Season 5 - Episode Guide

Top Chef Masters is back for season five with thirteen celebrated chefs and an all new twist. Each Master will have his or her sous chef compete in an online competition, "Battle of the Sous Chefs" that will directly impact the Masters' chances of winning. In the first challenge, the Masters cook for a professional skydiving team, but in order to get an extra hour of cook time, they must be willing to take a dive themselves.

The Masters arrive at the kitchen to find their sous chefs hard at work in the Mise En Place challenge. One the elements are prepped, the Masters must put an Asian spin on an American classic working side by side with their Sous. Guest Kathie Lee Gifford tries some food outside of her comfort zone.

In this week's Quickfire, the Chefs must create a dish with left over scraps from the Sous Chefs' challenge. For the elimination, the Chefs have to make a meal that represents one of the three basic staples of a soap opera - Sex, Murder and Greed. The cast of "Days of Our Lives" will be on hand to see if the Chefs nailed their roles.

As every chef knows, curry is difficult to hurry, but the Chefs must make their version of curry in thirty minutes for this week's Quickfire. The tables are turned on host Curtis Stone as his fiancé, Lindsay Price team up with the Chefs to throw him a surprise engagement party.

It's Restaurant Wars time! The Chefs must open eateries with a Los Angeles theme to impress special guest judges - Busy Philips, Dana Cowin and the critics. Will the native Angelenos embrace the new LA-cuisine or will the restaurants face early closure?

Special guest judge Mindy Kaling gets the Chefs in the mood for romance by asking them to create dishes inspired by her favorite romantic comedies. Yo Gabba Gabba also makes an appearance to help with an elimination challenge geared towards young palates.

Special guest judge actress Ali Larter challenges the Chefs to elevate nachos for their Quick Fire. Then it's time to cook up the catch of the day for Malibu locals, by creating a dish with a hot and cold preparation of the same fish.

The winning team of this week's "Battle of the Sous Chefs" challenge create today's Quick Fire. Then, they must cook with Mexican flair for the wrestlers of Lucha Vavoom.

The four remaining Top Chef Masters create their version of a burger for a surprise guest critic. Then, they prepare meals to honor teachers from the Los Angeles Unified School District.

It's down to the final three as they battle it out to be the next Top Chef Master. The Chefs pull out all the stops. Which Master can win over the critics and take home the ultimate prize?