary experts. Judges Einat Admony, Cliff Crooks and Sohla El-Waylly evaluate the recruits' dishes in a blind taste test and choose the winner of the $25,000 prize.
The last four recruits face off in a Shakespeare-inspired culinary showdown to earn their spot in the ultimate cook-off. In the last skill drill, it's every recruit for themselves as red takes on red and blue goes head-to-head with blue. Then, chefs Anne Burrell and Gabe Bertaccini work closely with their top recruits to perfect a three-course restaurant-quality meal. Finally, the recruits must execute their dishes solo before judges Claudette Zepeda, Martel Stone and Poppy O'Toole taste their creations in a blind tasting and crown the $25,000 winner!
Anne Burrell and Jeff Mauro have their teams face off in boot camp's very first date night showdown, The Cupid Games. The recruits pair up for multiple rounds of first date-inspired physical food challenges. After that, the chefs teach their teams how to make the ultimate date night meal: sushi. In the Main Dish challenge, the recruits learn how to make fresh hand-pulled noodles with lobster and seafood broth. The chefs are smitten with some recruits, but the recruits with the worst dishes are sent packing.
The finale kicks off with an all-out brawl in "Bite Club," where the recruits team up for a high-stakes, no-holds-barred culinary battle royale. In their final skill drill challenge, the last four recruits must craft a composed dish that shows off everything they've learned. Then, it's down to the final two as chefs Jeff Mauro and Tiffany Derry mentor them in preparing a three-course restaurant-quality meal. Judges Judy Joo, Viet Pham and Justin Sutherland decide who takes home the $25,000 charity prize and ultimate bragging rights!
Things get personal this week when Rachael and Guy invite their closest friends and family over for an intimate supper club catered by the four remaining celebrity contestants. Each contestant prepares a family style meal for the table to be judged by their mentors' nearest and dearest. The winners are picked to go on to the finale and compete for the coveted prize of $50,000 for their charity. The bottom two contestants aren't out of the race as they battle in the "last chance challenge" to earn some last minute money for their charities.
Valerie Bertinelli is traveling to Chicago to give a keynote address at a women's expo. To keep her energy up for this quick trip, she's preparing a Breakfast Parfait with Fig Compote, Fruit and Nut Trail Mix for the plane ride, Kale Salad with Peanut Vinaigrette for when she lands in Chicago and a Power Powder Drink to add to coconut water before she gives her speech. She's also making plans to come home to a great make-ahead meal of delicious and nutritious Chicken Sambal as a reward for a job well done.
For the final showdown, the remaining recruits work together in a "Celebrity Game Night" challenge to win ingredients before they must go head-to-head against their own teammates to earn a spot in the top two! In their last skill drill cook, the final four cook a composed dish to prove their worth. Then, chefs Jeff Mauro and Antonia Lofaso guide the finalists in preparing a three-course restaurant-quality meal. Judges Gino D'Acampo, Judy Joo and Kelsey Barnard Clark will blind-taste the dishes to crown the winner of $25,000 for charity!