Food Network's after-hours culinary poker game, 'Wildcard Kitchen,' raises stakes with brand-new season of all-star battles

Hosted by Eric Adjepong, season two premieres Tuesday, Jan. 7

Press Release

The bets are bigger and the stakes are higher in the 10-episode return of “Wildcard Kitchen,” Food Network’s exclusive late-night culinary card game where all-star chefs bet, bluff and backstab for cold hard cash and bragging rights. In each episode, host Eric Adjepong welcomes three chefs who know each other well to the test kitchen after-hours for three hands of his underground poker game. With scores to settle and lots of smack talk, each chef brings $5,000 to the game where the luck of the draw determines dishes and cooking time – while Eric throws his own unexpected challenges into the mix.

In the season premiere on Tuesday, Jan. 7 (9 p.m. ET/PT), Vegas big spenders Jet Tila and siblings Michael and Bryan Voltaggio up the ante by bringing double the cash to the table, while serving up delectable dishes and lots of trash talk to determine who will be crowned king of the high-stakes kitchen.

“Anyone who has ever wondered what it’s like to hang out with their favorite Food Network chefs for an outrageous late-night card game can experience it on ‘Wildcard Kitchen,’ ” said Betsy Ayala, head of content, food, Warner Bros. Discovery. “Eric really amps up the gameplay this season with bigger stakes, bigger challenges and bigger twists to keep both his guests and the audience guessing at every turn.”

Chefs also playing against each other include food legends Alex Guarnaschelli, Rocco DiSpirito and Andrew Zimmern; culinary titans Michael Symon, Esther Choi and Marcel Vigneron; James Beard-award winners Karen Akunowicz, Stephanie Izard and Jonathan Sawyer; “Chopped” judges Tiffani Faison, Amanda Freitag and Geoffrey Zakarian; competition sharks Tiffany Derry, Mei Lin and Brian Malarkey; comfort food connoisseurs Eddie Jackson, Damaris Phillips and Molly Yeh; frenemies Carlos Anthony, Kelsey Bernard Clark and Crista Luedtke; restaurant queens Antonia Lofaso, Ayesha Nurdjaja and Claudette Zepeda; and a top-secret trio of returning “Wildcard” winners.

Viewers can follow Food Network's social pages to get Eric's exclusive cocktail recipes and join him on set as he plays “Truth or Dare” with the chefs. Plus, fans can check out each judge's “Wildcard” food hacks using the trickiest cards from the show.