Food Network star, acclaimed chef, and restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian is looking to invest $250,000 of his resources for the next rising star in the restaurant world. Geoffrey presents eight talented chefs with the opportunity to take the next step in their culinary career with challenges to determine who has what it takes to run their first restaurant. When it comes to developing and operating a successful restaurant, there is no one with more knowledge than Geoffrey, and he is putting his reputation on the line to lift up a new generation of chefs competing to make their restaurant vision come true.

Throughout the competition the aspiring restaurateurs must prove they can develop a restaurant and make it profitable from the ground up in real world challenges that put their culinary and business expertise to the test, including the creation of a full menu for their proposed restaurant in a grand tasting to impress Geoffrey and his advisors. In another episode, the chefs tackle the challenges associated with running a restaurant's front of house as they each take turns helping the guests. But what the chefs don't know is Geoffrey has filled the restaurant with actors meant to cause havoc and see how the competitors react on their worst day. The two chefs who advance to the finale take on the hardest test of their life, operating their dream culinary concept in a restaurant takeover, complete with overseeing staffing and cooking for real diners. Which chef will Geoffrey decide to invest his time and energy into and make their dreams come true?