Selena Gomez is embarking on an exciting culinary journey in the brand new series Selena + Restaurant

“After cooking mostly virtually from my kitchen with some of the best chefs for the last four years, I was thrilled to step into their world,” said Gomez. “You’ll have to see if being in person helped my skills at all.”

By: Angela Redding | Los Angeles, CA | Hollywood Beat magazine | April 26, 2024
Photos: Courtesy of Food Network

In Selena + Restaurant, which premieres on Thursday, May 2 at 7 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Food Network, global superstar Selena Gomez takes her culinary journey to the next level by leaving her home kitchen and entering the professional kitchens of some of LA’s finest restaurants. Best friend Raquelle Stevens will be going with Gomez when the industry’s top chefs assess her culinary prowess. With the ultimate goal of having Selena create a dish excellent enough to be on each restaurant’s menu, chefs Shirley Chung, Keith Corbin, Stephanie Izard, Andrew & Michelle Munoz, Wolfgang Puck, and Marcel Vigneron will instruct and test her over the course of six episodes.

Every episode, each chef will also showcase a charity that holds special value for them. All of the non-profits that are highlighted will receive a donation to support their initiatives.

Selena and Raquelle visit Wolfgang Puck’s CUT Steakhouse in Beverly Hills during the first episode. Into the fire right away, Selena has to pass an initial test and perfect one of Wolfgang’s signature dishes before putting her own spin on a hot seafood dish to try to get it on the menu. Next, Selena is welcomed inside the kitchen of Los Angeles Dumpling Queen Shirley Chung at her restaurant, Ms. Chi, where they prepare a fusion take on a childhood favorite. While folding dumplings and dancing around the kitchen, Selena tries to produce a dish that is good enough to be served on the menu with the help of Raquelle and Shirley.

Additional outings include a visit to the popular Hollywood restaurant Lemon Grove with Chef Marcel Vigneron, a trip at the California soul cuisine restaurant Alta with Chef Keith Corbin, a visit to Chef Stephanie Izard at her restaurant Girl & the Goat, and a Texas BBQ at Moo’s Craft Barbecue with Andrew and Michelle Munoz.

Chef Marcel Vigneron and Selena Gomez cook on Selena + Restaurant — ^{Chef Marcel Vigneron shows Selena how to make a perfectly airy semifreddo dessert with liquid nitrogen. Photo: Sean Rosenthal}

“Now, out of the comfort of her home kitchen, but with her best friend for support, Selena’s graduation to the big leagues offers a natural progression of her culinary education as this superstar shows what she can do in a restaurant environment,” said Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery.

Episodes

Season 1, Episode 1

Selena + CUT Steakhouse

Selena Gomez’s culinary adventure takes her to Beverly Hills, the home of Chef Wolfgang Puck’s gorgeous CUT steakhouse. Wolfgang gives Selena two kitchen initiation tests, starting with a deceptively simple challenge that throws her and Raquelle into blind panic. After making one of his classic dishes, Selena gets the chance to create her own take on a spicy seafood dish for his menu, but only if Wolfgang doesn’t give it the cut.

Season 1, Episode 2

Selena + Lemon Grove

Selena Gomez and Raquelle meet up with Chef Marcel Vigneron at his Hollywood hotspot, Lemon Grove. Marcel greets Selena with three of his favorite dishes that set the bar for how good her dish will need to be to make the menu! While Raquelle discovers the delights of the professional walk-in refrigerator, Selena creates a colorful dish using some very unusual ingredients. The ultimate decision is down to Marcel and his team on whether her purple plate will be their new special or just a color bomb.

Season 1, Episode 3

Selena + Girl & the Goat

Selena Gomez must step up her game as she enters the Girl & the Goat, owned by the only person ever to win both Iron Chef and Top Chef, Stephanie Izard. Stephanie challenges and inspires Selena’s taste buds with a blind taste test. Then for her special, Selena creates a ricotta toast dish based on her love of cheese and crackers in hopes of dazzling Stephanie with a cheesy, crunchy creation.

Season 1, Episode 4

Selena + Ms Chi

Selena Gomez’s culinary duty brings her to the kitchen of Los Angeles restaurant royalty! Dumpling Queen Shirley Chung welcomes Selena into Ms Chi, where the two make a fusion version of a beloved dish from Selena’s childhood. Selena, Raquelle and Shirley fold dumplings, smoke chicken with tea-leaves and dance around the kitchen before Selena attempts to deliver a dish good enough to make the menu.

Season 1, Episode 5

Selena + Alta Adams

Selena Gomez and Raquelle head to Alta, Chef Keith Corbin’s California soul food restaurant. For the kitchen initiation, Corbin puts Selena under pressure with some short order egg cooking, and she quickly learns it’s not nearly as simple as it sounds. Once she’s proven her mettle, Selena attempts to make a fried fish dish tasty enough for Alta’s menu and the restaurant’s toughest critic, Renee Corbin.

Season 1, Episode 6

Selena + Moo’s Craft Barbecue

Selena Gomez finds a taste of home as she tries the best Texas barbecue in Los Angeles at Moo’s Craft Barbecue. Husband and wife team Andrew and Michelle Muñoz challenge Selena to create a dish that puts her own spin on their meat-centric menu. She decides to create a unique sausage containing the flavors of one her most favorite guilty pleasure foods! Selena and Raquelle quickly find themselves in over their heads as they realize that they have no idea how sausages are made. The stakes get even higher when Nana and Papa show up, two native Texans ready to see if Selena’s dish can make the grade and the menu!