Home cooks present dishes to the judges in the season premiere. 100 homecooks from around the country compete for a Masterchef apron and their chance of winning $250,000.00.

The judges continue to winnow down the competition in the final round of auditions, but the stakes are raised as the remaining hopefuls are put to the ultimate test in an intense lamb challenge. Then, the Top 19 contestants compete in their first mystery box challenge of the season and must create an exceptional dish using the most basic mystery box ingredients. Later, the contestants participate in the season's first emotional elimination round.