[3] Carla Hall, Fabio Viviani, and Jamie Lauren returned to compete in Top Chef: All-Stars.

^Note 4 : Leah, Jamie, and Jeff (the three most recently eliminated contestants) were brought back to the competition to compete in a Quickfire Challenge.

The chefs, in pairs, cooked dishes which represented the ethnic cuisines of those neighborhoods: Astoria (Greek), Brighton Beach (Russian), Long Island City (Middle Eastern), Ozone Park (Latin), Jamaica (Jamaican), Little Italy (Italian), Chinatown (Chinese), Little India/Curry Hill (Indian).

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs were asked to create their version of a classic, well-loved New York dish: the hot dog.

The contestants each had 45 minutes and access to the Top Chef pantry to prepare and present their dish to host Padma Lakshmi and guest judge Donatella Arpaia, a successful restaurateur and food expert.

However, ten minutes into the Quickfire, Lakshmi and guest judge Grant Achatz told everyone to convert their dishes into soups.

The chefs were asked to cook Thanksgiving dinner for the rock band Foo Fighters and its entire entourage of more than 60 guests, including several vegetarians.

They cooked their dinner at the band's next venue, an outdoor kitchen at the Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York.

They were asked to create a dish that could be cooked and served for a 2½-minute television presentation which would be taped inside the Top Chef kitchen.

Later, the top three chefs were awoken by head judge Tom Colicchio at 2 a.m. for a twist; they were to be taken to the Rockefeller Center to cook their dishes for the hosts of NBC's The Today Show.

Each team was given 30 minutes and a budget of $800 to shop at Whole Foods Market, and 2½ hours to prep their dishes in the Top Chef kitchen.

The following day, the chefs had one hour to finish cooking and present their dishes to the bridal shower guests at 24 Fifth Avenue.

The chefs had 45 minutes to cook and present their dishes to Lakshmi and guest judge, American icon Martha Stewart.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs catered a 250-guest holiday party hosted by amfAR, the American Foundation for AIDS Research, at the Prince George Ballroom in New York City.

The chefs were given a hint for the inspiration behind their dishes with the arrival of the Harlem Gospel Choir, singing a rendition of The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Elimination Challenge: Judge Tom Colicchio visited the chefs in their apartment to split them into two groups by knife draw.

The contestants were told that two chefs would be eliminated after the challenge, so they were allowed to cook whatever dish they thought would express their individuality.

They were given $100 and 30 minutes to shop for a dinner for about 10 people, including the four judges and an unspecified number of mystery food experts.

The chefs also watched the tasting through a hidden camera and a television installed in the kitchen, revealed after serving their dishes.

This gave the chefs a viewing of the honest assessment of their fellow contestants and their new permanent judge, British food critic Toby Young.

Stefan, as the Quickfire winner, was allowed to choose which team's food he would be making and the all-star chef he would be cooking against.

The next day, they were given 20 minutes to create their dishes, head-to-head at the Institute of Culinary Education, in front of an audience including ICE students and the previously eliminated contestants.

Elimination Challenge: Eric Ripert invited the chefs to a six-course lunch at his restaurant, Le Bernardin, with Tom Colicchio and himself.

Elimination Challenge: Lakshmi asked the chefs to draw knives, and they pulled the names of five different luminaries in the culinary world: celebrity chefs Lidia Bastianich, Marcus Samuelsson, Wylie Dufresne, Jacques Pépin, and James Beard Foundation president Susan Ungaro.

They had $300 and 30 minutes to shop at Whole Foods Market, and then two hours to cook their dishes at the Capitale in Lower Manhattan, where the dinner was held.

Quickfire Challenge: Six months after the taping of the previous episode, the chefs arrived at the Houmas House Plantation and Gardens in New Orleans, Louisiana.

She explained that their Elimination Challenge was to cater the Krewe of Orpheus Masquerade Ball at the New Orleans Museum of Art, for roughly 100 guests.

Elimination Challenge: After breakfast on the Creole Queen, the final three chefs arrived at the Historic New Orleans Collection to meet with Lakshmi and Colicchio.

On the day of the meal, they were told to create an additional hors d'œuvre using one of three meats: redfish, crab, or alligator.

John Besh, Hubert Keller, Rocco DiSpirito, Branford Marsalis, Ti Adelaide Martin, and Susan Spicer guest judge.