Season 3 - Episode Guide

Amateur cooks from across the country compete during the first day of auditions to win a place as a masterchef contestant.

Amateur cooks from across the country compete in a second day of auditions to be a Masterchef contestant.

The judges continue to winnow down the competition in the final round of auditions, but the stakes are raised as the 36 remaining hopefuls are put to the ultimate test in an intense ground beef challenge. Those who impress the judges will earn a spot in the Top 18 and join the nation's best crop of amateur cooks in the MASTERCHEF kitchen.

The Top 18 contestants compete in their first mystery box challenge of the season and must create a unique and delicious dish using duck and bananas. Later, the remaining amateur cooks are forced out of their comfort zone when the judges challenge them to cook an outstanding dish using unusual and intimidating ingredients. Find out which contestants make the cut after the first emotional elimination round.

The chefs are divided into two teams and told to cook a hearty meal for 201 hungry soldiers who will be their judges. The two teams get their meals out to the troops who vote for the winners and the losers. Back in the Masterchef kitchen the losers are given only 75 minutes to prepare an exquisite apple pie. A losing contestant is sent home.

The fifteen chefs face their second mytery box challenge, and the selection of meats they see upon lifting the boxes was a shock to all. Despite the difficult challenge the amateur chefs were able to satisfy the judges, a winner was chosen, and given the usual advantage of selecting the meals the others will cook. This time the winner of the mystery box challenge took throwing his competition under the bus to a new level, at least he tried to.

The fourteen remaining amateur chefs divide up into two teams to cook room service breakfast for 130 hungry hotel guests. The losing team returns to the Masterchef kitchen to face the always dreaded prssure test challenge. Tonight the three judges select the four worst performing team members from the losing team to participate in the pressure test where they must cook a Molten Lava cake in 45 minutes. A loser is sent home.

In the Mystery Box challenge. The chefs are given food that can be purchased at Wal-Mart for fifteen dollars and asked to prepare a dish that would sell for forty dollars at a fine dinning restaurant. The winning dish is selected and the winner is taken to the pantry. The judges present the Mystery Box challenge winner with the nights elimination challenge. The amateur chefs must create the judges favorite desserts. Tiramisu, Strawberry Shortcake, and Trifle. The winner of the Mystery Box challenge is given the advantage of skipping the elimination challenge and also picking which of her competitors will have to create one of the three desserts. The three judges will then select the worst dessert from the four of each presented by the contestants and the worst of the three desserts will send a Masterchef hopeful home.

The amateur chefs find themselves on Venice Beach where they are divided into three teams and asked to prepare a seven dollar meal for the crowds of Venice Beach. The teams each have their own food truck from which each team will sell a different cuisine, Indian, Mexican, or American. The teams are judged by the amount of money they generate from food sales. The four members of the losing team return to the Masterchef kitchen where they are given a demonstration on how to make a tortellini and then given sixty minutes to prepare ten tortellini in a simple broth. The contestant with the least favorite dish is sent home.

The contestants begin the show with a mystery box competition, and a professional chef joins in on the competition to show the amateur chefs what is expected of a Masterchef. The winner of the mystery box is then taken to the pantry and shown the theme of this episodes elimination challenge. The contestants will be required to cook a meal using either a cooking stone, a wok, or a deep fat fryer. As usual the winner of the mystery box challenge is given an advantage over her competitors, the option of picking which cooking utensil she will use and which one her competitors will have to cook with.

The remaining nine amateur cooks are faced with one of the most intimidating mystery box ingredients to date - "uni," otherwise known as sea urchin. In a surprising twist, the contestants must incorporate the spiky culinary delicacy into their creations, and the amateur cook who presents the most exceptional uni dish will earn a significant advantage in the next round. Later in the elimination challenge, the winner of the mystery box challenge will assign each of the remaining contestants one of eight different types of fish. Find who will impress the judges and whose culinary dreams will sink.

