MasterChef: Season 9
Season 9 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 8.
- 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 9 Progress Shield
The Judges Do Battle (1)
May 30, 2018
Judges Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez and Joe Bastianich each will have eight aprons to hand out to the home cooks whom they deem worthy – and they then will mentor those contestants
The Judges Do Battle (2)
May 30, 2018 · 60 min
The three judges each choose eight home cooks to mentor throughout the competition.
The Judges Do Battle (3)
Jun 6, 2018
Forty-three of America’s finest home cooks compete in the Battle of the Apron challenge, during which they will face off against each other to earn a spot in the Top 24.
Home State Heroes
Jun 6, 2018 · 60 min
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.
Gordon Ramsay Masterclass
Jun 13, 2018
In the first skills test of the season, MASTERCHEF host/judge/executive producer Gordon Ramsay teaches the home cooks how to properly break down a crab, before the contestants must
Trouble Brewing
Jun 20, 2018
The Top 20 venture out of the kitchen and head to the historic Anheuser Busch brewery in Los Angeles for their first team challenge of the season. The two teams must cook a beer-in
World Cup Dishes
Jun 27, 2018
The contestants face a mystery box challenge where they must create a dish using one common ingredient—walnuts. The winner will receive three huge advantages. Later, the kitchen we
A Gordon Ramsay Wedding
Jul 11, 2018
The contestants cook for Season 7 winner Shaun O'Neale's wedding.
The Big Not Easy
Jul 18, 2018
The contestants face a mystery box filled with fresh seafood and must create a dish using two items from it. The chefs who fail to impress the judges will face an elimination chall
Rise or Fall
Jul 25, 2018
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 cookin
The Kids Are Alright
Aug 1, 2018
The Top 14 contestants are split into two teams to compete in a fine dining challenge and are to cook 39 dishes for a group of very discerning judges who have big expectations. Con
Frying Tonight; Just for the Halibut Part 1
Aug 8, 2018
The contestants must make a dish that features a deep-fried element as the judges cook alongside them; the elimination challenge features a citrus-centered dish.
Just for the Halibut
Aug 15, 2018
The Top 12 face their third skills test 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
Sky's the Limit
Aug 22, 2018
The cooks split into two teams and must serve 100 dishes to airmen in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the March Air Reserve Base.
Tag Team
Aug 22, 2018
The contestants learn they will be competing in the Tag Team Challenge.
American Heroes
Aug 29, 2018
The remaining home cooks must serve restaurant-quality dishes to 25 California firefighters.
Waste Not Want Not
Aug 29, 2018
A mystery box challenge involving food scraps; a mystery box challenge involving fresh ingredients.
Restaurant Takeover
Sep 5, 2018
The Top Six face the Restaurant Takeover Challenge at Providence in Los Angeles. The home cooks split into two teams and must feed a dining room filled with 48 guests.
Cooking With Heart
Sep 5, 2018
Then, the remaining five receive a heart-warming mystery box challenge in which contestants will create a dish inspired by their loved-one.
Battle of the Beef
Sep 12, 2018
The cooks face a series of pressure-filled skills tests using beef; the two weakest contestants go head-to-head.
The Semi Final
Sep 12, 2018
The final four split into two teams to cook one entrée for the judges' mentors: chefs Daniel Boulud, Jonathan Waxman and Lidia Bastianich; an elimination leaves three cooks moving
The Finale (1)
Sep 19, 2018
The three remaining home cooks must each prepare a three-course menu for the judges.
The Finale (2)
Sep 19, 2018
The three remaining home cooks must each prepare a three-course menu for the judges; the home cook with the best overall menu wins the prize and the coveted title of MasterChef.