The series pits five couples, one each from Australia's five largest cities, to compete against each other in opening a successful restaurant.
They also compete for additional money that can be used for renovation from a panel of judges based on a presentation of their mission statement and plan for their proposed restaurant.
The nominated restaurants then compete for votes from a phone poll, with the victor moving on and the loser being forced to shut down.
In 2005, series 1 winners Ash and Amanda of Room Nineteen discovered that the site that had been allocated to them by Seven was booked to be demolished in December.
In contrast, the series 2 winning restaurant The Greedy Goose continued to stay in business for four years after the show.
However, in February 2009, they declared that they would be closing up business after an unsuccessful attempt to open a second restaurant in the beachside suburb of Glenelg.
The poor performance of the second restaurant focusing on gourmet hamburgers and the 'harsh economic times' put the winning couple into a position, they couldn't recover from.
In addition, despite Sydney's defeat in series 2, contestants Evan and Bella of Pink Salt opened a new restaurant with the same name on 22 March 2006, at a new location in Double Bay from the original suburb of Manly.
In October 2014, Evan temporarily closed Pink Salt for a complete renovation, new concept, new style of food and with a new team.
The jury consists of the famous Belgian chef Peter Goossens, the head editor of the culinary magazine "Ambiance" Dirk De Prins and the General Manager of a hotel Christel Cabanier.
[2] Collin Fasnidge from My Kitchen Rules NZ[3] and New Zealand chef/restaurateur, and founder/former owner/executive chef of Soul Bar, Judith Tabron serve as judges.
[4] Each local suburban or countryside restaurant's paired teams consist of the head chef and front of house manager.
A group of couples compete for the chance to set up a restaurant financially backed and personally supported by French chef Raymond Blanc.
The winning couple are given their own restaurant to run, in Oxfordshire, near to Blanc's own Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons.