When panic sets in at the end of the appetizer round, the judges cheer on a competitor who appears to be giving up. Then in the rush to get a tantalizing entrée finished, one chef makes a dangerous mistake. And even though they find peanuts in the dessert basket, the finalists know that they are competing for so much more and bump the intensity level up a notch as they face off for $10,000.
When time runs out on a frantic appetizer round, two of the chefs are unhappy with what did not make it on to their plates in the final moments, while one chef is upset that a little something extra accidentally did. Then in the entrée round, it's up to the judges to determine who fell short whose dish was a cut above the rest. And the two finalists devise ambitious plans for using a salty condiment and a sweet fruit in their desserts.
The competitors get fired up when they discover this competition is all about grilling! They find some strange basket fellows in the Appetizer Round: striped bass and strawberries. In a smok'n entrée Round the chefs try to glean ideas from one another on how to handle a tricky ingredient. And in the last course, a classic American food – perfect for the grill but peculiar in dessert – complicates the judges' final decision.
The chefs have to muscle through to come up with a terrific mussels appetizer in just 20 minutes. Then in the entrée Round, a humble breakfast food must be combined with a high-brow delicacy. And with a favorite childhood treat in the final mystery basket, the judges are expecting whimsical desserts, but will the chefs deliver?