In the search to find the best amateur home cook in America, only a few more hopefuls have the opportunity to present their signature dish to judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot. Some chefs wow the judging panel with their raw talent and many fall flat, but one thing is for certain: all of the home cooks endure an intense grilling. The remaining contestants pour their hearts into their creations in order to convince the judges they have the potential to take the culinary world by storm.

The Top 14 contestants enter the MASTERCHEF kitchen for the very first time and begin on a journey that will change their lives. Judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot put the contestants through a series of challenges throughout each episode and at the end of them some contestants are sent home while the rest are left to move on in the competition. During the team challenge, the contestants spend the day feeding hundreds of Marines at Camp Pendleton. The team who wins the challenge is safe from elimination while the losers return to the MASTERCHEF kitchen to face a pressure test.