Plot Synopsis

PLAYING WITH FIRE is a reality series that follows five movers and shakers of Manhattan's food and restaurant scene, as they work to strike a balance between their busy professional and personal lives. Whether they're opening a new restaurant, planning a menu change, or creating recipes for gluten-free dishes, these foodies must bring energy and drive to succeed in the New York City food scene, while also dealing with the inevitable frustration of this cut-throat industry. The five tastemakers in this series are: Anna Maria Boiardi, granddaughter of the founders of Chef Boyardee, who was educated the old-fashioned way in Italy -- cooking at home with her mother and grandparents, using family recipes passed down from generations before -- and who has developed a cooking class ("Cucina Academy"), written a cookbook/memoir ("Delicious Memories: Recipes and Stories from the Chef Boyardee Family"), and developed a cookware collection; Julie Elkind, pastry chef extraordinare, who worked in top kitchens like Le Cirque, La Fonda Del Sol, Convivio, and Alto before being named Executive Pastry Chef for Esquared Hospitality and BLT restaurants, where she left to work at Delicatessen the day after the series premiered; twins Daniel and Derek Koch, who, after cutting their teeth in the cut-throat New York restaurant scene, created Dual Groupe, a luxury boutique hospitality company, in 2008, and then developed Day & Night, a new concept for day-time brunch parties; and Candice Kumai, a model-turned-food-writer, who is a TOP CHEF alumni and former host of Lifetime's COOK YOURSELF THIN and TLC's HOME MADE SIMPLE, while also writing books, "Cook Yourself Sexy" and "Pretty Delicious," and contributing to the "New York Times" #1 Bestselling cookbook "Cook Yourself Thin." Plus, this series features celebrities, such as: actress Jennifer Esposito, who lives with Celiac disease and has committed herself to advocating for those in her position and cooking gluten-free food; celebrity Chef/Restaurateur Todd English; and more.