Chef Kendal: "Back home, we eat chicken on a stick. The first barbecue festival I ever went to, that's one of the things that we'd eat. I'm going to do an herby butter chicken on a stick with a fried potato ball with some bacon wrapped asparagus."

Joe Bastianich: "There's a lot going on there. The elevation. How are we going to plate this thing to restaurant quality?"

Chef Kendal: "I've got all different textures. I've got colors, and I feel like I've got a balanced dish up and down."

Chef Savannah: "At any state fair in Alabama, you're going to have barbecue. So I'm doing a barbecue sandwich with pork tenderloin over a Johnny cake with a blackberry barbecue sauce. So I'm really taking the simple version of a barbecue sandwich up to another level."

Chef Kyle: "I am taking you guys to Minnesota. I am representing Kansas City, but I work for a brewery based in Minneapolis. I've been to the state fair a bunch. I think it's really cute that a lot of the competitors think that their hometowns have the best state fairs. The state fair of Minnesota is actually the premier culinary event in the country. My favorite dish up north is walleye fries. So I'm trying to elevate it. I'm going to deep fry some lobster, and you're going to get fennel, apple, celery, salad."

Chef Reagan: "So, you know, we live in Louisiana, so I'm actually doing a take on the fried chicken festival. I'm doing a pioneer chicken with a crab lemon butter sauce over some mashed potatoes."

Chef Jennifer: "I am making a savory tomato pie. We have this amazing pink tomato festival in Arkansas. I'm a mom of six kids, and so my kids have grown up going to our county fair, so I'm so excited to see what our southern region today is going to pull together for you."

Chef Nina: "So I'm doing a fried cod sandwich. I'm going to do a salt and vinegar potato chip."

Gordon Ramsay: "Good. How are you going to cook the cod?"

Chef Nina: "I'm going to deep fry it in with some club soda, make sure it gets all fluffy and puffy."

Chef Brynn: "Rhode island fair food is all of the clam chowder at every festival. So today I'm making a New England style clam chowder."

Chef James: "I'm making a mushroom festival burger."

Joe Bastianich: "Are you going to mix mushrooms into the ground beef?"

Chef James: "I've got a little bit of mushroom powder. I just grind it up and then I'm going to add that to the beef, dried like this."

Joe Bastianich: "That's very strong umami. You might want to just put this in some water, let it soak, and then it's going to take a lot of the edge off."

Chef Richie: "I live in the area right outside of DC. There's a lot of different foods from a lot of places. But what always stuck out to me are the fried cheesecake bites. So I'm gonna be doing a deconstructed cheesecake with a candied bacon tuile."

Chef Amanda: "Southern Californians love mexican food, so I am making fish tacos."

Aaron Sanchez: "You know, the idea of a taco could be something very simple, very straightforward. What is your approach to the elevation factor?"

Chef Amanda: "My approach is I'm going to do it two ways, kind of like my interpretation of red and green sauce. I'm going to roast the fish and keep it nice and moist, and I'm going to make my own tortillas."

Chef Kennedy: "Today I'm making my rendition of the slopper, basically just a cheeseburger that's covered in green chili. And this is from Pueblo State Fair in Colorado. We love green chili and everything, so hopefully it turns out as great as I think,"

Chef Wayne: "I am making an incredible pumpkin risotto. Where I'm from in Ohio, we have this fair called the Circleville Pumpkin Festival. It's been going on since, like, 1903, and I'm gonna top it with the butter poached lobster to elevate it."

[Later, talking to the judges.]

Chef Wayne: "I am making a beautiful roasted pumpkin risotto. One of the biggest fairs in Ohio is actually the Circleville Pumpkin festival. It's pumpkin everything. So the risotto is gonna be flavored with pumpkin."