The competition was initially filmed in Seattle, Washington before moving to Juneau, Alaska for three episodes, and then concluding in Los Angeles, California.

Qualifying Challenge: The 21 chefs were separated into four groups and sent to the restaurants of judges Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Wolfgang Puck, and Hugh Acheson.

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs separated themselves into teams of three and had to create a dish that highlighted the local shellfish.

Past Top Chef contestants, Chris "CJ" Jacobson, Josie Smith-Malave, and Stefan Richter officially joined the competition following the challenge.

Elimination Challenge: Using the same teams from the Quickfire, the chefs traveled to the Space Needle to make a dish using regional ingredients.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs worked in two teams, led by Tom Colicchio (Red) and Emeril Lagasse (Gray), to cook a Thanksgiving meal to benefit FareStart.

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs were asked to butcher a part of a whole piece of beef and cook a dish with that cut.

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs paired up and created a breakfast on a stick for 50 people at Pike Place Market.

Quickfire Challenge: The chefs were asked to cook a holiday-themed sweet and savory dish that reminds them of their heritage using Truvia baking blend sugar.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs were tasked to cater a homecoming party for actors Anna Faris and Chris Pratt, along with their families and friends.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs paired up and competed against each other to make dishes that featured berries from Remlinger's Farm.

The winner received a custom chef's knife from master bladesmith Bob Kramer, worth roughly $4,000, and immunity from elimination.

In a surprise twist, the bottom two contestants competed head-to-head based on a memorable moment from this season: CJ's elimination in Episode 5.

The two winners picked their teams from the other remaining contestants without knowing the results of the elimination, guaranteeing that one would be handicapped in the following challenge.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs had 48 hours to create a restaurant pop-up based on the winning concepts from the prior episode: Urbano (modern Filipino) and Atelier Kwan (reinterpreted classical French).

Quickfire Challenge: The competition left Seattle and boarded a cruise ship en route to Juneau, Alaska.

In addition, the chefs must run the kitchen during the dinner service, expedited by Colicchio himself, finishing and plating courses to order.

Because CJ and Tyler were eliminated from the main competition as a team, the two contestants had to work together to create their dish.

Challenge: The chefs were allowed to cook any dish, but were required to use pots and pans bought from a yard sale.

Challenge: The chefs got to choose an ingredient, a cuisine, and a cooking technique that they had to incorporate into their dishes, as well as a time limit.

Challenge: The chefs had to break down a salmon, portion 10 identical pieces, and create well-composed dishes for Tom and the eliminated contestants.