Previously: The chefs each lost their bag of tricks when a challenge forced them to abandon fat and calories for the contestants of The Biggest Loser. The pressure hit hardest amongst Hugh Acheson and Suvir Saran, who had beef over beef. In the end, Suvir went home for making a subpar veggie burger. Eight chefs and $100,000 remain.

Curtis Stone welcomes the chefs to their quickfire challenge. The chefs immediately notice that their ingredients are priced at cents per pound. With that, Curtis tells them they're tasked with creating an appetizer whose value is $1 or less. Everyone scoffs like a fairytale villain at this nonsense demand. And yet they have only 20 minutes to win $5,000 and immunity, so they get to it. Floyd Cardoz is familiar with this type of challenge because he came to the United States from India with only $100 in his pocket. He immediately abandons onions (48 cents per pound) in favor of cheaper ingredients like couscous. Celina Tio decides she can make carrot soup quickly and cheaply apportioning most of her money to lime and shrimp. Hugh thinks he's sunk when he loses an egg worth 18 cents. Alex Stratta, who's working with calamari, reminds us, "You can cook the best food in the world, but if it's over a dollar, you're done." Mary Sue Milliken opts for an inexpensive salad, though she refuses to taste the bacon for fear that she won't have enough. Kind of like when you know your parents will say no to something, so you just don't ask them. Naomi Pomeroy reminds us how stressful this experience is and emphasizes shaving her ingredients (cherry tomatoes, asparagus) as thinly as possible to get by.

With that it's time's up, utensils down. The chefs retire to another room while Curtis meets up with the judges, Rico Gagliano and Brendan Newnam from NPR's The Dinner Party Download, who've sampled everything from dirt to Korean barbecue. First up is Celina's spicy carrot soup with lime-pickled shrimp, which the judges deem impressively delicious and worth $15 or $20. They think Mary Sue's bacon, lettuce, and tomato salad with celery seed vinaigrette is clever but too salty because of the bacon. Naomi's asparagus and bread salad with cherry tomato and lemon vinaigrette is fantastic. The bitter radicchio is perfectly paired with the Lyonnais salad with bacon, frisée , and poached egg in Hugh's offering. They wonder why they don't have chefs like this all over America. Likewise, Alex's squid with garlic, olive, and almonds passes with flying colors because of its flavorful spice. George Mendes' similar grilled calamari salad with cucumber, tomatoes, and almonds is deemed underwhelming and lacking a "kick of super-awesome." The judges like Traci des Jardins' chicken paillard with asparagus, lemon, and brown butter. Finally, the fricassée of shrimp and asparagus with beef and tomatoes that Floyd presents is a hit for its moistness and lingering spice.