Despite Emeril's high ratings, pint-sized network exec Trish is troubled by the fact that women are not fantasizing about the chef in his boxers. The network decides to launch a new campaign to ""trim it down a notch,"" sponsoring a competition between their shows with a cash prize for the most weight lost. While the Emeril crew aren't thrilled by the prospect of dieting, the promise of money prompts Cass, Melva, and B.D. to put down the pork loin and jump on the treadmill. Even Jerry, once financially motivated, decides to join the fitness craze and shed some excess tonnage. All seems to be going well until Emeril, reluctantly heeding the network's wishes, switches to preparing low-cal cuisine on his show -- and finds himself staring down an angry, hungry mob.

Despite misgivings about ""going Hollywood,"" Emeril allows Jerry to talk him into participating in a segment of a hit primetime magazine show. Even though the gang insists they won't sell out for the camera, glamour-hounds Jerry, Cass, and Melva all find ways to pump up their appearances—and their roles in Emeril's success—for their interviews, and then have to scramble to put things right before Emeril sees the finished product.

Emeril plays Cupid to disprove the notion that there are ""no good men out there"" when the headstrong chef propositions his audience in search of eligible bachelors for a night of culinary and romantic interludes with Cass and Melva—but becoming a matchmaker proves to be harder than just shake-n'-bake.

Culinary Network executive Trish O'Connell gives Emeril exciting news: his show's high ratings have prompted the network to order 20 additional episodes. The catch? They want him to present a hipper image, complete with a new set and designer-label chef's jacket. Emeril's agent and friend Jerry McKenney and his staff— producer Cassandra ""Cass"" Gilman, stage manager Melva LeBlanc, and food stylist B.D. Benson—are all thrilled. However, Emeril quickly finds himself torn between the additional demands of his success and the fact that his wife Nora and three children James , Halo, and Charlie already consider him an absentee husband and father.

When Emeril needs top quality beef for the upcoming meat lovers' show and the normal supplier comes up empty, Cass enlists some family help. Unfortunately, after a trip to a dark New Jersey pier for a beef drop with Melva and B.D., she realizes that her cousin, the entrepreneur, is involved with a different type of ""family."" Things get worse when crime boss/Tony Soprano wannabe Vic Leopolis tells Cass that in return for the favor, he wants Emeril, his favorite chef, to ""kick it up a notch"" and host Sunday dinner for the mob. Even guest star Vincent Pastore, visiting Emeril's cooking show to shoot a segment, is unable to provide Emeril with a solution to his Italian problem.