MasterChef: Back to Win
Season 12 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Picks up essential narrative continuity directly following the events of MasterChef Season 11.
- Character alliances, factions, and personal loyalties undergo significant shifts under escalating stakes.
- Addresses unresolved cliffhangers and thematic mysteries introduced during previous seasons.
- Establishes the primary seasonal conflict that drives serialized character arcs toward the finale.
Episode Guide
Season 12 Progress Shield
Audition Battles (1)
May 25, 2022
Season 12 of MASTERCHEF is all about redemption, when All-Star competitors from the last 11 seasons return to the show to see if they have learned from their past mistakes. For the
Audition Battles (2)
Jun 1, 2022
The audition battles continue this week on the most competitive season of MASTERCHEF yet. For those who fell short in past seasons, these auditions are a chance to fulfill their cu
Audition Battles (3)
Jun 8, 2022
With only six aprons left, the judges round out auditions and give a lucky few chefs a chance to return to the MasterChef kitchen. Each 45-minute audition battle brings the contest
Dish That Sent You Home
Jun 15, 2022
In the first elimination round of the season, all 20 chefs must cook something inspired by the dish that originally sent them home. The chef that recreates their elimination dish i
Winners Mystery Box - Spirit of Vegas
Jun 22, 2022
This week, the chefs face their first mystery box challenge of the season. Season Seven winner, Vegas restaurant owner and cocktail connoisseur Shaun O'Neale, returns to the MASTER
Feeding the U.S. Coast Guard
Jun 29, 2022
For their first team challenge, the top 18 travel to the U.S. Coast Guard Base in Los Angeles. The chefs must collaborate to create a hearty and delicious lunch for more than 100 b
Gordon Ramsay Loves Vegans!
Jul 13, 2022
Chef Gordon Ramsay shares his secret love for meatless, dairy-free dishes by demonstrating his famous Beef Wellington transformed into a vegan dish made out of beets. Chef Ramsay t
Southern Fusion with Guest Chef Tiffany Derry
Jul 20, 2022
The 16 remaining chefs are challenged to cook a Southern cuisine dish inspired by complex flavors from countries around the world. Award-winning chef and Southern fusion restaurate
Bake to Win
Jul 27, 2022
One chef selects a dessert for each of his or her fellow competitors to bake to perfection. Anything less will force the contestants to face elimination.
Cooking for Horse Town U.S.A.
Aug 3, 2022
More than 100 cowboys and cowgirls in Horse Town, U.S.A., gather for the MasterChef rodeo, where the Top 14 chefs divide into two teams to create the best steak and sides. The team
Winners Mystery Box - Christine Ha
Aug 10, 2022
The remaining chefs are challenged with a "Winner's Mystery Box," curated by the Season 3 Champion, Christine Ha. The contestants are tasked with creating a Michelin-starred Vietna
Tag Team
Aug 17, 2022
The Top 12 chefs are challenged to a tag-team cook-off, as they approach the halfway point in the competition. They're tasked with choosing a partner and cooking three menu items f
GrubHub Challenge
Aug 17, 2022
In order to secure a spot in the Top 10, the remaining chefs partner with GrubHub to elevate a traditional take-out dish into a gourmet concoction.
Gas Station Gourmet
Aug 24, 2022
Keeping up with culinary trends and tapping into nostalgia, Chef Ramsay brings a new challenge to the kitchen. The Top 10 chefs are tasked with elevating traditional gas station an
Winners Mystery Box - Gerron Hurt
Aug 24, 2022
The Top Nine chefs are faced with another Winner's Mystery Box challenge, this time from MasterChef Season Nine winner Gerron Hurt. With no more immunity pins up for grabs, each co
The Wall
Aug 31, 2022
The top eight chefs are paired together and must communicate on opposite sides of a wall to create identical dishes.
Restaurant Takeover - Spago
Aug 31, 2022
The chefs must take over Wolfgang Puck's kitchen at Spago restaurant in Los Angeles.
Semi Finals
Sep 7, 2022
The top five chefs are faced with tow separate elimination challenges in the semifinals: a baked Alaska and an intricate lobster tortellini.
Finale - Special Guest Graham Elliot (1)
Sep 7, 2022
The chefs who advance to the finals prepare an appetizer and entree with the support of Graham Elliot.
Finale - Special Guest Christina Tosi (2)
Sep 14, 2022
The three remaining chefs rush against the clock to complete their final entree and whip up a gourmet dessert with the help of former judge Christina Tossi; a new champion is crown