Top Chef Masters is back with a brand new host, new judge and a new format -- so why not start the competition off with something familiar, the most notorious of all Top Chef challenges, Restaurant Wars? These master chefs have opened their share of award-winning restaurants, but nothing could have prepared them for the pressure that’s on now. With their egos on the line, the knives come out right out of the gate.

The masters are in for a treat this week when two high-profile celebrities visit the top chef kitchen. Pop Star and trained chef, Kelis, drops by to judge a very meaty quickfire challenge and then Mad Men actress, Christina Hendricks and her husband, actor Geoffry Arend, enlist the help of the cheftestants in a special '60s-themed Elimination Challenge.

Crickets, nightcrawlers and beetles, oh my! These master chefs are used to cooking with the finest ingredients, but in this week's Quickfire they’re forced to make a delicious dish out of some horrifying creatures. The Elimination Challenge however, makes it all worthwhile when the chefs compete to sell their dishes for $100 a plate at a charity fundraiser. For every plate they sell, the money they receive goes directly to their charity of choice and these chefs are in to win it.

Eating healthy is a challenge that people face every day. For this week’s Elimination Challenge, the cheftestants must prove nutritious food can still taste good. The remaining masters will be broken up into three teams of three to prepare breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the cast of The Biggest Loser, but that’s not all, all three meals, when added up, cannot exceed the daily allotment of 1500 calories a day.

Master chefs know how to work under pressure, but how well can they do fast food? This week’s Elimination Challenge puts the cheftestants to the test in a traditional Southern California eatery, the drive-through. The cheftestants will have to operate a fast food drive-through, from the grill to serving up their best meals and all in less than two minutes.

The tables are turned in this week’s Quickfire when the cheftestants become the judges and have to critique their fellow chefs. Then in the Elimination Challenge, the remaining contestants are in for a double dose of surprises. Pop Rock group Maroon 5 drops by and challenges the chefs to create a feast fit for a rock star, but it's not that easy. Once again the tables are turned and the chefs are taken out of kitchen and brought to a surprise location to prepare their meals.

In this week’s Quickfire Challenge the chefs must use each of their five senses to identify mystery ingredients -- however they can only use one of their senses at time. In the Elimination Challenge, the masters help a man propose to his unsuspecting girlfriend on her favorite show, Top Chef Masters. In a six-course meal, the chefs must create dishes that reflect different stages of the couple’s relationship, but could one bad dish

ruin the whole plan?

The ace culinarians delve into science and technology by utilizing modern-day kitchen gadgetry to whip up breakfast. Later, they tap into old-school chemistry at a science fair to render culinary creations.

A celebration of returning soldiers.

Season Finale

Twelve renowned chefs battle in culinary challenges in Las Vegas in the Season 4 opener. Here, the masters play a card game to score ingredients, then they create an extravagant buffet for some of Sin City's hottest performers.

The meal mavens prepare cuisine for a wedding.

They can cook, but can they put on a show? The Chefs will be split into teams of 3 and have their skills put on full view as they cook up a 3-course meal to serve VIP guests at the most challenging of chef’s tables, a Teppanyaki. With only 30 minutes to put on a delicious and dazzling show, they’ll be serving some of our favorite Top Chef Masters along with our critics. Special guest judges include: Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano and acclaimed chefs May Sue Milliken, Susan Feniger, Rick Moonen, Jonathan Waxman.

This week, the Chefs are tasked with taking ordinary salad bar ingredients and making them “pop” for music legends, the B-52’s. Then the Chefs will take a trip to the Grand Canyon for a cookout like never before. The Chefs will be paired up to cook for the Hualapai tribe, using ingredients from the tribe’s sacred land.

In this week’s Quickfire challenge the Chefs must make a dynamic duo dish for a couple of dynamic musicians – The Indigo Girls. For the elimination challenge, the Chefs are tasked with making a whimsical all-you-can-eat - bottomless bloodys & mimosas brunch at an upscale sexy pool party, hosted by Ms. Vegas, Holly Madison. Bikini-clad servers will serve the chefs’ creations to Holly’s friends lounging poolside. Special guest judges include The Indigo Girls and Holly Madison.

On this week’s episode, the chefs will be creating an aphrodisiac dish using known aphrodisiac ingredients. The chef whose dish really turns them on will be the winner for this challenge. Lotus of Siam is a legendary Nevada Culinary landmark that has amassed award after award. For this Elimination Challenge, our chefs will be faced with the task of creating their own Thai restaurant in the Top Chef Masters kitchen and attempting to create their own versions of classic Thai dishes. Special guest judge is Dita Von Teese.

This week the chefs will battle it out -- facing off in a boxing ring to serve our critics and boxing champ, Sugar Ray Leonard. The winner of the first match will compete against the winner from the second match in a third match for the win and $10,000. The losers from the first and second match will face off one last time to determine who will be sent packing. Special guest judge is Sugar Ray Leonard.

It's getting down to the wire -- this week, the chefs will participate in one of the world's greatest underground dining events: a Diner en Blanc. For our Masters to take on this Diner en Blanc, each chef will create a picnic style meal with abundant ingredients to create an epic feast and pack it up for the first ever Diner en Blanc picnic in Vegas.

The ace chefs instruct a mystery guest to make a dish in the penultimate Season 4 episode. Later, they mentor culinary students.

The winning chef is named in the Season 4 finale. Before that, the final two culinarians battle it out by creating a dish with the help of staffers from their own restaurants back home.

Thirteen chefs arrive in Los Angeles to participate in culinary heats in the Season 5 opener. Here, the foodies take flight by cooking outdoors for a professional skydiving team and are given the opportunity to dive from the sky themselves. In Season 5, the chefs also have sous-chefs who will compete in their own online competition.

The chefs create classic American cuisine with an Asian spin.

Soap-opera themes inspire culinary creations. Appearing: the cast of "Days of Our Lives.

As every chef knows, curry is difficult to hurry, but the chefs are challenged with making their version of curry in 30 minutes for this week’s Quickfire Challenge. Host Curtis Stone is not easy to surprise, but the tables are turned on him this week as fiancée Lindsay Price and the chefs team up to throw Curtis a surprise engagement party he won’t forget.

The epic "Restaurant Wars" challenge tasks the foodies to open eateries with a Los Angeles theme. Appearing: actress Busy Philipps and culinary editor Dana Cowin.

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Special guest judge actress Ali Larter challenges the chefs to elevate nachos for their Quickfire. Then the chefs get totally tubular as they cook up the catch of the day for Malibu locals. Divided in to pairs, they have to create a dish with a hot and cold preparation of the same fish, and hope that the critics’ response is better than lukewarm.

The winner of this week’s Battle of the Sous Chefs challenge, along with their Top Chef Master, get to create today’s Quickfire. Then, the chefs face a culinary body slam, as they create dishes with a Mexican flair for the wrestlers of Lucha Vavoom.

The chefs serve up their version of a burger for a surprise guest critic. Also: The culinarians pay tribute to teachers through food; and three contestants advance to the finale.

Season 5 comes to a close with the final three master chefs creating memorable dishes from their personal and professional lives, after which the winner is revealed.