Food is a universal language that has the power to soothe, comfort, and heal, not only for the eater but for those who cook. Friends, partners, mothers, daughters, fathers, and sons, nominate a deserving candidate to spend an afternoon in the kitchen with Michelin-starred chef Curtis Stone.

Each episode opens with a clip of the nominating guest’s audition reel. Nominees might include a nurse or grocery store clerk who has worked tirelessly over the course of the last year as an essential worker, a single dad nominated by his daughter who is holding down two jobs but strives to put a healthy meal on the table every night, a fiancé hoping to impress his bride-to-be with his newfound cooking prowess, a grandpa whose granddaughter aspires for a professional career in the restaurant industry. Curtis shares why this person’s story spoke to him and why he wants to help lend a hand in improving their culinary skills and make a memorable dish or meal for their loved one.

The nominating guest and cooking candidate arrive to Curtis’ Hollywood restaurant Gwen on the pretense that they’ll be dining. Instead, the cooking candidate is whisked upstairs to the test kitchen, where Curtis will be in the throes of preparing a meal or dish and seeks their assistance. While cooking together, the guest recalls critical details of their story with accompanying photos and b-roll on-screen and gives fly-on-wall testimonials of their surprise and experience of “Cooking with Curtis,” before sitting down to share the meal with the chef and nominating loved one.

As the meal ends, Curtis gifts the guest with his cookware, hinting that he wants a quid pro quo invitation to dinner.