MasterChef: Season 5
Season 5 Lore Primer
Key plot threads, lore context, and character stakes you need to remember before diving into this season.
- Directly follows the overarching narrative developments of MasterChef Season 4.
- Faction dynamics and core character alliances shift under escalating external stakes.
- Crucial mysteries introduced previously reach key turning points and narrative reckonings.
- Sets up serialized story arcs that build directly toward the climactic season finale.
Episode Guide
Season 5 Progress Shield
Top 30 Compete
May 26, 2014
Host award-winning chef Gordon Ramsay, along with fellow judges restaurateur Joe Bastianich and acclaimed chef Graham Elliot return for Season Five, putting the latest group of con
Top 22 Compete
Jun 2, 2014
The contestants must prepare a unique dish in the first mystery box challenge -- which features ingredients typically used in desserts; in the next round, the contestants prepare a
Top 20 Compete
Jun 9, 2014
The cooks compete to feed 500 male and female troops on a desert Army base; the losing team faces a pressure test featuring blueberry pie.
Top 18 Compete
Jun 16, 2014
The contestants tackle a seafood challenge, with the winner choosing what dessert the others will prepare in the elimination round.
Top 17 Compete
Jun 23, 2014
The contestants prepare a seafood menu for a beachfront wedding; one team faces a challenge featuring a meal with steak and fries.
Top 16 Compete
Jun 30, 2014
A mystery-box challenge has the Top 16 chefs preparing dishes using canned foods. The winner will work with former "MasterChef" champion Luca Manfe and "MasterChef Junior" winner A
Top 15 Compete
Jul 7, 2014
The contestants must put aside their difference as they pair up to create a surf-and-turf dish; the challenge losers face a pressure test featuring spring rolls.
Top 14 Compete
Jul 14, 2014
The remaining 14 cooks work in two sets of teams at a busy, iconic diner in Los Angeles; the members of the losing team must make a three-layer red velvet cake during a pressure te
Top 13 Compete
Jul 21, 2014
The cooks must create a dish using Alaskan king salmon; during the elimination round, the cooks create a dish using one judge's favorite ingredients.
Top 12 Compete
Jul 28, 2014
The cooks prepare romantic dinners for couples celebrating anniversaries; Ramsay's wife joins him for dinner; the losing team create their own truffle recipes for a box of chocolat
Top 11 Compete
Aug 4, 2014
For the first time, the contestants get to choose between two mystery boxes: one filled with high-end ingredients and one containing ordinary items; the winner of the challenge cho
Top 10 Compete
Aug 11, 2014
The home cooks split into two teams and create menus of healthy football game concessions for an entire stadium; the cooks on the losing team must create three unique prawn dishes
Top 8 Compete
Aug 18, 2014
The cooks split into teams of two and prepare a poultry dish using different parts of the chicken; two pairs face a pressure test with eggs.
Top 7 Compete
Aug 25, 2014
The remaining contestants receive hometown encouragement as they prepare savory apple dishes; while the challenge winner is safe from elimination, the other contestants form teams
Top 6 Compete
Sep 1, 2014
Ramsay works alongside the cooks as they take over a high-end restaurant in Los Angeles; croquembouche pressure test.
Top 5 Compete
Sep 8, 2014
Joined by VIP kitchen guests, the cooks prepare dishes inspired by loved ones; the cooks face a challenge involving rare protein dishes.
Top 4 Compete
Sep 8, 2014
A final team challenge establishes who will move on to the top three.
Top 3 Compete
Sep 15, 2014
The Top 3 contestants create dishes for a panel of judges from all 50 U.S. states. The winner earns an automatic spot in the Top 2, while the other two chefs face a pressure test i
Winner Chosen
Sep 15, 2014
In the Season 5 finale, the winner is chosen after the Top 2 compete for the trophy, a book deal and a $250,000 grand prize.