Being able to deceive the competition is almost as important as cooking ability for the contestants. Four chefs enter the kitchen to participate in three head-to-head elimination rounds that award $10,000 to the winner in each episode. In the battles the chefs must create an appetizing dish that features a certain ingredient, but they don't know what the ingredient is while they're cooking. They must ask the opposing chef three yes or no questions to determine what the secret element is; the opponent gives two truthful answers and a lie. Judges Chris Oh and Jonathan Waxman grade the dishes based on overall quality and how well the secret ingredient is incorporated. In the final round -- which features the winners of the previous two challenges -- the eliminated chefs can get back into the competition by trading valuable information about the undisclosed ingredient. Max Silvestri hosts.