Season 5 - Episode Guide

MASTERCHEF returns for an exciting fifth season, giving talented home cooks from all walks of life the chance to showcase their skills, knowledge and passion in front of the show's esteemed judging panel: Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot. After a nationwide search, 30 of the best home cooks in America present their signature dish to the judges, but only the Top Finalists will earn a coveted white apron and compete for a chance to win the MASTERCHEF title, a cookbook deal and the $250,000 grand prize.

In the first mystery box challenge of the season, the Top Finalists will have 90 minutes to prep and cook a unique and impressive dish, using mainly dessert ingredients. The winner of the mystery box will have a significant advantage in the next round, deciding which classic American dish the remaining contestants will have to prepare in the elimination round. Find out who will rise to the occasion and whose dream of becoming America's next MASTERCHEF will come to an end.

It's the ultimate culinary war when the remaining 20 home cooks compete in the biggest field challenge in MASTERCHEF history: feeding an army of 500 servicemen and women on a desert army base. In their first team challenge, the contestants will split into two teams - the red team and the blue team - to create a hearty meal including one protein and two side dishes. Tempers flare as both teams struggle with consistency, and every dish counts as the troops will vote for their favorite dish and determine the winning team. Later, the losing team will face an intense pressure test featuring the all-American classic, blueberry pie. Find out whose dessert will prove to be a victory and who will be sent home.

The contestants tackle a seafood challenge, with the winner chooses what dessert the others prepare in the elimination round.

In the next team challenge, contestants must prepare an upscale seafood menu for a beachfront wedding. After an emotional challenge, tensions are high, but both teams complete their dinner for the wedding guests. The team who most successfully finishes the dinner is safe from elimination, while the losing team faces the pressure test featuring a traditional American meal with steak and fries. Find out who will stay and who will be sent home.

The contestants prepare a dish using canned foods; MasterChef winner Luca Manfe and MasterChef Junior winner Alexander Weiss help determine what dish the contestants cook in the elimination round.

The contestants must put aside their difference as they pair up to create a surf-and-turf dish; the challenge losers face a pressure test featuring spring rolls.

The remaining 14 cooks work in two sets of teams at a busy, iconic diner in Los Angeles; the members of the losing team must make a three-layer red velvet cake during a pressure test.

The cooks must create a dish using Alaskan king salmon; during the elimination round, the cooks create a dish using one judge's favorite ingredients.

The cooks prepare romantic dinners for couples celebrating anniversaries; Ramsay's wife joins him for dinner; the losing team create their own truffle recipes for a box of chocolates.

For the first time, the contestants get to choose between two mystery boxes: one filled with high-end ingredients and one containing ordinary items; the winner of the challenge chooses which type of stuffed pasta the remaining cooks make.

The home cooks split into two teams and create menus of healthy football game concessions for an entire stadium; the cooks on the losing team must create three unique prawn dishes in a pressure test.

The cooks split into teams of two and prepare a poultry dish using different parts of the chicken; two pairs face a pressure test with eggs.

The remaining contestants receive hometown encouragement as they prepare savory apple dishes; while the challenge winner is safe from elimination, the other contestants form teams of two and make a variety of dim sum.

The remaining six cooks compete in teams and take over a high-end restaurant in Los Angeles. The losing team competes individually in a unique croquembouche pressure test.

Each cook creates a dish inspired by one of their loved ones after they meet with some VIP kitchen guests and all but the winner prepre rare protein dishes to stay in the game.

A final team challenge establishes who moves on to the top three.

One chef moves on to the finals after impressing a panel of judges representing all 50 states and a second finalist is determined based on a challenge involving three classic American desserts.

The two top chefs compete in a final pressure test and the judges choose a winner.