Top Chef Masters (season 5)

Episodes

Episode 1: Sous Chefs and Skydives

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must make a dish that embodies their Top Chef Master's culinary style in 45 minutes.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs must prepare a family style dinner for the SkyHawks Parachute Team. Each chef must choose if they want to travel to the site via car or by skydiving. If they skydive, they will have 2 hours to cook, but if they drive they will have only 1 hour. All of the chefs except Douglas decide to jump. After this, the chefs find out that they will only get to use the same ingredients in their dishes as their sous chefs used in the sous chef battle. They also find out that Douglas has won the immunity from his sous chef's performance and that David, Lynn and Richard will not learn their disadvantage until they arrive. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: July 24, 2013
• Ratings: 945,000

  Episode 2: Asian Night Market

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: the Mise en Place race. The sous chefs must prepare pomegranate, celery root, squid, and 3 cuts of lamb.
• Elimination Quickfire: The chefs must prepare a dish in 30 minutes using the Mise en Place ingredients. The winner earns $5,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs must put an Asian twist on an American classic at the 626 Asian Night Market . The chefs have 2 hours to prepare and cook on site before service begins for 200 guests. The chefs will be assisted by their sous chefs. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: July 31, 2013
• Ratings: 1,093,000

  Episode 3: Sex, Greed and Murder

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must create a dish that highlights sausage in 45 minutes.
• Quickfire: The chefs must make a dish in 30 minutes using the scraps left over from the sausage challenge as their only protein. The winner earns $5,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs will be cooking for the cast of Days of Our Lives who have just completed their 12,000th episode. The chefs must create a dish that best represents one of the 3 cornerstones of Soap opera plotlines, Sex, Greed and Murder. With immunity, Lynn gets her choice of plot. The chefs with each plot compete against each other, with the judges picking a winner and which chef will be up for elimination from each plot. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: August 7, 2013
• Ratings: 1,151,000

  Episode 4: Curtis' Surprise Party

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must create a dish using ingredients selected by their Top Chef Master in 45 minutes. No pantry ingredients may be used.
• Quickfire: The chefs must make a curry dish in 30 minutes. The chefs must develop their own curry mix and pair it with a Goose Island beer. The winner earns $5,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs are initially told by James that he is holding a Global Tasting for Saveur magazine and that they will provide the food. The chefs are broken into 3 teams of 3 chefs each. One team is made up of the chefs with the disadvantage and Douglas gets to pick the other 2 members of his team. When Curtis leaves the room to allow the chefs to menu plan with James, it is revealed that the chefs will actually be catering a surprise engagement party hosted by Curtis' fiancée, Lindsay Price. The chefs are given 30 minutes to shop and 2 hours to cook. Each chef must create their own dish and each team must create a dessert. The winning team's chefs each earn $5,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: August 14, 2013
• Ratings: 1,018,000

  Episode 5: Restaurant Wars

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must create a dish judged against a competitor using an identical basket of ingredients in 30 minutes.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs partner with Busy Philipps to bring to life a restaurant idea she's had for years, to take the segregated food of Los Angeles and put it together in one place. The chefs are broken into 2 teams, based on whose sous chefs won and lost the battle. The sous chefs who won their battles will assist their top chefs for 2 hours of prep time. Each team has $4,000 to shop and 45 minutes to menu plan. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: August 21, 2013
• Ratings: 953,000

  Episode 6: Mindy Kaling and Yo Gabba Gabba!

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: It is revealed that Drew has been replaced by Paul due to a family emergency. The sous chefs must create a dish that highlights the onion in 45 minutes. It is also revealed that in the next elimination challenge, 2 Top Chef Masters will be eliminated.
• Quickfire: The chefs must prepare a dish in 30 minutes inspired by the favorite romantic comedies of judge Mindy Kaling. The winner earns $5,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs must cook a dish for kids and adults using ingredients that kids do not like. This is based on an idea from the song "Party In My Tummy" by DJ Lance and the cast of Yo Gabba Gabba!.
• Original Airdate: August 28, 2013
• Ratings: 849,000

  Episode 7: Catch of the Day

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: Jennifer and Sue are given the opportunity to re-enter the competition with the help of their Sous Chefs. They must prepare a dish in 30 minutes showcasing a protein found on the bottom of the sea. The episode ends before the winner is revealed.
• Quickfire: The chefs must prepare their take on Nachos in 30 minutes. The winner earns $5,000 for their charity as well as immunity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs must cook a dish that has both hot and cold seafood preparation. The chefs get 30 minutes to shop all but the seafood protein itself. The protein is revealed the next day. The chefs have to pair up in a team of two: Jennifer and Douglas, Bryan and Sang and Neal and David. The chefs have to serve 60 guests in Duke's Restaurant, Malibu. The winners each earn $5,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: September 4, 2013
• Ratings: 971,000 Viewers

  Episode 8: Lucha Vavoom

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must create a dish in 30 minutes that highlights a mistake they made working in their Top Chef Master's kitchen and how they learned from it.
• Quickfire: Douglas gets to pick the challenge because his sous chef won the preceding battle. The chefs must create a dish that highlights ketchup in 20 minutes. The winner earns $5,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs must create a 2-item Mexican menu for 300 guests at a Lucha VaVOOM event. The chefs have 3 hours to prep the day before and 1 hour at the event. At the event, Sang must work with Jennifer's sous, Jorel; while Jennifer must work with Sang's sous, Ted. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: September 11, 2013

  Episode 9: Teacher Tribute

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must create a dish in 30 minutes that has been conceived by their Top Chef Master.
• Quickfire: The chef who makes the best burger in 30 minutes earns $5,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: The chefs must create a dish to honor one of 4 teachers at a dinner for the Los Angeles Unified School District. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Original Airdate: September 18, 2013

  Episode 10: Finale

• Battle of the Sous Chefs: The sous chefs must create a dessert to be served in their Top Chef Master's Finale meal based on their first day with their Top Chef Master. The winner earns $10,000 for their charity.
• Elimination Challenge: Create Something Old, New, Borrowed, and Sous
• *Bryan:
• **Groat Salad with Dungeness Crab, Asparagus, Hen Egg Custard, and Chicken Skin
• **Black Cod with Onion Dashi, Date, and Parsnip Puree, and Green Apple
• **Braised Beef Cheek and New York Strip with Seaweed Potatoes and Maitake Mushrooms
• **Coconut, Lavender, and Vanilla
• *Douglas:
• **Soup Billi Bi with White Wine, Saffron, Fennel Puree, and Uni
• **Soba Wrapped Ocean Trout, Ginger Dashi, and Groats
• **Duck Breast with Sake Roasted Daikon, Tamarind, Golden Pea Sprouts, and Dates
• **Black Sesame Panna Cotta, Shattered miso Custard, and Green Tea Matcha
• *Jennifer:
• **Potato-Sunchoke Galette with Salmon, Caviar, Pickled Apple, and Creme Fraiche
• **Paella Gnocchi with Chicken Meatballs, Mussels, and Shrimp
• **Chinese Duck with Shiitake Broth, Eggplant Daikon, Grilled Bok Choy, and Duck Wonton
• **Smoked Macadamia with Chocolate Bavarian Napoleon, Tapioca, and Milk Caramel
• WINNER: Douglas
• Original Airdate: September 25, 2013