4 Chefs.
3 Courses.
Only One Chance to Win. Chopped is a television show on the Food Network that began airing in 2009. Hosted by Ted Allen, three judges critique the meals of four chefs as they battle to win $10,000. They're given access to a pantry filled with almost anything you could possibly need to cook a successful meal. The catch? They MUST use the MYSTERY ingredients given to them in a basket before time runs out in each round. Also, and I cannot stress this enough:
PUT SOMETHING ON THE #%##@$! PLATE.
Host:
Ted Allen
Likes to get in people's way as they cook to ask them questions about what they're cooking.
Judges (the ones more commonly seen anyways)Scott Conant
Specializes in Italian cooking (pasta is really all he talks about). Do not put raw onions in his meals. However, he's kind of a douche so do it anyways.
Alex Guarnaschelli
Does not like excuses. Save your bullshit excuses for someone who won't glare at you while she eats your meal.
Established in this thread: Bit of a cry baby
Amanda Freitag
Always complains about something
Geoffrey Zakarian
Very sensitive to spicy things. Kind of pompous.
Marc Murphy
Pretty fair judge.
Chris Santos
Pretty nice and fair. Doesn't like excuses either.
Aarón Sánchez (pronounced Air-rone or Ar-rone; take your pick)
Possibly the sexiest judge. Really, just say his name. Let the hotness wash over you.
While this thread is mostly about Chopped! Don't be afraid to post things about other Food Network shows like Iron Chef or anything else. I can always change the OP/Title.
Posts
Pfft, it so much better than Iron Chef in terms of causing strokes. The chefs on Iron Chef never forget to put something on a plate nor do they ever have to deal with mixing chocolate and fish.
hmm
Also I chuckled evilly as this unfortunate midwestern housewife-type couldn't understand how to slice eel and started crying
and the gengars who are guiding me" -- W.S. Merwin
But I really do always hope they put something on the plate.
"I could make something with that."
"Oh, that's just like X, probably could use that."
"...wut..."
Nearly every time.
Also, @Mim you need to make sure people know how to pronounce Aaron's name correctly. It's "Air-rone"
My favorite panels are when it's all female judges. I think they did an episode where Ted Allen was pretty much the only guy you saw. 3 female judges, 4 female contestants, and not one single judge was interested in dealing with one single excuse.
It was marvelous.
with Chopped, I have no idea when they're informed of the ingredients, but it seems like it's all very much real time, at least during the round. I think there's a lot more time between rounds than a 1/2 hour show will let you see, but it does feel like they're constantly hurrying just to finish something.
The episode was "Ladies First" right? I might have it on my DVR, but I can't watch it until tomorrow
I wonder if they've ever let anyone through who did not have anything on the plate. I know they let some people taste what's on the stove, but has that ever been enough?
Scott was....not pleased. I think Alex and Marc were the other two judges, and even they were giving him a hard time about it.
He got chopped, despite his dish apparently both looking and tasting better than the other guy's plate.
I remember the one guy who kept forgetting to put things on the plate but they let him go all the way to dessert I think, only for him to forget it a third time. I was like "Are you people serious?"
Then they always have contestants with sob stories who seem to go through even though their dishes weren't good. Except the one lady whose sister died the day before.
I swear that happens almost every episode. I rarely guess wrong on who's going to win, because I just look at the appetizers.
They really manage to find obscure ingredients, once or twice they've had an ingredient that some of the judges were like "What the fuck is that"
On Chopped? I don't watch every one but I don't think I've seen one where someone hasn't fucked up and presented a half finished plate missing a key component
I must say though that the show has inspired me to cook. I would love to do an amateur chopped competition. Only I'd need way more time to cook meat.
I'd love an amateur chopped show. Double the time, just to be fair, and don't have very hard ingredients. Just use stuff that most people maybe haven't, like broccoli rabe or that sort of thing.
Though I do know now that uchi tastes good fried. :P
Instantly I shout: "Crust the fish!"
All I could think was "but I eat those now and they're delicious..."
It feels obvious.
Which makes you wonder if people think it's a trap.
It was hilarious to me to see how many people were amazed Duff can cook when he was on Chopped. You do realize the man worked as a sous chef in some of the most prestigious restaurants in the US, right?
What was wrong with the first one?
Chopped is a level below that. It's peer-level competition. You're competing against the best on your level. For most of those competitors, it's about the money, and the opportunity to prove you belong in the field.
Top Chef on Bravo is a similar idea. Again, peer-based competition. The difference is that Top Chef is also a Reality Show, whereas Chopped plays out a bit more like a Game Show.
I think I watched Top Chef while on vacation and one of the Indian American chefs pissed me off by raging against beef before the other guy was going to present his dishes that contained beef. It was just bad sportsmanship.
Did I mention it's a reality show?
Well Top Chef really tries to be a transitional show and carries more cachet than Chopped. Most of the Top Chef winners have really been quite good, especially in the later seasons. At the same time the seasons are like 16+ episodes long, it is a very different thing from Chopped. Challenge wise I think Top Chef gets closest to what Chopped does but that isn't all the time.
The Next Food Network Star is the show Mim was thinking of with regards to the "own" tv show. It had much much less to do with cooking and much much more to do with looking good on a cooking show.
Way more than half of the smug-stuff comes from editing. Either from juxtaposition or taking statements out of context.
So, yea, it's a reality show.
Like, a whole fucking chicken. In the pot. Water wasn't even boiling.
Then he's all, "it's not cooking, I don't understand!"
It is also a horrible thing to do to a chicken.
What time does that come on? I must see this.
It's great, though. "Worst Cooks in America." Robert Irvine and Anne Burrell.
Duff Goldman, the star of Ace of Cakes and owner of Charm City Bakery. They had a series of eps where they had Food Network talent compete, which highlighted how good they are.
One girl really made me laugh with how serious she took the show. She actually said aloud, "If I do badly in the next round, I really need to go home and rethink my career."
I had to wonder how many times as a chef she was required to invent a dessert wholesale in 20 minutes from a basket containing cuttlefish, gooseberries, and Bhudda's Hand, and how she thinks that's relevant to her continued employment in the field. I must have missed where Raymond Blanc said, "Hey, if you can't invent a dessert involving poultry gonads under a half hour, go fuck yourself and quit."
It's an odd theme I see running in the show. Chefs go "Well if I win Chopped then I know I'm in the right career!" No it doesn't. It just means you enjoy horrible amounts of pain.
Hot.
G-Zak for life.
I've heard Ted pronounce it both ways, but I'll put this in the OP.
And no he isn't! Geoffrey can't suck a hot pepper for all I care. Every time I see him, I roll my eyes because I know he has something douchetastic to say. Plus, I saw one episode where it looked like he was bullying the other judges to pick the guy he wanted.
All of the contestants I have seen though are much more professional then anything on top chef. It might just be the reality tv show factor but some of them seem like they have never worked in a professional environment.
But it's hilarious! Honestly though, Alex is my favorite. She cries so goddamn much, though. Jesus, woman.
Yeah, she comes off as a hard ass but when someone wins or someone has a sob story, she's a big softie