No bluffing here — Food Network’s game show Wildcard Kitchen is an ace in the hole.
In Season 2, which premiered on January 7, Top Chef finalist and series host Eric Adjepong deals out cards for his chef pals after-hours in the network’s underground kitchen for three rounds of what they call “culinary poker.” The players must create delicious dishes based on the cards they’re given (some good, some downright diabolical) that determine everything from the dish to the tools used and how much time they have to create it. On top of that, the chefs bet their own personal money on who will serve up the best plate. Each chef brings at least $5,000 to the table — sometimes up to $10,000. Talk about turning up the heat!
The January 21 episode, dubbed the “James Beard Brawl” features what Adjepong calls an “epic showdown” between a few of the prestigious award’s past winners: Iron Chef Stephanie “The Goat” Izard (who took home $9,000 during her Season 1 visit), Tournament of Champions’ Jonathon Sawyer, and “Boston’s Queen of Pasta” Karen Akunowicz. “The food on this episode is incredible and trash talking is even better,” teases Adjepong, who is looking forward to an even bigger sophomore season. “Wildcard Kitchen is the only show on the network that sees chefs in a lighter, yet still competitive mode, and I think it’s the perfect late-night model.”
The best part for Adjepong, who specializes in West African cuisine and will be pushing his debut cookbook Ghana to the World in March, is how many chefs are looking to be dealt in for future rounds of the show. “What’s been most surprising is how many more chefs have heard about my poker game [since the first season premiered] and now want in,” he says. “I’m getting messages from chefs across the country who want a little action.”
For now, Season 2 is packed with more cool culinarians. Other famous foodies hustling in include: Alex Guarnaschelli, Rocco DiSpirito, Andrew Zimmern, Michael Symon, Esther Choi, Marcel Vigneron, Molly Yeh, among others, as well as a secret trio of Wildcard winners returning to raise the stakes.
Wildcard Kitchen, Tuesdays, 9/8c, Food Network
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