Geoffrey Zakarian Says This Is What Makes His New Show Different From The Rest

Widely known for his role as a judge on the cooking competition "Chopped" and host of "The Kitchen," modern American chef Geoffrey Zakarian has a host of other gigs, including running a bevy of restaurants spread across the U.S., authoring several cookbooks, and hosting the podcast "Four Courses" (via Geoffrey Zakarian). A familiar face on the Food Network, Zakarian recently debuted a new show on the channel: "Big Restaurant Bet." According to Food Network, the new program sees eight chefs competing for the grand prize of a $250,000 contract with his company Zakarian Hospitality Group to open the winner's dream restaurant.

"Big Restaurant Bet" debuted April 5 2022, and recently the chef appeared on "Late Night with Seth Meyers" to promote the program. During a cooking segment shared on YouTube, Zakarian spoke about the new show and what, in his mind, sets it apart from other cooking competitions.

If you've ever watched cooking competitions such as Food Network's "Chopped," Netflix's "Sugar Rush," or Bravo's "Top Chef," then you likely know that the winner receives a cash prize — sometimes a very hefty one. And then, according to "Big Restaurant Debut" investor and judge Geoffrey Zakarian, "it's over." Appearing recently on "Late Night with Seth Meyers," Zakarian explained that on his new show, winning that prize money is really where everything begins.

"When you win this show, then you start, then the hard work starts," he told Meyers during a cooking segment. "Then you've actually gotta be at the restaurant 15, 18 hours a day," he said, referring to the fact that the show's winner will receive a $250,000 investment from Zakarian's restaurant group, which will actually stay involved post-win to help support and steer the chef's new venture. "This is a dream restaurant for them, so it's a really encouraging show. We do the very best we can to help them along."