"Kids Cook-Off" Returns For Second Go-Round With Rachael Ray And Guy Fieri As Coach And Mentors

NEW YORK, July 9, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Food Network icons and best-selling cookbook authors Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri return for season two of Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off, premiering Sunday, August 17^th at 8pm ET/PT. Eight multi-talented junior chefs are split into two teams, each mentored and coached by Rachael and Guy, as they compete over six episodes in new challenges, guaranteed to test their skills in the kitchen. With incredible guest judges during the season, featuring Melissa d'Arabian, G. Garvin, Alex Guarnaschelli, Robert Irvine, Jeff Mauro, Wolfgang Puck and Curtis Stone among others, each episode includes a mini and main challenge, designed to test the kidtestants culinary prowess in the hopes of earning stars that represent their overall success. Adding to the challenge, each kid not only tests their cooking chops but their on-camera skills as well, all as their parents watch on during the competition, as they compete for the grand prize for their very own series on FoodNetwork.com, in partnership with Pillsbury Toaster Strudel^™. This season promises to deliver food, fun and some serious action in the kitchen!

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"I'm stoked to be back in the kitchen cooking with a great group of kids for the second season of Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off," said Guy Fieri. "There's nothing I love more than working with these awesome kids to help develop their culinary chops. And of course, Rachael and I love a good rivalry!"

"I am so excited for another season of Kids Cook-Off, once again showcasing the amazing talent kids possess in the kitchen," said Rachael Ray. "These young chefs are setting the bar and the example for families everywhere on the importance of the food we eat, knowing where it comes from, how to prepare it and making the time to share it with each other. It is always a blast to compete against Guy, and this season we'll see no shortage of action and delicious fun."

For more Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off, fans can join in on the conversation by taking part in a live Twitter viewing party during the east coast premiere and finale, along with a Facebook chat on September 12^th to discuss kid-friendly breakfast recipes. And don't miss out on the chance to enter an exclusive Rachael vs. Guy sweepstakes, featuring a VIP prize package, including a visit to the Food Network headquarters and a cooking demo, in partnership with General Mills and Pillsbury Toaster Strudel^™. Starting August 1^st, visit FoodNetwork.com/rvgkids  for official rules.

Episodes include:

Premiering Sunday, August 17^th at 8pm ET/PT – SEASON PREMIERE!
"Street Food Showdown"
Eight talented young chefs arrive to the Kids Kitchen ready to prove they've got what it takes to win their own series on FoodNetwork.com. They are quickly put to the test as Rachael and Guy kick off the competition with a mini challenge to determine which four kids will be on their teams. Tasking the junior chefs to make a "family favorite" meal that highlights their background and who they are as chefs, each kidtestant hits the ground running to put their best foot, and dish, forward. After teams have been selected and a winner from each team earns the competition's first prize, it's time for the main challenge: this week's "Street Food Showdown" challenge celebrates the mobile food movement sweeping the culinary world, with each young chef creating their own unique street food offering and presenting it in their camera challenge to be judged by none other than Chef Wolfgang Puck and his family.
Team Guy: Gibson Borelli, New Jersey; Amber Kelley, Washington; Sean Lew, California; Helen Wilson, Nebraska
Team Rachael: Madison Grant, Illinois; Luis Ortega, New York; Finn Skerlj, Massachusetts; Lauren Zilberman, New York

Premiering Sunday, August 24^th at 8pm ET/PT
"The Chopped Challenge"
In order to be a successful chef, you must know your ingredients. This week the kidtestants are put to the test in order to see who really knows their stuff. Starting with a mini challenge where they must rely on their senses to decipher ingredients...while blindfolded! Then, the kitchen and the main challenge get a makeover - "Chopped"-style! With a surprise video message from Ted Allen, the junior chefs learn they will be going head to head with a member of the opposing team in a Mystery Basket challenge and a camera challenge, judged by the one and only, Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. Who will come out victorious?

Premiering Sunday, August 31^st at 8pm ET/PT
"Thinking Outside the Bun"
For this week's mini challenge, each kidtestant has the freedom to make whatever they choose. There's only one catch, Rachael and Guy will call upon the kids' parents to divulge which ingredient their child hates most, with that ingredient being featured in the dish. The kids will have to dig deep to come out on top in this "Least Favorite Ingredient" challenge. For the main challenge, Rachael and Guy are focusing on a food everyone loves...sandwiches! Rachael and Guy reveal a table of sandwiches and the kids must use one of those sandwiches as inspiration to create a multi-component entree. And who better to judge how well the junior chefs perform with their dish and their camera challenge than the Sandwich King himself, Jeff Mauro! 

Premiering Sunday, September 7^th at 8pm ET/PT
"Barbecue Bonanza"
For this week's mini challenge the kids will go back in time to before they were a twinkle in their parent's eyes as they are challenged to taste retro dishes that their parents were fed when they were children. After the junior chefs each taste their assigned retro offerings, they must recreate it and bring it into modern times. For the main challenge, the kids will be asked to create the quintessential Southern BBQ dish. Seems easy enough, but the twist is each team member must choose one of four Southern ingredients to cook with. It's a showdown of a whole new level when Chef G. Garvin comes to the kitchen to judge the kids on their backyard BBQs and camera challenges!

Premiering Sunday, September 14^th at 8pm ET/PT
"Plenty of Fish in the Sea"
As the kids near the big finale, Rachael and Guy pull all the ranks and invite celebrity Chef Robert Irvine into the kitchen to coach and mentor the kids in the ultimate "Recipe Unscramble." Robert presents the kidtestants with a recipe, but its steps, including quantities and ingredients are all scrambled. The kids must first unscramble the recipe as a team. When Robert tells them they have cracked the code, each chef will execute the dish all while having Robert on their side as coach and mentor. In the main challenge, Rachael and Guy will reveal the ultimate seafood display: whole fish, octopus and crustaceans are on call as the kids are tasked to take on these oceanic delights in an effort to impress guest judge Melissa d'Arabian with not only their food, but their camera challenge. Who will rise to the top in this seafood challenge?

Premiering Sunday, September 21^st at 8pm ET/PT
"Food Fest Showdown"
In the finale, all the mentoring Rachael and Guy have done over the past five weeks is put to the test. Only one epic challenge stands between the junior chefs and their own series on Food Network.com. The stars that they have earned throughout the season will play a part, but it all comes down to how well they can cook and perform at Food Network's first "Kid Chef Food Fest." The kidtestants will host a food festival where they will cook their signature dishes for a crowd of hungry festival goers. One-by-one they will take center stage and perform a live demo for the crowd that not only highlights their cuisine, but their culinary POV. The festival goers will taste their food and watch their performances, but in the end it is celebrity chefs Curtis Stone and Brian Malarkey, along with Haylie Duff's opinion that will matter most, as they name the winner and the recipient of their own series.

Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off is produced by Jane Street Entertainment.

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SOURCE Food Network