The contestants travel East into the desert to a Cowboy Ranch where they are divided into two teams and tasked with cooking 101 steak dinners for a bunch of hungry cowwboys who are the judges in this team challenge. The losing team returns to the Masterchef kitchen where they are told to select one team member for amnesty. The three remaining chefs are then told to cook one soft boiled egg, one sunny side up, a poached egg, and a three egg omelette using only the six eggs given to them in twenty minutes. A contestant is sent home.

Celebrity chef Paula Deen joins the MASTERCHEF judging panel and selects the mystery box ingredients, which include traditional Southern staples and a comforting surprise - a family photo and a letter from home. The amateur cook who prepares the most delicious Southern-inspired dish will earn a priceless reward. Later, the winner of the previous challenge will couple the remaining six contestants who will work in pairs to cook a Japanese dish. Find out which amateur cooks will be on the chopping block in another emotional elimination round.

The Top Six finalists are in for a big surprise when the eight previously eliminated contestants return to the MASTERCHEF kitchen to compete for a chance to earn a spot back in the competition. The eager hopefuls will each select one ingredient to make up a mystery box, and they will be required to use all of the items to create a stunning dish that will prove that they deserve a second chance. After the contestants are whittled down, only two amateur cooks will compete head to head for a chance to win back their aprons and continue on the journey to become the next MASTERCHEF.

The judges challenge the remaining seven amateur cooks to use their imagination in the next mystery box challenge, which features shrimp. The hopefuls will have a very limited pantry and little time to create a standout dish that will impress the judges. The winner of the mystery box challenge will determine which savory ingredient the remaining hopefuls must incorporate into a dessert dish in the elimination round. Find out whose savory treat will please the judges and who will be on the chopping block.

The remaining six home cooks compete in a high-pressure team challenge at Hatfield's, one of the most talked about restaurants in Hollywood. The contestants will split into two teams and replicate the award-winning restaurant's signature dishes. The team that executes a fine dining experience which impresses the judges, restaurant owners and hungry diners will win the challenge, while the losing team will be sent into the dreaded pressure test. Later, the contestants facing elimination will have to prepare steak three different ways. Find out whose dishes will prove to be a job well done and who will be cut from the competition.

The final five contestants open their mystery box to find it empty and then told to pick ingredients they would like to use to make an incredible entree of their choosing for the judges. After selecting their ingredients with glee the contestants are given the inevitable twist, it is just not that easy. After the mystery Box challenge the winning contest is taken to the pantry and given a huge advantage in the elimination test. The winner is allowed to pick from a selection of dishes created by Graham Elliot for all the contestants to prepare. A white tuna dish Graham Elliot had prepared for President Barrack Obama was selected and all contestants were given 30 minutes to recreate the dish. Winners and losers were selected and a losing contestant was sent home.

The remaining four contestants split up into two teams. In this episode three world class chefs, Daniel Boulad, Alain Ducasse, and Guy Savoy, are invited to help judge the contestants as they prepare a three course gourmet dinner for the judges. A winning team is selected and the losing team then faces an extreme pressure test where they must prepare a cheese soufle, a dark chocolate soufle, and a raspberry soufle in sixty minutes. Both of the home chef's soufles were perfect, but only one chef was selected to join the other two chefs in the semi-final.

The final three contestants face their last mystery box challenge where they are allowed to pick their own ingredients and make a dish they would include in their cookbook if they are selected the winner of Masterchef. The judges pick the winner and the loser and all three contestants go to the Masterchef pantry where they are shown the topic of this elimination test, Legs. The contestants are shown Leg of Lamb, Chicken legs, and Frog Legs. Each contestant must cook one of the three choices. The winner of the Mystery Box challenge is allowed to choose first and the loser had to accept what was left after the runner up chose their protein. Two contestants are chosen to go on to the finale.

The Top Two finalists have one last chance to prove to the judges that they have the passion, skill and drive worthy of the MASTERCHEF title. In their final challenge in the MASTERCHEF kitchen, the two home cooks will conceptualize and prepare the most important three-course meal of their lives. Later, the judges will reveal America's next MASTERCHEF, and the deserving home cook will walk away with a book deal and the $250,000 grand prize.