Chefs Curtis Stone, Alex Guarnaschelli, Michael Symon, Bobby Flay and host Ted Allen in “All-Star Academy”

It's no secret that Fox's "MasterChef" is a huge hit. Five seasons in (with a sixth on its way), the cooking competition shows no signs of slowing down.

Well, the Food Network may have its own new hit on its hands. Part of the key to "MasterChef's" success is the combination of telegenic chefs handing down their culinary wisdom to top-notch home cooks, while watching those same amateurs compete with each other to find out who's the best.

"All-Star Academy," currently airing Sunday nights on the Food Network, follows a similar formula -- but not too similar. While comparisons will inevitably be drawn between the two shows, this show is a different beast.

Hosted by "Chopped's" Ted Allen, "All-Star Academy" brings 10 of the nation's best home cooks together for what they no doubt consider the opportunity of a lifetime. They've been divided up into teams of two, with each team mentored by one of the Food Network's most renowned chefs.

Each week, the chefs will work hard to tutor and train their new protégés, imparting their wisdom and knowledge on their eager pupils. Then, the chefs' teaching abilities are put to the test as the home cooks battle it out in culinary challenges.

In the end, there will be two winners: the best home cook and his or her mentor. And while it's only bragging rights that the winning chef walks away with (the winning home cook gets a nice lump sum of cash, of course), the Food Network has brought together some of their most competitive personalities to make sure that winning will be the only option for these culinary juggernauts.

Three Iron Chefs will be facing off in this proxy battle: Bobby Flay, Michael Symon and Alex Guarnaschelli aren't strangers to the heat of competition, but in this battle they'll have to stand back and watch as their trainees do the winning or losing. They'll be joined by acclaimed Australian chef Curtis Stone, the host of Bravo's "Top Chef: Masters" and "Top Chef: Duels."

"All-Star Academy" really is a win-win situation for everyone involved. The home cooks get the opportunity to be trained by some of the nation's greatest chefs, while those same chefs get to compete with each other for bragging rights. "All-Star Academy" airs Sunday nights on the Food Network.