TASTE TEST:Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri (left) try to coach two teams of celebs, including actor Lou Diamond Phillips, through a series of kitchen nightmares in a new Food Network show. (Courtesy of Food Network)
At first glance, the Food Network’s upcoming celebrity cooking competition, “Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off,” fits snugly in the network’s wheelhouse.
It follows the now-familiar format pioneered on “Top Chef,” where two teams square off in a series of increasingly difficult culinary challenges.
But unlike “Top Chef,” the show has no professional cooks.
Instead, it stars a gaggle of celebrities, divided into two teams headed by host/coaches Rachael Ray and Guy Fieri.
The new recipe is a cooking show that might appeal to more than just hard-core foodies — a category that includes some of the show’s celebrity contestants, according to Ray.
“Going in, I knew that Cheech [Marin] and LDP [Lou Diamond Phillips] were good cooks, but a lot of them just wanted to become better at working with food and consider themselves foodies because they are eaties, they eat a lot,” Ray said.
“I think the appeal of the show is that there’s something for everyone,” Ray says. “It’s a little like ‘Dancing With the Stars’ because you get to see actors, musicians, whatever thrown into something that is totally foreign and it just makes great television.”
Think of it like doing the tango — but with hot oil and meat cleavers.
“We had to find celebrities who truly loved to cook and had some skill,” said executive producer Donna MacLetchie, who oversees “The Next Food Network Star” (the show that discovered Fieri in 2006) and created “Rachael vs. Guy” for the channel last summer.
“We did extensive interviews and research here because we didn’t want any fakers . . . It’s about the food first,” MacLetchie said.
Among the stars are former boy-band member Aaron Carter; Alyssa Campanella, who was Miss USA this year; comedian Cheech Marin; rapper Coolio; “DWTS” alum Joey Fatone; actor Lou Diamond Phillips; and singer Taylor Dayne.
The idea is the put the celebs outside their comfort zone — much like “DWTS” — and see how they react.
“On one of the challenges,” says Rachael, “the celebrities had to cook a signature dish in front of the ‘Chopped’ judges and Guy and I had to live-coach them from the sidelines.
“But they don’t work in professional kitchens so they couldn’t understand what I was trying to tell them, and I couldn’t jump in there and grab the knife,” Ray continued.
“It was like watching your kid run out and play in traffic with knives and hot pans and all I could do was stand on the sidelines!” Ray said.
“Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off” premieres this Sunday at 9 p.m. on the Food Network.