 First Lady Michelle Obama appeared as a special guest at the beginning of this two-hour episode, where she welcomed the chefs and announced the secret ingredient.This is also the last battle featuring Batali as part of the regular cast; it was announced in September 2007 that Batali's contract with "Food Network" was not being renewed.In Kitchen Stadium, the Chairman supplemented the secret ingredient with a range of locally and sustainably grown meats and seafood, along with goat cheese, eggs, cider vinegar and honey from the White House beehive.