So here's the premise: each week, four chefs will compete in challenges. The winner of each week's competition will go on to compete in the Champions Round, where there will be a total of six chefs competing. The one winner gets a bunch of prizes, a donation to the charity of his or her choice, and the honor (?) of being the Top Chef Master. So let's get started with this week's contestants. I'm not even going to bother listing all the awards each has won or the restaurants they own, but trust that there are many.

Michael Schlow of Boston, MA, an expert in authentic Italian food

Hubert Keller of San Francisco, CA, French-trained chef and former judge on Top Chef

Christopher Lee of New York, NY, who promises us excitement and bold flavors.

Tim Love of Fort Worth, TX, who is considered a cowboy cook with big Texas flavors.

Host Kelly Choi is no Padma, but she introduces the Quickfire Challenge, and explains that each one will be a retread of one from Top Chef. This week, the chefs have to make a creative dessert in sixty minutes for a group of Girl Scouts. Michael's cake goes horribly wrong, so it's nice to see that even professionals screw up sometimes. The chefs get to sit in the kitchen and watch the girls sample their food via closed circuit TV, and the girls are kind of brutal, but the chefs can laugh about it. Hubert Keller wins with a cookie and fruit-based dessert where he created animal shapes. The girls dug the presentation and the flavors.

Elimination Challenge: The chefs have to create a three-course meal for the critics and a group of college students using just a microwave, a toaster oven, and a hot plate, as if they were in a dorm room. They'll also have a limited pantry, and they'll be cooking in actual dorm rooms.

The chefs have problems during prep. Hubert Keller has apparently never been in a grocery store, and Tim Love accidentally puts all his ingredients in the freezer, thinking it's a cooler. In the dorm, Hubert Keller uses the shower to cool his cooked pasta and then reheats it with hot water. It's impressive, but I've been in dorm showers and they are grody. Especially on the weekends. Anyway, here are the menus:

Tim Love: scallop Carpaccio with lime and chili, squash and corn pozole, and skirt steak with braised kale

Michael Schlow: salmon crudo, cabbage soup with smoked bacon, fennel, and white bean, and pork a la apicius with broccolini and mushrooms.

Christopher Lee: red snapper ceviche with citrus juices, avocado and popcorn, creamy risotto with prosciutto and parmesan, and pork chop with piperade, crushed potatoes, mache and fennel salad.

Humber Kelley: Fresh Scottish salmon mui cuit over creamy whole grain mustard, hearty carrot and petit pea soup with cinnamon croutons, and creamy mac and cheese with prawns, mushrooms, and fresh herbs.

At Critics' Table (not Judges' Table?), the chefs talk about the challenges of the equipment as well as take responsibility for their own goofs. After a long, looooong sequence where each chef is awarded stars, the critics announce that Hubert Keller is moving on to the Championships.

Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what the chefs would cook if they were castaways on Lost!