Primal Instincts

Fifteen of the country’s best chefs arrive in Houston, Texas, ready to fight for the title of “Top Chef.” The opening Quickfire proves to be the toughest first challenge to date when the chefs must team up to create a cohesive dish that showcases each of their styles, but cannot speak to each other during the cook. The stakes only get higher for the Elimination Challenge as the chefs must perfectly cook primal cuts of beef for a table of distinguished Houston chefs including, Robert Del Grande of The Annie Café as well as Top Chef alums Dawn Burrell and Kristen Kish.

Friday Night Bites

The chefs are challenged in the Quickfire to put their own spin on the Tex-Mex classic queso, judged by local legend Chef Irma Galvan. For the Elimination Challenge, the competition heads to the field of a high school football stadium. Working in two teams of seven coached by all-star alumni Sam Talbot and Dawn Burrell, they’ll create seven carb-loaded dishes that will be served in a head-to-head battle. The team that scores a touchdown first wins. Tom, Padma and Gail will be joined by award winning Chef Chris Shepherd and Top Chef Charleston winner Brooke Williamson at the judges' table.

Noodles and Rice and Everything Nice

For their first individual challenge of the season, the chefs are surprised in the kitchen by “Top Chef” Miami winner Hung Huynh and challenged to make an Asian-inspired dish. Nothing, however, on “Top Chef” is that simple. Along with Hung, the judges and renowned chef Kiran Verma, they’ll be serving 100 guests at “Top Chef’s” first Asian Night Market.

Doppelgängers

The chefs are joined by local chef Chris Williams in the Quickfire Challenge. He tasks the chefs to put their own twist on a biscuit dish in honor of his great grandmother, Lucille B. Smith. Then in the Elimination Challenge, the chefs find themselves pushed out of their comfort zones by chef Wylie Dufresne when they’re tasked to work in teams of two to create two dishes that look exactly the same, but taste completely different. The pressure is on because this is a double elimination.

Don't Mess With BBQ

The chefs meet Brooke Williamson at Houston's J-Bar-M, where she tasks them with putting their own spin on a brisket dish for some of the best BBQ pit masters in Houston and their guest judge, pit master Greg Gatlin.

Texas Trailblaze-hers

The chefs must create salty-sweet desserts that will inspire a new flavor of Talenti gelato; in the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must draw inspiration from the lives of some of Texas's most influential women.

Swallow The Competition

The chefs expand their horizons in a master class on Nigerian flavors guided by local chef Ope Amosu and all-star Kwame Onwuachi, and need to make a stew that pairs perfectly with traditional Nigerian swallows.

Restaurant Wars

The chefs are put to the ultimate test; they have to build restaurants from the ground up; Top Chef's signature challenge levels up yet again, requiring the chefs to satisfy their VIP counter and a dining room full of guests.

Freedmen's Town

The chefs are tasked with creating a monochromatic plant-based dish for their Quickfire Challenge; for the Elimination Challenge, the chefs are tasked with creating dishes that speak to their souls for a block party fundraiser.

Dinner in Zero Gravity

The competition reaches new heights as the chefs voyage to the Houston Space Center; they'll have to create a stellar new menu item that they would crave if they were on a multi-year mission to Mars.

Family Vacation

It’s time to hit the beach. The Chefs head to the Gulf of Mexico in Galveston Texas, but they won’t have any time to relax. Chef Shota Nakajima is here to present them with their next Quickfire Challenge: using the freshest gulf shellfish to create a seafood tower with one hot and one cold dish. Then, for the Elimination Challenge, Padma announces that along with alumni Sheldon Simeon and Adrienne Cheatham, the chefs will be feeding a family of special VIPs, who are expecting them to cater to some very specific tastes.

We're on a boat

After saying goodbye to their loved ones and another fellow competitor, the chefs receive an ominous gift from Tom, who tells them to get up early and meet him at the docks. They'll have to find their sea legs quickly because for their Elimination Challenge each chef must create two fresh fish dishes to hook their guest judges Stephanie Izard and Daniel Boulud. The catch? They'll be fishing for all of their protein themselves.

Cactus Makes Perfect

The final four chefs are headed to Tucson. For their last Quickfire Challenge, they’ll make the trip to El Charro, the oldest family-run Mexican restaurant in the country, where legendary chef Carlotta Flores challenges them to create a dish featuring her Carne Seca. In the final Elimination Challenge, alum and Tucson local Maria Mazon wants the chefs to embrace the desert lifestyle and create two dishes – one sweet and one savory – using the classic Sonoran ingredients: cactus and chiltepin. With an impressive assortment of locals and “Top Chef Seattle” winner Kristen Kish joining the judges table, the heat is on.

The Final Plate