It will be a delicate balance of risk and reward for chefs on Food Network's brand-new upcoming series Kitchen Inferno, as they're forced to bet on their skills with cash on the line. Each week beginning Wednesday, Nov. 5 at 10|9c, contestants will face off in culinary showdowns in front of a live audience during the course of four possible rounds — how far they advance depends on their willingness to tempt fate by playing for more money and risking it all in the process.

With a grand prize of $25,000 at stake, chefs will be forced to do more than execute a properly seasoned plate or a beautifully adorned dish; as they begin their journey up the culinary ladder, they'll face tests that are progressively more difficult, and it's up to them to decide which to tackle and when to walk away. They can continue playing for the whopping sum, but if they chance their luck and fail, they'll have to forfeit their winnings and succumb to blazing defeat.

Host Curtis Stone will be on hand to oversee the fiery contest, and after each round, a panel of leading culinarians will execute blind taste tests to determine the winner. Because the judges won't know whether a dish is prepared by a chef contestant or one of the all-star challengers, including Elizabeth Falkner, Geoffrey Zakarian, Jet Tila, Madison Cowan and Michael Chiarello, it's anybody's game.

Want to ask Curtis a question about Kitchen Inferno? Join him for a live chat on Food Network's Facebook page on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 4:30pm EST.