On the season premiere, nine eclectic students are chosen to be the guinea pigs in Chef Novelli's culinary education experiment, hand picked by himself and Mr. Kitchen after performing the simple culinary task of cooking an egg. The students represent an array of backgrounds from newly trained chefs to anxious homemakers hoping to learn some new culinary tricks. Students are assessed weekly via a variety of tests from preparing bread to gutting a fish. But Chef Novelli forewarns the students - failing three tests is grounds for dismissal from his Academy. Throughout the series, Chef Novelli presents unique and delectable dishes that only someone of his caliber could create. The awe-struck students, many of whom are culinary novices, are wowed by the creations they see too quickly taking shape with such ease in front of their eyes.