Seven of America’s most-fearless chefs test their physical prowess, mental toughness and culinary skills on Extreme Chef, hosted by TV veteran and seasoned world traveler Marsh Mokhtari. The grueling and seemingly impossible culinary challenges are judged by a rotating panel of notable guest judges, including Simon Majumdar (Next Iron Chef judge and food journalist), Ben Sargent (host of Cooking Channel’s Hook, Line & Dinner), and Troy Johnson (host of Crave, food critic and journalist). Over the course of five episodes, from the scorching deserts of California to the exotic jungles of Thailand, the chefs test their physical prowess, mental toughness and culinary skills as they compete in grueling and seemingly impossible culinary challenges including pulling out needles from a cactus pad to create a tasty dish, and creating a meal in 60 minutes on a floating dock, while the chefs rescue their ingredients from a capsized fishing boat in the ocean. In the end, only one chef will be the most extreme while taking home a $50,000 grand prize.

In the Doomsday Survival episode, contestants are dropped into Salton City, California, an abandoned post-apocalyptic wasteland, where they’re left to scavenge for ingredients and tools. In the Coast Guard Cook-Off episode, chefs create dishes using military MREs (Meal, Ready to Eat) and a seafood protein that they pull up from traps in the water. In the Desert Survival episode, they cook like the Native American Indians with spiny cactus and build their own fires and constructing knives using nothing but an obsidian rock. In the “Off to Thailand” episode, chefs obtain ingredients from the Damneon Saduak Floating Market, negotiate with vendors, and begin cooking right on the boat. In the final episode “The $50,000 Bite”, the finalists begin the biggest culinary adventure of their lives by cooking a vegetarian dish while standing in the middle of the flowing river in Chiang Mai.

Keep your eyes on chef Viet Pham on Extreme Chefs Season 2. Born in Malaysia and raised near San Francisco, chef and restaurateur Viet Pham graduated from the California Culinary Academy in 2002. After a short stint in the catering business, he moved to Provo, Utah, to become the executive chef at Spark Restaurant Lounge. In July 2009, Viet and business partner Bowman Brown opened Forage Restaurant in Salt Lake City. Viet has been named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs and a James Beard Foundation semifinalist.

Viet Pham on Extreme Chefs Season 2