Restaurant Startup (2014)

Joe Bastianich and Tim Love decide whether or not to invest in Kraken Congee in Seattle, Wash. or Ramy's Falafel Fusion in Portland, Ore.

Food trucks are featured, including Baby's Badass Burgers in Los Angeles; and Bacon Bacon in San Francisco, which features a bacon-theme menu.

Baked goods are featured. Included: a mother-and-daughter team from Brooklyn who want to open a quick-serve waffle-cone restaurant in Manhattan; and friends from New Jersey who came up with the idea of an upscale bread company.

Two fledgling "small plate" businesses from Los Angeles are featured. Included: a catering company run by two best friends; and a husband-and wife team who want to grow their charcuterie business.

Two pasta companies compete for financial assistance, including a gluten-free-pasta concept that uses chickpeas as a main ingredient; and a ravioli tasting bar featuring unusual flavor combinations.

California natives have a idea of infusing bacon and chocolate. A couple from Oakland hope to sell alcohol infused marshmallows.

Joe Bastianich and Tim Love hear a pitch from Mac-o-licious, a pair of divas from Los Angeles who claim to have the best Mac ‘n’ Cheese. By adding artisanal cheeses and high-end ingredients, they hope to get a shot at creating their dream restaurant. Next up is a pitch from a young couple who burst onto the San Francisco food scene with Bespoke Donuts, a made-to-order, hand-crafted doughnut restaurant offering both sweet and savory choices.

A chef and his wife create a successful snout-to-tail catering company; a small anchovy-themed pop-up is run by a recently divorced couple who want a more permanent location.

Bastianich and Love look to the East for delicious flavors and high profits; two young women impress the high-tech denizens of San Francisco at Rice Paper Scissors; the Lone Wolf food truck has a new American spin on classic Vietnamese banh mi.

The owner of an Atlanta food truck loses money in a Ponzi scheme; a chef that was forced to shutter his popular restaurant in order to pay for a lengthy custody battle.

An edgy Moroccan food catering company with dreams of conquering Manhattan; the funky creation of two sisters who think they make the best plant-based hot dog on the planet.

A Los Angeles deli where everything on the menu is roasted to perfection, including their signature sliders; a popular chef-driven breakfast café owned by an ex-stockbroker turned restaurateur.

A food truck owned by newlyweds uses only handmade ingredients that showcase the owners Venezuelan roots; two childhood friends that have generated a huge social media following that has the entire city of Buffalo rooting for the colorful company.

A married couple runs a restaurant with an international small plates menu in Las Vegas; a restaurant that serves slow-cooked meats with a heap of healthy options in a fast-casual setting.

A food truck hopes to stabilize their business by opening a brick-and-mortar location; two culinary teachers from Philadelphia look to transition from the classroom to a fast-casual takeout restaurant.

A rock n' roll couple from Detroit wants to take their hand-crafted delights and turn them into a nationwide sensation; a company outgrows its tiny space within two years of opening.

Two successful catering companies – both based in underserved markets – fight for the chance to score an investment from restaurateurs and investors Joe Bastianich and Tim Love.

Restaurateurs and investors Joe Bastianich and Tim Love must choose between mad scientists – mad food scientists, that is, each with a unique approach to molecular gastronomy.