The contestants have 45 minutes to prepare a restaurant quality dish that features coffee; Gordon Ramsay shares his own espresso-infused dish.

Thirty-six home cooks arrive with the intent of being placed in the Top 20, but the contestants must pass the audition rounds and impress the judges to earn the coveted apron; the contestants hope to earn a valuable "Judges' Pass."

The MasterChef kitchen heats up as the top ten contestants are faced with a fiery mystery box challenge.

The top five chefs face two challenges involving a mystery box and replicating a restaurant quality dish.

In this week's mystery box challenge, the Top 7 must create an Asian-inspired dish that centers around one of the most prominent utensils in culinary history - chopsticks! The winner gets a huge advantage moving forward, leaving the remaining home cooks to compete in a pasta-themed elimination challenge.

Season 12 of MASTERCHEF is all about redemption, when All-Star competitors from the last 11 seasons return to the show to see if they have learned from their past mistakes. For the first time ever, MASTERCHEF is re-opening the door to some of the most memorable and talented cooks in the competition's history, including two MASTERCHEF Junior Edition cooks now competing as adults! 40 chefs get called back to audition, but only 20 will claim a coveted white apron. The returning chefs compete in groups of four in head-to-head audition battles. In each round, the two chefs that create the most impressive comeback dish will secure a spot this season.

The 16 remaining chefs are challenged to cook a Southern cuisine dish inspired by complex flavors from countries around the world. Award-winning chef and Southern fusion restaurateur Tiffany Derry also stops by the kitchen.

The Top 12 chefs are challenged to a tag-team cook-off, as they approach the halfway point in the competition. They're tasked with choosing a partner and cooking three menu items from Gordon Ramsay's Michelin-starred restaurants, taking turns against the clock.

The remaining chefs work in pairs and switch off cooking back-and-forth during the tag team challenge.

The top 8 chefs face a surprise and discover that they must work in pairs to cook identical dishes from opposite sides of a wall.

The top three chefs must create a three-course meal, starting with an awe-inspiring appetizer

Only eight aprons are left for the hopeful home cooks to earn so they can pass through the audition rounds, where they have less than 45 minutes to prepare their signature dish and leave the judges wanting for more before the Top 20 are chosen.

With two eliminations on the line, the pressure is on for the losing team in the tag-team challenge.

The top 13 must break down Alaskan king crabs; the contestants cook for chef Masaharu Morimoto.

Home cooks serve up their signature dishes to the judges; guest judge Emeril Lagasse.

The top 17 home chef's return to the kitchen for their second mystery box challenge, but this time with a twist -- one region begins the challenge 10 minutes behind the rest.

The top six chefs face the ultimate challenge of taking over the world's largest Hell's Kitchen restaurant.

In this week's mystery box challenge, the Top 6 get a special treat as their family members join them in the MasterChef kitchen. The contestants will then have to cook a dish inspired by their families before competing in an elimination test that will send one or more of them home.

The Top 20 must quickly demonstrate their culinary expertise before they encounter their first mystery box challenge, where they must create a Ramsay-inspired dish, but only 18 home cooks can progress further in the competition.

The cooks have 60 minutes to present their best beef dish to the judges.

The contestants must get at least three yes votes this season to earn an apron, and in today's episode it is contestants from the Northeast region. Daphne Oz is the guest judge. The first contestant competing for an apron is Carla and she does not advance. Richie is the next contestant and he advances with three yes votes. Nina is next and earns three yes votes and an apron. Purvi is next and her dish impressed all four judges earning her an apron. Eddie is next and only gets two yes votes therefore he did not advance; however, Joe offers him training in some of his restaurants after the show. Ross also fails his audition. Brynn is next and earns four yes votes and an apron. Ryan is the day's last auditionee and gets three yes votes earning him the final apron for the Northeast region.

The South region is the final region for auditions, and this week Tiffany Derry joins the judges for the voting. Reagan starts off the auditions and gets four yes votes and the first apron of the night. Austyn is up next but gets two immediate no votes, so she fails. Kendal is next and gets four yes votes for the evening's second apron. Jessica attempts her audition next but she gets two no votes and does not pass. Michele follows with her audition and also gets two no votes thus failing. Jennifer is next and gets three yes votes, breaking the streak of failures and earning the night's third apron. Sav follows with her audition and gets an overwhelming four yes votes and the fourth apron. When Kolby auditions, Gordon brings his grandfather in to taste the dish and witness Kolby being awarded the fifth and final apron.

The remaining home chefs face the hardest challenge yet in this celebration of "MasterChef's" 250th episode; the kitchen heats up when the chef with immunity is tasked to assign each contestant with an iconic cake to re-create.

The chefs face their toughest mystery box challenge yet -- fish.

The final three home cooks take on their last challenge in the MasterChef kitchen in front of a live audience. Each chef has to whip up a spectacular three-course meal, knowing only one deliberation stands between them and the $250,000 prize.