MasterChef - Season 3
20 episodes
Episode 1
Auditions (1)
After a nationwide search, only the best amateur cooks – including a stock broker, a professional opera singer, a plastic surgeon, as well as the first blind cook to enter the competition - were flown
Episode 2
Auditions (2)
The auditions continue as the judges critique the good and the bad and continue to winnow down the competition. Those who impress the judges will earn a coveted white apron and move one step closer to
Episode 3
Auditions (3) and Top 36 Bootcamp
The final round of auditions is held in Los Angeles. Then, the 36 remaining hopefuls compete in a ground-beef challenge in hopes of earning a spot in the Top 18.
Episode 4
Top 18 Compete
The Top 18 must create gourmet dishes using duck and bananas. Later, they're challenged to cook with unusual and intimidating ingredients.
Episode 5
Top 16 Compete
Culinary boot camp awaits the 16 remaining hopefuls at California's Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, where they'll work in teams to prepare a healthy, balanced meal for 200 servicemen and women.
Episode 6
Top 15 Compete
Fifteen hopefuls remain, and they're tasked with creating unique dishes using unconventional—and unappetizing—cuts of meat in a challenge that tests their resourcefulness.
Episode 7
Top 14 Compete
The judges split the cooks into teams to prepare breakfast for hotel guests; the members of the losing team must prove they deserve to stay in the competition.
Episode 8
Top 13 Compete
A budget-friendly mystery-box challenge requires the wannabe chefs to create a gourmet meal using only $20 worth of ingredients. Later, another hopeful is sent packing.
Episode 9
Top 12 Compete
The 12 remaining hopefuls are split into three teams for a food-truck challenge that requires them to create budget-friendly meals for beachgoers.
Episode 10
Top 11 Compete
Judge Graham Elliot joins the amateur cooks in the kitchen, taking part in a mystery-box challenge. Later, a double elimination sends two hopefuls home.
Episode 11
Top Nine Compete
The amateur chefs must cook with exotic ingredients from the sea
Episode 12
Top 8 Compete
The amateur chefs are taken to a Southern California rodeo, where they'll work in teams to feed a hearty meal to 101 hungry cowboys. Members of the winning team advance to the next round of competitio
Episode 13
Top 7 Compete
Paula Deen is a guest judge for a Southern-inspired mystery-box challenge. Later, the hopefuls are paired up to cook a complicated Japanese dish.
Episode 14
Top 6 Compete, Pt. 1
Part 1 of 3. Eight previously eliminated contestants return and compete for a chance to win back their aprons and continue on in the competition. Each hopeful selects one ingredient to make up the mys
Episode 15
Top 6 Compete, Pt. 2
Part 2 of 3. The seven remaining hopefuls find shrimp in the mystery basket, and must make standout dishes with a very limited pantry. The winner then determines which savory ingredient the others wil
Episode 16
Top 6 Compete, Pt. 3
Conclusion. The six remaining hopefuls compete in a team challenge at Hatfield's, a Hollywood hot spot, where they attempt to replicate the acclaimed restaurant's signature dishes. Later, members of t
Episode 17
Top 5 Compete
A game-changing twist surprises the five remaining hopefuls during a mystery-box challenge. Later, the wannabe chefs are tasked with re-creating one of Graham Elliot's signature dishes that he served
Episode 18
Top 4 Compete
Four hopefuls remain, and they must work in teams of two to prepare a gourmet meal for three world-renowned chefs: Daniel Boulud, Alain Ducasse and Guy Savoy. The winning pair will each earn a spot in
Episode 19
Top 3 Compete
Part 1 of 2. Season 3 finale: The three remaining hopefuls are tasked with creating a dish that best embodies their personality and passion for food. Then, each prepares a pair of legs—chicken, lamb a
Episode 20
Winner Chosen
In their final challenge in the kitchen, the two home cooks will conceptualize and prepare the most important three-course meal of their lives. Later, the judges will reveal America's next, and the de