Jack Bourdain was a great chef four years ago until he made his own demise. Nowadays, he works in a children's restaurant run by his girlfriend. But his luck is about to change: Pino Lugeria, owner of Nolita, wants Jack to take over as head chef and to assemble a crew in 48 hours. For this, he goes back to his old friends offering all of them a chance to work together again. But this decision does not sit well with Pino's daughter, Mimi, who resents Jack.
When Pino suspects Steven of stealing steaks, Jack is determined to change Steven and himself from their old ways but his plans don't go to plan. Tired of his new ways, Seth and Steven plan to get Jack laid so it will ease the pressure off him but he instead runs into his ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, Stockbrokers run up a huge bill and then dine and dash.
Jack's old mentor, Gerard, comes to Nolita with a strange request. He wants Jack's food to feed him to death. Meanwhile, Steven and Seth's authority drives Jim to find his way up the kitchen hierarchy with ineffective results.
After Jack sees Nolita's menu on Michel's restuarant without asking permission, the two restaurants go head-to-head hoping to destroy their rivals restaurant. To make matters worse, Michel begins seducing Mimi much to Nolita's chagrin.
Jack realizes that he needs to spend more time with the patrons if he wants Nolita to be more successful. To accomplish this, he hires Becky to be head-chef while he talks to patrons. Meanwhile, Mimi's old loser friend gives Nolita a visit and shows up with her handsome fiance, causing Mimi to become jealous of her. Seth and Teddy go to desperate measures to see if people like pastry or fish.
Jim accidentally accepts a delivery of rabbits for Nolitas special, but when they arrive alive, no-one has the guts to kill them. Meanwhile, Jack dates a vegan who will not touch meat but he sweet talks her into eating meat. Also, Steven is convinced that Becky wants him badly in the sack that they put a bet on to see who will be the first one to crack, which results in both chefs to seduce one another.
After a gang of armed robbers target Nolita, the restaurant runs low on patrons and several staff members begin to freak out. Steven throws a model party to turn their luck around but the crew realize that the models eat the food then vomit it back out again.
Food and Wine magazine writes a favorable review of one of the Nolita meals that Teddy makes but Jack takes total credit for it. This makes Teddy quit in anger, but seeing him quit and return so often, Jack decides to hire another chef, Chet. Meanwhile, Nolita is flooded with guests wanting the fish meal, and Jack soon discovers he does not know how to make it, and realizes he has to get Teddy back.
Jack and Becky’s secret affair continues. Meanwhile, Pino orders Jack to take his sweetbreads off the menu because they are not selling. Becky convinces Jack to start serving brunch even though the rest of the staff is dead set against it. Seth has a run in with a suave chocolate maker.
Jim tries desperately to impress Jack with his initiative in the kitchen, but his good intentions turn against him causing Jack to give him the silent treatment. A “no send-back” policy is introduced at Nolita which annoys Mimi. Jack gets rated on his “bedroom skills” by the author of the ChefHunter.net website. But when he is given an score that does not sit well with him, he goes out to prove to the author he is top material.
Jack is unaware that the woman he slept with, Gia, is Pino's mistress, who lives above the restaurant. Gia wants to tell Pino about their affair because Jack looks after her whereas Pino does not. Everything then goes awry when Pino throws his wife a party and his mistress arrives threatening to tell all. Meanwhile, Steven, Teddy and Seth plan to take Jim out to get him laid but they instead use his pityful nature to pick up girls for themselves.
Mimi is the new owner of Nolita and a power-struggle with Jack enfolds. The two fight for control over the restaurant and staff but when a surprise health inspector shows up for an inspection, this prompts Jack to try and bribe her and Mimi doing the inspection the honest way. Also, Jim deals with Tanya's kiss, and trying to keep it secret from Seth who has a history of crazy jealousy.
Now that Nolita has changed hands and Jack and Mimi are in charge, Nolita is nominated for an EPICURE Award. However, Jack soon realizes that Becky's restaurant is also nominated for the same award prompting a series of mistrust and hostility towards Jack for welcoming her back into his life. Seth finally discovers Jim's indiscretion and Ramon sees the Virgin Mary in a Prize Lobster.
