A reality restaurant turf war will be unleashed in Brisbane on Tuesday night, with an established West End eatery taking on a pop-up cafe at South Bank.
Channel 7's Restaurant Revolution and Channel 9's The Hotplate both hope to cash in on Australia's obsession with cooking shows.
Curious foodies have been venturing into Puerto – the pop-up restaurant on Russell Street at South Bank – since it opened on July 14.
It's the baby of Restaurant Revolution contestants John, Justine and Maggie, operators of food van business Puerto Taco.
Their task is to turn a collection of shipping containers into a viable money-making enterprise.
The public is encouraged to visit Puerto, try the Mexican-Asian fusion food, and leave reviews in a feedback booth.
However if the Brisbane team is evicted from the competition, they lose out on $250,000 prize money and Puerto will be immediately shut down.
It's an edge that's likely to see a flurry of activity at the Russell Street site for the next few weeks.
Meanwhile down the road at West End, Emi Kamada and Marie Yokoyama are preparing to unleash their brand of yakitori goodness on Channel Nine's The Hotplate.
The pair's joint venture, Bird's Nest, is already a popular hangout for fans of their delectable meat and vegetable skewers roasted over binchotan charcoal.
It was awarded Best Cheap Eats category in this year's Brisbane Times Good Food Awards.
The Hotplate sees them competing against five other existing restaurants for the chance to win $100,000 to further expand their business.
Marie said they were initially wary about participating, but figured the opening of Bird's Nest in 2013 had proved they were tough contenders.
"Emi and I actually worked 100 hours a week for the first six months after we opened the restaurant," she said.
"We jumped in without a manager, without a chef ... so we were prepared for reality TV in that sense, but it was still a very different experience to what we expected."
Emi said the pair hoped the TV attention would help boost interest in Bird's Nest.
"I think we'll definitely be more busy, but we're all about planning and being prepared," she said.
"We're hoping for people to come down not just to see us, but for our cuisine," Marie said.
"We really believe in what we do, so we really hope people come down if they're interested in trying our food."
Restaurant Revolution begins on Tuesday, July 28, at 7.30pm on Channel 7. The Hotplate begins on Tuesday, July 28, at 7.30pm on Channel 9.
