This season eight kid chefs, Luis, Gibson, Madison, Amber, Sean, Helen, Lauren and Finn, are competing for a chance to become the Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off Champion. The competition will culminate in a food festival finale, after which the winner will be awarded his or her own Web series, potentially launching a future culinary career.
The First Mini Challenge
Before choosing their teams, Rachael and Guy challenge each of the kids with making a signature dish, "a family-favorite recipe that showcases your unique culinary perspective," Guy tells them. After that they'll go on to cook for their main challenge, which will be judged by a special guest. One kid will be named MVP.
Perfect Timing
As Rachael and Guy patrol the kitchen to observe what the kids are doing, they stop by Amber's station. Amber explains she's pounding chicken for her recipe, because "it makes it more tender and moist, and it's thinner and it cooks faster," which is smart, as the kids have only an hour to cook.
Performance Anxiety
Grill master Finn decides to make garlic flank steak with chimichurri, but he nearly puts his steaks on too early. Guy has him do the math to calculate cooking time and resting time. "I don't know how to do math on TV," says Finn, but he eventually figures out that he could wait a little.
Overshooting the Goal
"I know this like the back of my hand," says Madison of her "Mad" Burgers recipe, topped with cheese, onions, mushrooms, bacon and an egg. Unfortunately with her attention divided among so many places, she burns the bacon. She starts a new batch, but she forgets to plate it in her hurry to finish.
Finding the Balance
Lauren claims her Maple-Lemon Salmon converted her father, who normally hates fish. "It still could be a little more medium-rare," Guy tells her. But Rachael thinks Lauren's arugula salad with apple and pine nuts helps balance the flavors, "so for someone who isn't maybe a huge salmon fan, becomes a bigger one."
Divvying Up the Kids
Guy chooses Helen, Amber, Gibson and Sean for his team, while Rachael picks Luis, Madison, Lauren and Finn for hers. "I'm a little bit bummed," says Amber, who's been a Rachael fan since childhood, "but it's going to be amazing." As Guy's biggest fan, Gibson is elated to be on his team.
Taking It to the Streets
Next Rachael and Guy send the kids off on their main challenge, which will have them turning a signature dish into a portable one. "I know in LA that street food is really popular, but in Omaha we don't have that," worries Helen. Plus, as a team, the kids will have to create a breakfast item featuring fresh fruit.
Wiser by Experience
Luis is making the sauce for his pulled pork, which he's making in the pressure cooker so it has that "melt-in-your-mouth sensation" when you eat it. He wants it falling off the bone for his sliders, which he recommends "you hold the slider from the back" when eating to avoid any mess.
Finding the Team Spirit
Sean is finishing up his loco miniyaki pancake, which he calls "no ordinary pancake," because it features squid, shrimp and a secret Japanese seasoning. Luckily after finishing he has time to help out his teammate Amber, who burned the granola for the team's parfait. The two make a new batch.
Too Much All at Once
Shooting to make taquitos, Helen is nervous about time: "There are many, many different components to this dish," she says, feeling the 90 minutes are just not enough to do it justice. Teammate Gibson comforts her as she holds back tears, deciding to scale it back to tacos with fewer toppings.
Winging It
Gibson takes out his Messy Wild Wacky Wings from the oven just in time. He forgot to taste the dry rub before sprinkling it onto the wings, but luckily it "tastes awesome," he says. He checks on the rest of his team members to see where they are in assembling the group dish.
Pulling Together
With just seconds left, Team Guy assembles the parfaits with the granola Amber and Sean made together. And on Team Rachael, Finn and Luis grilled pineapple for their team's fruit quesadillas. "This is the first time we actually worked together as a team, besides the fact we're on the same team," says Luis.
Finding Common Ground
Team Rachael presents its dishes to guest judges Chef Wolfgang Puck and his family. Chef Puck finds Luis' use of the pressure cooker for the pork smart, and he finds Finn's lamb very grown-up, remarking "he has a little accent, but so do I." The whole family agrees the team's smoothie "was really delicious."
Pleasing the Entire Family
"I would hire this kid anytime in the restaurant," says Chef Puck about Team Guy's Gibson, remarking on how well the wings were glazed. He also finds Sean's pancake good and especially liked that it was a family recipe. Everyone thinks the parfait is a hit, and the boys agree they would eat it for breakfast.
Naming the First MVP
Team Rachael's Madison gets a star for best dish, and Luis gets a star for best presentation. On Team Guy, Chef Puck gives best dish to Gibson, and Sean gets a star for best camera presentation. But Gibson ends up receiving an additional star as the MVP. "I feel like I'm on cloud nine right now," he says.
More Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off
Go behind the scenes of the competition with photos and videos of the kid chefs, Rachael and Guy, and special celebrity guests.
