Lauren Lawless

Hit culinary competition series HELL’S KITCHEN returns for its 19th season in a flashy new setting, as Chef Gordon Ramsay takes the show to Las Vegas, the city that’s home to Gordon Ramsay Hell’s Kitchen restaurant at Caesars Palace. For the first time ever, 16 aspiring chefs from around the country will roll the dice and head to Sin City in the hopes of winning big.

The Top Six split up in teams for a classic MASTERCHEF challenge – to cook for food critics, writers and chefs at a pop-up restaurant in a Southern California vineyard. Find out which contestants will be eliminated.

In the final challenge in the MASTERCHEF kitchen, the Top Two home cooks will have one last chance to prove to the judges that they deserve the MASTERCHEF title by creating a three-course meal. After evaluating the final dishes, the judges will reveal America’s next MASTERCHEF, and the deserving home cook will walk away with a MASTERCHEF trophy, a book deal and the $250,000 grand prize. Find out whose culinary dreams will turn into a reality.

In the Season Eight premiere episode, 40 of America’s best home cooks travel to Los Angeles to compete in the MASTERCHEF Battle for a White Apron challenge, during which they will face off against each other to try to earn a place in the Top 20. Judging the battle rounds will be Gordon Ramsay, Christina Tosi, and new judge and award-winning chef Aarón Sánchez, who will taste for flavor, creativity and presentation. After each battle, the judges will decide whom they think deserves to make it to the next round and a chance to compete for the coveted title.

In their first individual challenge, the chefs are tasked with creating a shrimp dish worthy of the Hell’s Kitchen opening night menu. As further incentive, the winner of the challenge also receives a punishment pass from Chef Ramsay to be able to skip a future punishment. Then, both teams are put to the test as they take on their first dinner service with the most expansive menu Hell’s Kitchen has ever seen.

After watching a demonstration by Chef Ramsay, the chefs are tasked with perfectly re-creating his take on Caesar salad, which they then need to deliver to him on a scooter. Later, a scrambled dinner service leads to Chef Ramsay kicking a team out of the kitchen for the first time this season.