Plot Synopsis

THE JULIA CHILD CHALLENGE is a one-hour reality series that features eight home cooks competing in the first-ever primetime competition series dedicated to all things Julia. The competitors, all Julia Child superfans, share personal stories about their hero, cook in a kitchen recreated in the likeness of where Julia herself cooked, using the same ingredients Julia used and are even guided by Julia herself, through a larger-than-life television screen right in the middle of all the action. Head judge Antonia Lofaso and a rotating panel of guest judges including Molly Baz, Cliff Crooks and Brooke Williamson ultimately decide who wins the life-changing grand prize that literally follows in Julia's footsteps: an all-expense paid three-month cooking course at Le Cordon Bleu. The competitors are: Bill Borman (Hudson, New York); Christine Fiorentino (Hoboken, New Jersey); Dustin Hogue (Chicago, Illinois); Jaine Mackievitz (Worcester, Massachusetts); Brit Moore (New York, New York); Dustin Rennells (Charlestown, Massachusetts); Elena Ross-Salonga (Cambria, California) and Fabrizio Villalpando (Los Angeles, California).

In the series premiere, eight competitors enter the kitchen in awe and are welcomed by Julia herself on the giant screen. To kick things off, head judge Antonia Lofaso and guest judges Michael Voltaggio and Francis Lam challenge the competitors to use their skills and imagination to make one of the French dishes that changed Julia's life: sole meuniere. In round two's ode to Julia, the competitors must share their own culinary journey by recreating the meal that changed their own culinary life. After sharing those dishes and the stories behind them, the judges name one overall episode winner and the first competitor is sent home. Additional guest judges include: Molly Baz, Stephanie Boswell, Alvin Cailan, Cliff Crooks, Susan Feniger, Dorie Greenspan, Melissa King, Nilou Motamed, Jacques Pepin, Sherry Yard and Brooke Williamson.
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On Monday, April 18, 2022 at 9pm ET/PT, Food Network premiered "Mastering the Art of Julia Child," the season finale of THE JULIA CHILD CHALLENGE. The final three home cooks -- Jaine Mackievitz, Dustin Rennells, and Bill Borman -- face their last challenge in Julia Child's kitchen: preparing a four-course meal of Julia's classics. Head judge Antonia Lofaso asks them to make a croque monsieur, duck a la orange, boeuf bourguignon and a croquembouche. Chef Jacques Pepin makes a surprise appearance, and Antonia and guest judges Dorie Greenspan and Brooke Williamson decide which competitor has earned three months of study at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.