The five chefs must prove their versatility as they take on the Chairman's Challenge to create a dish that epitomizes the cuisine of one of five countries: Thailand, India, Spain, Greece or Japan. It's clear that no one is safe when a previous week's winner lands on the bottom. Then, the competition is neck and neck when two chefs face a particularly tough Secret Ingredient Showdown featuring a game meat, and judges Anne Burrelland Iron Chef Jose Garces send one chef home.

Three chefs remain, but only one can survive to face the Gauntlet. The Chairman's Challenge narrows the field by forcing the chefs to adapt when they get to choose two difficult ingredients for their competitors to create one unified dish. Then, the two remaining chefs head to the Gauntlet Kitchen for their last Secret Ingredient Showdown, and judges Iron Chef Cat Cora and Rocco DiSpirito decide who has the chops to enter the Gauntlet.