Uptight French chef Sara Westbrook (Teri Polo) gets fired up when her upscale café, Chez Varenne, is suddenly overshadowed by a new restaurant moving in next door run by a group of rowdy firemen. Led by handsome former fire fighter Gill Callahan (James Patrick Stuart) and his friend Danny (Rockmond Dunbar), The Five Alarm Grill is soon a big success while Sara and Patsy (Romy Rosemont), her pastry chef, struggle to bring in customers.