Food Network launches 'Ciao House,' a competition where chefs live & cook together in Tuscany

Shot on-location in Italy and hosted by Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabriele Bertaccini, 8-episode series premieres Sunday, April 16

Food Network takes 10 up-and-coming chefs on the journey of a lifetime to Tuscany in the new primetime series “Ciao House,” hosted by network all-star chef Alex Guarnaschelli and Tuscan-born chef Gabriele Bertaccini. 

Shot on-location in Italy, the series welcomes rising culinary stars who will live together in a breathtaking Italian villa and compete against each other as individuals and in teams to prove their mastery of Italian cooking techniques and dishes. From real-life nonnas showcasing how they make pasta from scratch to a lesson with the head butcher of a three centuries-old family butcher business, each challenge is accompanied by a local experience steeped in tradition.

The competitors must also navigate alliances and rivalries as they pick their own teams and, each week, the losing team must vote off one of their own. In the end, only the last chef standing wins the life-changing grand prize: an immersive culinary education across Italy, training with renowned Italian master chefs. 

“Ciao House” premieres Sunday, April 16 (9 p.m. ET/PT), and streams the same day on discovery+.

“ ‘Ciao House’ fuses the beauty and culinary traditions of Tuscany into a high-stakes competition,” said Betsy Ayala, head of content, food, Warner Bros. Discovery. “These talented chefs must live together as a family in a jaw-dropping villa and simultaneously compete against each other for the prize of lifetime – it’s not just a battle of cooking skills, in ‘Ciao House’ personal dynamics, loyalties and rivalries create the perfect storm to create one of our most exciting series to date.”

The competitors are: Omar Ashley (Avenel, New Jersey); Corey Becker (Brooklyn); Saba Duffy (Framingham, Massachusetts); Trenica Johnson (Houston); Jess Mahoney (Los Angeles); Preston Paine (Dallas); Sarah Raffetto (New York City); Justin Robinson (Atlanta); Natalia Rosario (Chicago) and Matt Wasson (Staten Island).

In the premiere episode, hosts Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabriele Bertaccini – who also serve as judges – welcome the chefs to Ciao House, where they will live together and be challenged on their expertise with Italian cuisine. To start off the experience, each competitor must show Alex and Gabriele what Italian cuisine means to them by creating a dish that demonstrates who they are as a chef. Two chefs receive a huge advantage going into the next round and one chef must say “ciao ciao” to the villa. 

Eight weeks of Tuscan-centric challenges, including three-course truffle and wine pairings, visit to an Italian cheese cave and creating a wild boar dish, culminate in the life-changing finale on Sunday, June 4, where Alex and Gabriele preside over a cooking duel to determine who wins the ultimate grand prize: an immersive culinary education across Italy, training with renowned Italian master chefs.

Fans can head to Food Network's social pages to join Alex and Gabriele on set in Italy and learn the what's, why's and how's of classic Italian ingredients, like pasta, wine and tomatoes. Plus, visit FoodNetwork.com/CiaoHouse to find tons of Italian cooking inspiration and follow #CiaoHouse on social to join the conversation.