Mia Rivera

On the season premiere, 40 of America’s best home cooks travel to Los Angeles to compete to earn a place in the Top 20.

In their first mystery box challenge, the Top 20 take 12 popular ingredients and make the judges a MasterChef-worthy dish.

The Top 19 take it to the sandy shore, where they compete in their first team challenge of the season cooking fresh fish for 101 lifeguards.

The Top 15 face a mystery box challenge in which they randomly choose from different body parts of a cow and use it as the star of a dish.

The cooks prepare dishes for a roomful of guests using the guests' own ingredients; the losing team prepares cannolis in the pressure test.

The Top 18 face a mystery box challenge that includes cooking some of the finest shellfish in the world.