Mei Lin

In Boston, 16 aspiring chefs compete for a shot at culinary stardom; the contestants are thrust into hot water with a Sudden Death Quick Fire Challenge; the Elimination Challenge unfolds during the first-ever Top Chef Food Festival.

The chefs create a surf and turf dish for guest judge Todd English; teams prepare dishes to be served to Boston police and firefighters and judged by guest chef Dante de Magistris.

In a nod to the Boston Tea Party, the contestants must use tea to enhance their dishes for guest judge Ming Tsai; Fenway Park hosts a competition in which the chefs must use ballpark snacks to create fine dining dishes.

The chefs must create the ultimate bar snack for guest judge George Wendt (`Cheers'); the chefs must work in teams to write a create a three-course Italian menu; actress Emmy Rossum (`Shameless') ruffles the chefs with her gluten-free diet.

The chefs trek through a bog to gather cranberries; the chefs cook a Thanksgiving feast using only ingredients and cooking methods found in the 1600s; descendants of the Mayflower colonists and Wampanoag tribe join the judges at the table.

In a head-to-head challenge, the chefs cook for guest judge Jamie Bissonnette; the chefs make dishes on a lean military budget at the historic Watertown Arsenal.