Aaron Sanchez in the special 2-hour episode of MASTERCHEF airing Wednesday, Aug 31

Contestant Kennedy with judges Joe Bastianich and Aarón Sánchez in the “State Fair” episode of MASTERCHEF airing Wednesday, June 21

The contestants from all regions tackle their official first challenge of the season on Masterchef.

West coaster, Amanda, is slicing and dicing away as she prepares a dish for the first challenge of the season.

Amanda stands tall as she and the others hear about their dishes during the regional competition.

Bacon makes everything better but will that include Richie from the Northeast's dish on Masterchef?

Kendal is highly focused on his dish and impressing the judges during the first competition of the season.

Kendal wears his signature cap as he and fellow competitors listen to the judges on an all-new Masterchef.

The Masterchef judges are intimidating the contestants during the first challenge of the season.

Kyle hopes to impress the judges and make the Midwest region proud with his latest dish during the first challenge.

Impressing Aarón is no easy feat, especially for anyone making Mexican-inspired cuisine or tacos.

Reagan is getting her hands dirty as she creates a dish she hopes impresses the judges during a competition.