Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi as seen in "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown"

Ah, it's 2017 at last! Starting out a new year feels as I imagine a painter feels when looking at a new canvas: a pristine, blank slate, full of potential and hope, ready to become something beautiful with just a bit of elbow grease.

Well, the folks behind Fox's "MasterChef" are getting into that New Year's spirit again this year. Last January, they hosted a special charity event in the "MasterChef" kitchen, and this year they're doing it again, awarding several deserving charities much-needed cash donations to help them make 2017 a great year.

"MasterChef Celebrity Showdown," a two-hour special event, airs Monday, Jan. 2, on Fox. Similar to "MasterChef" and its pint-sized spinoff "MasterChef Junior," chefs Gordon Ramsay and Christina Tosi oversee a cooking competition between some talented amateur cooks. For "Showdown," it's set up as a sort of duel, with celebrities facing off in a cooking challenge, and the winner earning a hefty donation for the charity of his or her choice.

So who are these celebrities? Well, the first showdown is a team challenge between "Empire" stars Trai Byers and Grace Gealey and celebrity couple NeNe and Greg Leakes, stars of "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." In the second showdown, "Curb Your Enthusiasm's" Cheryl Hines faces off against Kal Penn, who's currently starring in the political drama "Designated Survivor."

The real treat for "MasterChef" fans, though, comes in the third and final showdown. In a huge "MasterChef" first, Ramsay and Tosi face off against each other in a team battle, with celebrities acting as sous-chefs for these culinary juggernauts.

Cooking alongside "Black-ish" star Anthony Anderson, Ramsay hopes to win the prize money for the Watts/Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club. On the other side of the kitchen, Tosi teams up with "Lethal Weapon" star Jordana Brewster to try to earn that cash for the charity No Kid Hungry.

Although both of these master chefs have cooked in the "MasterChef" kitchen before, they've never competed against each other. It feels fitting that they will finally be throwing down to help give their charities a happy start to the New Year. 

"MasterChef Celebrity Showdown" fires up the ovens in a new episode airing Monday, Jan. 2, on Fox.