An Asian culinary theme runs through this episode's challenges. First the contestants put their own twists on sushi, then they work as teams to participate in a charity event.

Guest Judge: Hiroshi Shima – QuickFire Challenge.

Guest Judge: Ming Tsai – Elimination Challenge

QuickFire Challenge: Create a Sushi Dish in 30 Minutes.

Elimination Challenge: Work as Two Teams to Create One Hot and One Cold Dish Using Flavors from Korea and Vietnam.

The dreaded taste test is back, and even before the chefs recover from it they must cater a charity event. Ming Tsai Guest Judges this week.

The wicked-awesome supersized season premiere introduces the 16 chefs from across the country who will be battling it out in Boston. Richard Blais (“Top Chef All-Stars” winner) joins Tom, Padma and Gail at judges table. The chef’testants are immediately thrown into hot water with the series’ first ever Sudden Death Quickfire Challenge where one chef is forced to cook for their life to stay in the competition. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must cook and serve a re-imagined version of the first dish they ever remember making, but will this trip down memory lane be a dream come true or a nightmare for the chefs? The challenge plays out at the first ever “Top Chef Food Festival” alongside some of Boston’s most prominent culinary stars including Barbara Lynch, Ming Tsai, Lydia Shire, Jasper White, Todd English, Ken Oringer, Jamie Bissonnette, Kristen Kish and Tiffani Faison.

In a nod to the Boston Tea Party, the contestants must use tea to enhance their dishes for guest judge Ming Tsai; Fenway Park hosts a competition in which the chefs must use ballpark snacks to create fine-dining dishes.