Network: NBC
Episodes: Eight (hour)
Seasons: One

TV show dates: March 11, 2009 — July 17, 2009
Series status: Cancelled/ended

Performers include: Marco Pierre White (host)

TV show description:
Celebrated chef and restaurateur Marco Pierre White oversees this cooking competition series. The outspoken and critical host offers neophyte hopeful chefs and restaurateurs the chance to compete for a grand prize of $250,000, to realize their dreams of having their own establishment.

The heat is on when White ushers in eight contestants — split into two teams of four couples each — to a pair of empty restaurant spaces that sit side-by-side in the middle of Manhattan.

Each team is given fewer than seven days to get their restaurant ready for opening night — including designing and making over the space, planning a menu, and generating buzz-worthy publicity to ensure a crowd. Both establishments open at the same time and will be compete for the same customers — against 26,000 other restaurants in the world’s busiest city.

In each episode, noted food critics are assigned to observe the chaos that inevitably unfolds as the teams work through various challenges. After the dust settles, White returns with their reviews. The members of the lowest scoring team has to plead their case and one couple is asked to remove their aprons before being sent home.

Image courtesy NBC.