'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
24 in 24: Last Chef Standing episode 1, which premiered on April 27, showcased the first Shift of the competition, featuring three challenges testing speed. The contestants had to impress judge Antonia Lofaso with their efficient culinary skills to advance to the next round.
During the episode, the fans saw the co-hosts Michael Symon and Esther Choi introduce "golden knife," which was a fresh addition to the second season. The golden knife was awarded to Kevin Lee, who finished first in the speed test. He got to choose the contestant he could face off with in an elimination challenge, and he chose Michele Ragussis.
Symon explained during the episode that the newly introduced golden knife would be awarded throughout the competition to the contestants who win certain challenges. However, he noted that the power that comes with the knife would vary.
Trending
24 in 24: Last Chef Standing host Michael Symon reflects on introducing new concepts in season 2
24 in 24: Last Chef Standing premiered its first episode on Food Network on April 27, 2025. The show returned with a new batch of 24 contestants that would take part in 24 different challenges over a non-stop 24 hours to get a chance at winning a $75,000 prize.
The golden knife is just one of the new concepts that were recently introduced on the show..
In an interview with TV Insider published on April 25, host Michael Symon revealed that the contestants entering season 2 had already watched everything from season 1, prompting the team to introduce new twists and concepts to keep the chefs from predicting what might come next.
"Everyone doing Season 2 had seen Season 1, so they felt they knew what would happen next. That wasn’t the case. We mixed things up. We changed things up a bit for the competitions, just so they couldn’t walk in and go, “Now I do this. Now I do this.” Predict what would happen. It made the show very unpredictable," he said.
Teasing what the contestants might face this season, the 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing host shared that while some challenges remained similar, they changed the order of events to keep things fresh.
Additionally, Michael shared that he does some things to mess with the contestants, like taking out some of the things that the chefs are accustomed to having daily. These things, he noted, forced the contestants to take a moment to think about how they were going to take care of the issue.
Michael further revealed that after season 1, they sat down to think about the worst things that happened to them when working or being in the restaurant. They listed issues like a power cut during a full restaurant, failure of the hood system, and loss of gas.
The 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing host noted that these were all things that had happened in their careers at one point, and they felt the need to include such issue to see how the contestants react to such real world problems.
"One succeeds and one fails in those crunch times. So, we try to sneak those things in there that were really real life restaurant tragedies that have happened to us throughout our careers. Things that we throw at them that have never happened before in a cooking competition or studio type situation," he continued.
24 in 24: Last Chef Standing season 2 episodes premiere every Sunday on Food Network.
