Chef Boot Camp

Show Me The Intensity

Chef Cliff Crooks mentors a trio of struggling chefs, starting at Tata's in Wallingford, Conn., where 23-year-old Jaida has been made head chef at her family's restaurant, but her attitude and inability to accept feedback is putting her role in jeopardy. In Brooklyn, Md., Robert and his wife named their restaurant Dakari's after a baby they lost to SIDS, but she's worried they could lose the business, too, if Robert doesn't become more assertive and take charge in the kitchen. Finally, Chef Cliff works with Shawn, who was forced to sell the Kempton, Penn., landmark Kempton Hotel he loves but stayed on to run the kitchen. Now fear of failing again has him struggling, and boot camp is his last hope to keep the job that means so much to him.