Who went home in episode 3 of Yes, Chef!? Details explored

NBC’s Yes, Chef! returned on May 12, 2025, with its third episode, titled What’s in the Box?. Hosted by Martha Stewart and José Andrés, the episode continued to test the chefs’ ability to adapt, work as a team, and stay composed under pressure. The 10 remaining chefs were divided into two groups and tasked with tackling mystery cooking techniques through a Golden Box challenge.

Each Golden Box, ranked from level 1 (easiest) to level 5 (most difficult), required chefs to prepare dishes for a specific number of diners — a twist designed to raise the stakes. To make the challenge even more difficult, guest Chef Katsuji Tanabe removed all the eggs from the kitchen just as the round began, forcing chefs to improvise with alternative ingredients.

Each round featured a different technique — from steaming and foaming to fresh pasta-making and spherification — with one chef from each team competing head-to-head. While each round had a winner, the losing team was subject to elimination, and it was ultimately up to the opposing team’s MVP to choose who would face the final cookoff.

Michelle Francis was eliminated in this episode after losing team captain Ronny Miranda judged her dish the weakest among his teammates following the final showdown.

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Yes, Chef! episode 3 elimination and challenge recap: Who lost the cookoff and went home?

The episode’s main challenge pushed chefs to work with unfamiliar techniques drawn from Golden Boxes, each paired with a difficulty level and corresponding number of diners. The chefs were split into Green and Blue Teams and had to compete head-to-head, round by round.

“Each box contains a technique, which one member of each team will be responsible for executing,” Martha shared.

As soon as José Andrés called “cook,” guest Chef Katsuji Tanabe added a twist by taking all the eggs from the kitchen, impacting several dishes that relied on them — particularly in the foam and clarifying challenges.

In the foam round of Yes, Chef!, Julia Chebotar from the Green Team admitted she wasn’t confident with the technique but managed to deliver a composed dish with guidance from her teammates. While Martha noted her carrots were undercooked, José appreciated the execution. On the Blue Team, Emily Brubaker attempted a lemon foam using gelatin but faced issues with the canister.

“The challenge was foam, but she didn’t give us foam,” José said, handing the win to Julia.

Jake Lawler won the steaming round for the Blue Team with a well-presented stuffed cabbage dish. Christopher Morales stood out in the clarifying round, delivering a clean mussel fumet, while Michelle Francis fell short with a consommé that lacked clarity and seasoning.

After the Green Team was declared the winner, Chef Zain Ismail was named Most Valuable Chef and tasked with choosing a member of the losing Blue Team for the cookoff. She selected team captain Ronny Miranda, saying the team’s performance reflected his leadership in Yes, Chef!

In the final cookoff, a Golden Card draw determined their ingredient count — 16 for Ronny and 13 for Zain. Ronny prepared a Tom Kha Gai Soup with clams, while Zain created a garden-fresh spring roll salad with shrimp. The Yes, Chef! judges found both dishes strong, but Martha found Zain’s to be overly watery, giving Ronny the win.

As the winner, Ronny had to eliminate a teammate. He chose to base the decision on recent performance and sent home Michelle Francis, making her the third chef to leave the competition.

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Watch the new episodes of Yes, Chef! airing every Monday at 10/9c on NBC.