Forty-three of America's finest home cooks compete in the MASTERCHEF Battle of the Apron challenge, during which they will face off against each other to earn a spot in the Top 24.

In the first skills test of the season, MASTERCHEF host/judge/executive producer Gordon Ramsay teaches the home cooks how to properly break down a crab, before the contestants must replicate his work. The contestants whose skills don't cut it, face an elimination challenge during which Ramsay will show them how to make his signature Crab Benedict dish. It is then up to the judges to decide who stays and who goes home.