The six week competition features recipes in the following categories: Burgers, Cakes, Comfort Food, Desserts, Hot and Spicy, or Hometown Favorites. The top recipes chosen for each category compete each week for top honors, a prize of $25,000 and the chance to have his or her recipe on the menu nationwide at T.G.I. Friday’s® restaurants.

The home cook contestants must recreate their recipe each week for a particular category, with a final winner from that week’s group deemed the winner. Home cooks have a cooking station with all ingredients they need to recreate their recipe. The home cooks face challenging each other by cooking the best dish then face the judges before finding out which of them wins the category and prize. Host Fieri talks with the contestants as they cook their recipe, providing encouragement and tips. In the end, if he’s lucky, Fieri gets a chance to taste the final dishes to judge for himself. Once the contestants finish their recipe, each contestant must face the three professional culinary judges who then give them a critique of their dish. Imagine how difficult it is for professional chefs to receive criticism from professional culinary judges in other Food Network shows like Iron Chef, Chopped and Food Network Challenges, much less home cooks receiving criticism about their cherished home recipes.

Ultimate Recipe Showdown is hosted by chef and popular Food Network personality Guy Fieri (Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives; Guy’s Big Bite; Guy Off the Hook). Fieri’s winning personality and culinary chops are featured as host of this series geared to showcase home cooks from across the nation.

Ultimate Recipe Showdown season 3 premieres on Food Network March 14 at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

This new reality TV Food Network show is similar to an Amazing Race style of competition with the chefs competing against local chefs or foodies in each city they visit. Chef Sánchez and Chef Cosentino must use their cooking skills in each episode. The contests can vary for each episode whether it be tasting food, eating contests, identifying ingredients of food, or making food, their chef skills are put to good use.

The chefs and their competitors must follow written clues from each location in the city, the chefs and their competitors driving to locations and literally running from challenge to challenge to the finish line. Timed challenges have included identifying flavors in candies, stomping grapes for grape juice, a bread fight, putting together a meat puzzle, eating spicy curry, devouring chocolates, fighting off crawfish and blue crab pinchers, creating a gigantic Boston creme pie and other engaging tests of their abilities. Season one locations for the show included San Francisco, Malibu, New York City, New Orleans and Las Vegas.

Chef Sánchez is a leading chef of contemporary Latin cuisine, and has been involved in Food Network shows including as co-host of Food Network’s Melting Pot, guest judge on Chopped and guest judge on Iron Chef America. Chef Sánchez was a contestant on 2008’s The Next Iron Chef. Chef Cosentino specializes in Italian cuisine and offal dishes and is known for his eco-consciousness. Chef Cosentino was also a contestant on 2008’s The Next Iron Chef.

The first season of Chef vs City premiered on Food Network in August of 2009 on Fridays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Casting is underway for the second season of the show. Check Food Network’s schedule at http://www.foodnetwork.com for new episodes of Chef vs City coming in 2010.

Chef Irvine has a tendency to go beyond the requirements of each Dinner Impossible task, adding additional items to the menu. Irvine pushes himself and his kitchen crew, usually comprised of his chefs George and David, along with other kitchen help provided at the location. Sometimes the kitchen help at locations can be helpful, such as other professional chefs while other times Chef Irvine works with location staff or volunteers who barely know how to peel a potato. The combination of the unknown along with quick action needed to create a menu of food suitable for the event in a timed manner can be challenging even to this experienced chef.

Dinner Impossible’s missions have included cooking with candy ingredients, in an 18th Century kitchen, a football tailgating event, a cowboy cattle drive, re-creating a menu for the Culinary Institute of America and their master instructors, a dinner for employees of Mall of America and and creating a menu at a hotel created out of ice.

Chef Irvine is host of Dinner Impossible on The Food Network. A native of England, Chef Irvine joined the British Royal Navy at age 15 and began his culinary career in the Navy kitchen. Irvine worked on board the Royal Yacht Britannia where the Royal Family often dined. During his 25 year career, Chef Irvine trained US Navy chefs in a guest chef program as well as working in the White House kitchens serving government officials. Chef Irvine has been Executive Chef for Donald Trump’s Caesars Atlantic City and Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort.

Chef Irvine is president and founder of Irvine Thyme, LLC., an Irvine-branded line of oils, spices, and vinegars. Irvine’s first cookbook, Mission: Cook!, written with Brian O’Reilly, was published in 2007.

Watch Dinner Impossible Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT

Guy spends his time with restaurant owners who show him their specialty recipes they serve to their customers. Part of the fun of the show is Fieri’s interaction with the customers as they eat. Guy is pretty likeable and the customers are always happy to chat with him about how good the food is at their favorite place. The show also features classic American cars that Fieri drives when arriving at the selected restaurants.

Guy goes behind the scenes venturing into the restaurant kitchens where the restaurant owners reveal how their popular food items are made. Guy jokes with the owners and participates in the making of the menu item. Guy often has to, as he calls it, “de-bling” when cooking; he’ is known for wearing a number of big rings even when cooking. Fieri’s signature look is casual with bling, Hawaiian shirts, long shorts, flip flops, arm band and spiked blond hair. Fieri’s familiar catch phrases (or “Guy-isms”) when commenting about good food include “money”, “off the hook”, “everybody in the pool” and “flavortown”.

Viewers get the chance to write in to Food Network and request that Fieri visit their favorite diner, drive-in or dive in their area. Shows are filmed all over the United States showcasing restaurants Food Network has found for the show and restaurants that viewers have suggested. Sometimes viewers who suggested a restaurant are featured in shows. Fieri has a book out showcasing many of the restaurants he has visited since the show has been on, including recipes from some of his favorite restaurant visits.

Fieri was the winner of the 2006 Food Network contest “The Next Food Network Star”. Fieri is host of “Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives”, “Guy’s Big Bite”, “Guy Off the Hook” and “Ultimate Recipe Showdown”. Fieri co-owns “Johnny Garlic’s California Pasta Grill” and “Tex Wasabi’s”, the restaurants are located in northern California.

Check out Diner’s, Drive-In’s and Dives on Food Network, Monday nights at 10:00 p.m. PT/ET.