MasterChef USA

- Season 9

(2018)

A group of 43 talented home cooks participate in the battle of the apron challenge, where they will compete for a position in the top 24.

The judges each will have eight aprons to hand out to the home cooks whom they deem worthy.

The final home cooks compete for the last 9 aprons to fill the final spots of the field of 24 competing for the Master Chef title.

In the first mystery box challenge of the season the top 24 must prep, cook, and plate one dish featuring an ingredient unique to each of their home states.

In the first skills test of the season, Gordon teaches the home cooks how to properly break down a crab before the contestants must replicate his work. Those whose skills don't cut it face an elimination challenge during which Gordon 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.

The Top 20 chefs face the first team challenge of the season at the Anheuser Busch brewery. Teams must cook a beer-infused lunch for more than 100 employees. The team that receives the least amount of votes will head back to the kitchen for a banana cream pie pressure test that will determine who will be eliminated.

The contestants face a mystery box challenge where they must create a dish using one common ingredient walnuts. The winner will receive 3 huge advantages.Later, the MasterChef kitchen welcomes American soccer legend, Alexi Lalas, who will introduce a street-food themed elimination challenge that involves popular food among soccer fans in various countries. Then, it is up to the judges to decide who will be sent home.

The contestants head to Malibu, California, and cook for Season 7 winner Shaun O'Neale's wedding with Gordon Ramsay officiating! After splitting into 2 teams, the home cooks have limited time to prepare and cook 51 appetizers and 51 entrees for guests in attendance. Then, it is up to the judges to decide who stays and who heads home.

The contestants face a mystery box filled with fresh seafood and must create a dish using 2 items from it. The chefs who fail to impress the judges face an elimination challenge and are asked to upgrade one of the most popular frozen dinner dishes, Salisbury Steak. Then, it is up to the judges to decide who heads home.

The remaining home cooks pair up for a skills test to create a restaurant-quality dish featuring five ingredients - only to leave one contestant without a pair. The contestant cooking solo gets a huge advantage in the challenge and gets the opportunity to cook alongside his/her mentor. The chefs who fail to impress the judges will face an elimination challenge and create the ever-challenging cheese soufflé in just 40 minutes. Then, it is up to the judges to decide who will head home.

The Top 14 contestants are split into 2 teams to compete in a fine-dining challenge to cook 39 dishes for a group of very discerning judges. Contestants are surprised when the diners are revealed, forcing them to scramble and alter their dishes to accommodate the guests. Ultimately the winning team's recipe will be printed in Family Circle Magazine. The losing team competes in a cupcake pressure test with special guest Christina Tosi. The judges then decide who stays and who is sent home.

The Top 13 contestants face a mystery box challenge with a stockpot and cooking oil and are tasked with making a dish that features a deep-fried element. An extra layer of pressure is put on the contestants as the judges cook alongside them. The winner of the challenge receives an advantage in the elimination challenge to create a citrus-centered dish. The judges then decide who stays and who is sent home.

The Top 12 face their third skills test in the MasterChef kitchen and replicate the proper way to break down a halibut. Those who fail to impress the judges are then tasked with creating a stunning original dish using their broken-down fish. Some contestants yield a bountiful filet, while others offer up a poor portion of protein. Ultimately, the judges decide who is left floundering and sent home.

The remaining home cooks take on their 5th Mystery Box challenge, using "Ingredients America Was Built On." In the elimination challenge, the contestants split into teams and recreate a Mediterranean platter. The top 2 winners are rewarded as team captains for their next Field Challenge, and someone is sent home.

The 8 remaining home cooks divide into 2 teams and race against the clock to serve restaurant-quality dishes to 25 California firefighters. Ultimately, the firefighters will decide the winning team, while the losing team will face a pasta-themed pressure test where someone is sent home.

The 8 remaining home cooks divide into 2 teams and race against the clock to serve restaurant-quality dishes to 25 California firefighters. Ultimately, the firefighters will decide the winning team, while the losing team will face a pasta-themed pressure test where someone is sent home.

The 7 remaining contestants face a Mystery Box challenge filled with waste literally. The home cook who makes the best dish from food scraps will be safe in the elimination challenge, during which they'll take on another Mystery Box Challenge, but this time with all the best and freshest ingredients. Find out whose time has come to an end.

The Top 6 face the Restaurant Takeover Challenge at Providence in Los Angeles. The home cooks split into 2 teams and must feed a dining room filled with 48 guests. The judges will evaluate each team's performance and the losing team will face the challenging pressure test, after which someone will be sent home.

The remaining five cooks receive a heart-warming mystery box challenge in which contestants create a dish inspired by their loved ones.

Donning on their black aprons, the final five contestants are put through a fearsome trio of consecutive pressure-filled skills tests gauntlet using an incredibly common American protein: beef. The judges decide which quarter-finalist claims a safe spot up on the balcony and who faces another culinary test elimination challenge test. The 2 weakest home cooks go head-to-head to claim the last spot in the Top 4 semifinals, while the other is sent home, ending their MasterChef journey.

In the Top 4 semifinals, the final four semifinalists team up in pairs of two and cook a finale worthy entree for the 3 judges mentors (Chefs Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Waxman and Lidia Bastianich). The guest judges decide which winning team of two automatically advances straight to the three-way finale showdown. The losing pair go head to head and battle it out in a do or die replication Pressure Test. Find out which 3 finalists make it to the finale.

The three finalists (Ashley, Cesar and Gerron) compete in the final rounds to become the winner of the 9th season of 'Masterchef'.

The home cook with the best overall menu is crowned the winner wih a prize of a quarter of a million dollars and the coveted title of MasterChef.