Jim Smith

Eight new chefs face off against eight returning chefs in Charleston, S.C.; the new chefs enter the kitchen first to cook as many dishes as possible in one hour using a whole chicken; the veterans square off to re-imagine shrimp and grits.

The chefs join the judges for a traditional shrimp boil; the newcomers face off against the returning chefs to put a spin on a low-country family meal; after dining with chefs Carrie Morey and BJ Dennis, each team creates a family-style feast.

Padma and guest judge Chris Cosentino divide the chefs into teams to compete in a mise en place race; the teams must go head to head and create a seven-course progressive meal in which each dish features the same ingredient: the radish.

The chefs tackle a challenge based on the Feast of the Seven Fishes, a traditional seafood-filled dinner, using "trash fish;" the chefs serve special guests Gail Simmons, Richard Blais, Hugh Acheson, and Graham Elliot.

The chefs face a mountain of baking ingredients pointing to a biscuit challenge; barbecue master Rodney Scott tasks the chefs to prepare a whole hog and three side dishes for 150 barbecue lovers, including country music star Darius Rucker.

The chefs must make healthy, vegetarian versions of traditional comfort foods and are only allowed to grab one item from the pantry at a time; the chefs must create dishes that pay homage to the matriarch of Southern cuisine.