Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri Coach Eight Multi-Talented Celebrities on Rachael Vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off

NEW YORK, Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Two of Food Network's biggest icons, Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri, will square off against each other for culinary bragging rights in Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off, premiering Sunday, January 1st at 9 p.m. ET/PT.  In this six-episode competition series, the Emmy®-winning talk show host Rachael Ray and best-selling cookbook author and successful restaurateur Guy Fieri, will each serve as coaches and mentors to eight multi-talented celebrities, all of whom are passionate about food and cooking. Divided into 'Team Rachael' and 'Team Guy', each episode features celebrity contestants battling it out in a fun, fast-paced culinary fight-to-the-finish, with the two bottom-rated contestants from the losing team going head-to-head in a blind tasting elimination challenge. In the end, the last contestant standing is crowned king or queen of the Celebrity Cook-Off and wins $50,000 for the charity they are playing to support.

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"Rachael vs. Guy is the most exciting, funny and suspenseful piece of television I have ever made. This show is true reality television; no staging, no tricks and no do-overs," said Rachael Ray.  "These contestants bonded with each other making the drama of the competition even more thrilling and intense.  I think everyone will be amazed to see our contestants compete at the highest level and perform like master cooks, we honestly couldn't believe it."

"I've known Rachael for years and I was psyched to finally have the opportunity to collaborate," said Guy Fieri. "I also had a blast coaching the celebrity contestants as they battled it out in the kitchen for their favorite charities."

The eight celebrity contestants hail from a broad range of backgrounds, from TV, to movies, to sports and music, they include, Summer Sanders (Two-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer and national sportscaster); Lou Diamond Phillips (Golden Globe®-nominated actor, Stand and Deliver); Aaron Carter (Multi-platinum-selling recording artist and actor, Popstar and Supercross); Joey Fatone (Singer, actor, television personality and founding member of top-selling supergroup 'N Sync); Taylor Dayne (Chart-topping recording star and actress, Broadway's "Aida" and Television's "Nightman"); Coolio (Grammy®-winning hip-hop artist); Cheech Marin (Grammy-winning comedian, screenwriter and actor); and Alyssa Campanella (Winner, Miss USA 2011 and Runner-Up, Miss Teen USA 2007).

The series kicks off and the heat is on, as Rachael and Guy welcome the contestants and select their teams.  The two teams face off in a showdown for the first-ever Celebrity Cook-Off Food Festival, where each team member must create an original dish for 150 people.  At the end of the festival, each contestant's fate lies in the hands of the attendees, who vote for the team with the best food.  The bottom two celebrities from the losing team must compete in a sudden-death, blind taste challenge judged by Rachael and Guy, where it is determined which celebrity goes home.  The celebrities are pushed to new culinary limits over the course of the series, including operating their own curb-side lunch cart in New York City; contending in one-on-one Chopped style battles, complete with special guest judges Alex Guarnaschelli, Marcus Samuelsson, and Scott Conant straight from the Chopped set.  It all culminates in the finale, where the final two celebrity contestants face their toughest challenge and attempt to launch their very own restaurant, where they must develop the menu as well as create a restaurant theme and decor.  Finale includes special guest appearances by Nina and Tim Zagat, co-founders of Zagat Survey, where the winner will be determined by utilizing the Zagat rating system.

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

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.3 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com),  is the manager and general partner.

SOURCE Food Network