Fourteen of the worst cooks in America enter culinary boot camp with dreams of putting their kitchen nightmares behind them. Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine want to see what they're dealing with, so they ask the recruits to make their signature dishes, with truly disastrous results. After being sorted into teams, the recruits dive right into the deep end of the kitchen by learning to make a surf and turf dish. The recruits with the worst dishes on each team are sent home.

Anne Burrell and Robert Irvine decide that it's time for the recruits to spread their wings. For the skill drill, they must work in teams to identify the ingredients of five mother sauces and then create their own chicken with pan sauce dishes for their chef. The main dish challenge finds the chefs teaching their recruits to make fried chicken and cornbread, and the recruits who struggle are forced to fly the coop.