Plot Synopsis

Jean Christophe Novelli is a world renowned Michelin and 5AA Rosette award-winning chef with restaurants in London, France and South Africa. He founded the Novelli Academy Cookery School in the UK, which has placed in the "Top 25 Cookery Schools in the World," and he's thinking of opening one in Venice, California. He brings Steve Kitchen, his right-hand man, and Michelle, his fiancee, from the UK, and he hires Joel, a temporary assistant, to help him with his ambitious experiment. After performing the simple culinary task of cooking an egg, nine students are selected by Chef Novelli and Mr. Kitchen as guinea pigs at his new institute. These students are assessed weekly via a variety of tests -- from preparing bread to gutting a fish -- and if any student fails three tests, he is dismissed from the Academy.