Season 3

June 12, 2012

The Top 18 must create gourmet dishes using duck and bananas. Later, they're challenged to cook with unusual and intimidating ingredients.

June 18, 2012

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.

June 19, 2012

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.

June 25, 2012

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.

June 26, 2012

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.

July 2, 2012

The 12 remaining hopefuls are split into three teams for a food-truck challenge that requires them to create budget-friendly meals for beachgoers.

July 3, 2012

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.

July 9, 2012

The amateur chefs must cook with exotic ingredients from the sea

July 16, 2012

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 competition, while the others face off in a pressure test that has them preparing six eggs in four different ways.

July 17, 2012

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.

July 23, 2012

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 mystery box, and then they are required to use all of the items to create a dish that proves they are worthy of a second chance.

July 24, 2012

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 will have to incorporate into desserts in the elimination round.

August 14, 2012

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 the losing team face off in an elimination challenge that requires them to prepare steak three different ways.

August 21, 2012

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 to President Obama at his flagship restaurant.

August 28, 2012

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 the Top 3, while the losing team face off in a pressure test featuring soufflé.

September 4, 2012

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 and frog—in hopes of scoring a spot in the Top 2.

September 10, 2012

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 deserving home cook will walk away with a book deal and the $250,000 grand prize. Find out whose culinary dreams will turn into a reality.