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Kevin wins Round 1.

The moms are thanked for participating and head to the kitchen to bid their sons goodbye and good luck. Of course, the boys just want to know what the judges said about their food.

The Mystery Box dishes are next and again, all three are beautiful. Kevin has a lightly cooked rockfish with roasted squash and crab broth. Bryan cooked his rock sous-vide with diced matsutake mushrooms and a lemon jam. Michael has a warm rockfish with dashi, plus a salad made from the crab and squash.

Kevin's broth was the star of his dish but he really messed up on the matsutake mushrooms, leaving them super tough – someone remarks that they need a hatchet to cut it. Bryan's dish, again, needs more seasoning, though his fish was cooked the best. Gail says that it was the safest dish of the three and that it didn't inspire her. Tom calls Michael's combination of the lemon and squash "perfect," and that that balance of sweet and sour was great. Someone else says that it "popped," and calls it their favorite dish of the course.

Despite the fact that he didn't have a clear idea of what to do with the Mystery Box, Michael wins Round 2.

The next course was Chef's Choice. Kevin serves a slow-roasted pork belly with Brussels sprouts, broccoli and caramelized ham jus. Bryan has a venison saddle with a puree of sunchokes and orange juniper sauce (it looks beautifully plated). Michael has a fennel-scented squab breast with a pistachio cassoulet and different textures of mushrooms. It's a pretty grey plate of food.

Bryan's dish was delicious, with tons of flavor and pungent aromas. Tom marvels at the amount of work that went into it, with each vegetable prepared in two ways. Michael's squab is also excellent, with different complexities of flavor, though Gail doesn't like his mushroom puree and another diner calling it a "gimmick." Kevin's pork belly was not cooked enough, though the sauce was great.

I call that one for Bryan, and looks like each chef has won one round. It'll all come down to the dessert.

Kevin presents a roasted banana with toasted peanut, chocolate bacon mousse and a bacon brittle. Bryan has a dulce de leche cheesecake with a fig sorbet, poached pear and basil. Again, it looks beautiful. Michael has a chocolate caramel coolant, butternut squash brûlée and butternut ice cream.

One diner doesn't like the pork in Kevin's dessert. Gail thought the bacon had great flavor, but Tom doesn't think the bananas had enough done to them. Michael's garnish of the toasted pumpkin seeds were delicious, but his cake was too dry (he admitted earlier to having left it in the oven too long) and needed more creaminess. Tom says that he's cooked this cake before and that it needs to be served immediately, otherwise the caramel in the inside soaks back into the cake. He calls it an "almost great dessert." Bryan's dish is a huge hit, showing great finesse and complimented with a "heavenly" fig sorbet. Gail calls it a "pastry chef's dessert."

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