Traverse City residents and restaurants will be prominently featured on two different national television broadcasts tonight (Friday).

Traverse City chef Kim Ryan and Glen Arbor chef Aaron Smock will be two of eighteen contestants battling for a $250,000 grand prize and a head chef position at Yardbird Southern Table & Bar at The Venetian Las Vegas in tonight's season premiere of Hell's Kitchen at 8pm on Fox. Ryan works at Alliance in Traverse City's Warehouse District, while Smock cooks at The Homestead in Glen Arbor. The popular reality cooking competition features "a series of grueling challenges and dinner services" presided over by celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay. The Little Fleet will host a public viewing party for the show's premiere tonight in partnership with The Cooks' House, where Ryan first began cooking professionally.

Then, at 10pm on The Food Network, celebrity chef and part-time Leelanau County resident Mario Batali takes Michael Symon on a tour of his favorite northern Michigan spots in a new episode of Burgers, Brew & 'Cue. According to the episode description, the duo "enjoy heavenly smoked fish straight from Lake Michigan, delicious brews at (Batali's) favorite up-and-coming watering hole and the region's famous olive burgers, where they end the night rocking out to one of Mario's favorite bands." The episode taped in Traverse City on July 17 at locations including Little Bohemia.