^Note 2 : Despite Richard making one of the judges' favorite dishes, he was seen plating past the Elimination Challenge's allotted time limit and was thus ineligible to win.

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs had to create a midnight snack for children spending the night at the American Museum of Natural History.

Elimination Challenge: Competing as two teams, the chefs created a breakfast for the children and their parents that was limited to a specific dinosaur's diet: a Tyrannosaurus rex (meat, eggs, and dairy) or a Brontosaurus (fruits, vegetables, and grains).

Musician Joe Jonas and Top Chef: San Francisco host Katie Lee guest judge.

Quickfire Challenge: Teams of four competed in a race to complete three mise en place tasks: simultaneously butchering lamb ribs, chopping garlic, and cleaning artichokes.

Elimination Challenge: Using the same teams from the Quickfire, the chefs competed among themselves in a double elimination to prepare a dish in the style of one of four notable New York City restaurants -- David Chang's Ma Peche, David Burke's Townhouse, Michael White's Marea, and Wylie Dufresne's Wd~50 -- after dining at their drawn restaurant, where they also prepare their food.

Tennis player Taylor Dent and Tony Mantuano, chef and owner of Spiaggia, guest judge.

After being judged by Anthony Bourdain and Justo Thomas, the top four chefs competed in a 45-minute cook-off using only the remaining pieces of the cleaned fish: eyes, organs, cheeks, collars, fins, and tails.

Elimination Challenge: The ten remaining chefs were formed into two teams and had 24 hours to create pop-up restaurants.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs traveled to NBC Studios at the Rockefeller Center, where they participated in the Cell Phone Shootout on an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

The winner received a cooking segment on an episode of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and a trip to Tokyo.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs catered a charity benefit for the Greater New Orleans Foundation, an organization that provides assistance to fisheries and tourism impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Chefs John Besh, David Burke, Carmen González, and Jonathan Waxman guest judge.

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs made dishes using ingredients found in a ferry snack bar, during a trip from Manhattan to Ellis Island.

Guests included Éric Ripert, Percy Francis, and past winners Michael Voltaggio, Kevin Sbraga, Stephanie Izard, and Hosea Rosenberg.

Elimination Challenge: On a deserted island with minimal facilities, the chefs catered a high-end lunch party for a yacht club's 80th anniversary and served up Bahamian delicacies, including conch, which they had to catch from the ocean.

Guests include chef Lorena Garcia and Commodore of the Nassau Yacht Club Thierry Huguenin.

Guests include chefs Masaharu Morimoto, Wolfgang Puck, Melanie Dunea, and Michelle Bernstein.

Elimination Challenge (Part 2): Following the announcement of the winner, the two losing chefs were asked to cook one last perfect bite to secure the last spot in the season finale.

Elimination Challenge: The two finalists were asked to design their own dream restaurant and create a four-course tasting menu.

Guests include Lidia Bastianich, Hubert Keller, Alfred Portale, Bill Terlato, Art Smith, and Curtis Stone.