Sixteen unskilled home cooks arrive in New York City to begin a culinary boot camp in the Season 2 opener. Hosts Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine divide the recruits into two teams and challenge them to butcher a whole chicken and replicate the entrées they've been taught.

The remaining recruits take a field trip to a farm, where they're challenged to prepare the perfect omelet. Later, the hopefuls try to re-create a pork dish, relying only on their own memory after their notebooks are taken away.

The hopefuls must replicate three simple sauces and incorporate them into seafood dishes. Later, they re-create frozen meals using fresh and flavorful ingredients.

The recruits construct creative burgers in a grilling Skill Drill. They then prepare elegant meals for two and dine one-on-one with their chef, defending their dishes.

The recruits cater a cocktail party for Kris Jenkins of the New York Jets. Later, there's a double elimination.

The six remaining recruits make sausage from scratch during a trip to a butcher shop. Then, they face their seafood fears when tasked with cleaning and prepping whole fish and squid.

The final four compete in a culinary decathlon. Later, their loved ones show up and reveal a favorite dish they'll have to prepare.

The final two recruits must prepare a three-course meal in a real restaurant kitchen for a panel of demanding gourmands. Chefs Anne and Robert devise a menu, send the recruits shopping for ingredients and then help their recruit practice the menu for three short hours. The next day, the recruits find themselves at New York’s Tribeca Grill, where they'll cook for culinary experts Marc Murphy, Donatella Arpaia and Drew Nieporent. After much deliberation, the panel reveals its choice for the best-executed meal.