Top Chef alum Tiffani Faison surprises the chefs with a trip to the countryside as well as a test of endurance. The chefs must trek through a cranberry bog in a race to gather this classic New England ingredient to use as the base for their Quickfire Challenge: creating a unique dish highlighting the cranberry. For their Elimination Challenge, the chefs head to historic Plimouth Plantation and must work together to cook a traditional family-style Thanksgiving feast using only cooking tools, methods, and ingredients found in Massachusetts during the 1600s. Descendants of the Mayflower colonists and the native Wampanoag tribe as well as James Beard Award Winner Ken Oringer join the judges at the table for this non-traditional Thanksgiving feast.

Top Chef Season 12 Episodes...

• s12e01 - Sudden Death
• s12e02 - Boston's Bravest and Finest
• s12e03 - The Curse of the Bambino
• s12e04 - 12 Chefs Walk Into a Bar...
• s12e05 - It's War!
• s12e06 - The First Thanksgiving
• s12e07 - Restaurant Wars
• s12e08 - Clean Up In Aisle 2!
• s12e09 - Big Sausage
• s12e10 - For Julia & Jacques
• s12e11 - Sous Your Daddy!
• s12e12 - The Final Battle of Bean Town
• s12e13 - Getting Prickly in Mexico
• s12e14 - Holy Escamoly!
• s12e15 - Mano a Mano

Top Chef Show Summary

Top Chef is a reality show unlike any other while it searches for the world's next top chef. Each week this talented group of chefs, professionally trained and self-taught, will be challenged and judged by some of the best known chefs in the industry. Over the course of the season and endless challenges one chef a week is asked to "pack thier knives and go" until there is only one left standing as the ultimate Top Chef. Bravo has once again capitalized on it's knack for finding and fostering top creative talent, while still delivering on the personalities and conflict that make for deliciously fun entertainment.

Each episode of "Top Chef" holds two challenges for the chefs. The first is a "quickfire" test of their ability to think out of the box and create something new interesting and tasty, all while under the pressure of very little time. The second is a more involved elimination challenge designed to test the versatility and invention of the chefs as they take on unique culinary trials such as working with unusual and exotic foods or catering for a range of demanding clients. The food will be tasted and evaluated by the host and judges, but will also be served to the customers for whom the challenge is aimed, whether it be patrons at a five star restaurant or a room full of hungry kids. Food has to appeal to the diner as well as the critics if the chef is to survive.

The winning chef will receive $100,000 in seed money to help encourage their culinary career, be featured in Food & Wine magazine, appear at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and most importantly, earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef".