Hell's Kitchen star Gordon Ramsay and Top Chef's Tom Colicchio are teaming up for a new Bravo reality competition series.
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Maggie Nemser, the CEO and editor-in-chief of BlackboardEats.com, and Jeffrey Zurofsky, the co-founder of wichcraft, will be joining Colicchio as expert judges. Best New Restaurant will be filmed on location in restaurants across the United States with the purpose of highlighting each establishment's unique point of view.
At the conclusion of the season, only one restaurant will be crowned "Best New Restaurant" after thorough evaluations of dishes, hospitality, decor, and concept. The winning eatery will receive an editorial feature in Bon Appetit, a featured spot at America's No. 1 global food festival Vegas Uncork'd by Bon Appetit 2015, and $100,000.
Best New Restaurant will feature 16 restaurants from four cities: New York City, Los Angeles, Austin and Miami.
"In the first round of competition, the restaurants are divided into pairs based around a common theme reflected in their concepts or culinary influences. All are challenged to the same three tasks testing their overall performance, the strength of their staff, and the clarity of their concept," according to Bravo.
The restaurants will undergo a "Pressure Test" in which 30 hungry diners check out how the restaurants handle a packed house. Two "Undercover Diners" will then judge the establishments while hooked up to hidden cameras. Finally, the two paired-up restaurants will work at a neutral location to serve dinner to 30 VIP guests. At the end of each of the first eight episodes, Colicchio will declare one restaurant the champion and that establishment will move onto the semifinals.
"The semifinal rounds will feature the restaurants battling in two groups to open a pop-up restaurant based around what the eateries see as the next evolution of their current concepts. The grand finale pits the final two restaurants against each other in a head-to-head contest to put forward their best service possible for a group of 50 VIP diners at Tom's restaurant Riverpark in New York City," the network explained.
Best New Restaurant is modeled after the U.K. hit Ramsay's Best Restaurant and is produced by One Potato Two Potato with Ramsay, Colicchio, Elizabeth Cook, Nicola Moody, Pat Llewellyn, and Ben Adler serving as executive producers.
The restaurant pairings are as follows:
- Shared Plates: The Federal vs. Swift's Attic
- Italian Cuisine: Dolce Italian vs. Doma Beverly Hills
- New Service Concepts: The Church Key vs. Restaurant Jezebel
- Operated by Couples: R House vs. Barlata Tapas Bar
- Battle of the Burger: Porter Ale House and Gastropub vs. Tongue & Cheek
- European Inspired: L'Apicio vs. Little Sparrow
- Fast Casual Dining: Morgan's Barbecue vs. Buns & Buns
- Seasonal Menus: Union Restaurant vs. The Pines
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
