Chopped is an American reality-based cooking television game show series created by Michael Krupat, Dave Noll and Linda Lea.
[1] In each episode, four chefs compete in a three-round contest, where they attempt to incorporate unusual combinations of ingredients into dishes that are later evaluated by a panel of three judges.
[2][3] At the beginning of each round (typically "Appetizer", "Entrée", and "Dessert", but with occasional exceptions), the chefs are each given a basket containing four mystery ingredients and are expected to create dishes that use all of them in some way.
Before each round begins, they are allowed to preheat their ovens and boil pots of water on their stovetops as a time-saving measure.
These limits have been extended on occasion for special-format episodes and for rounds in which one or more mystery ingredients require additional preparation/cooking time.
[4] Once time has expired, the judges critique the dishes based on presentation, taste and creativity and select one chef to be "chopped" - eliminated from the competition with no winnings.
The Food Network found the pilot episode "a little too weird", but decided to keep the general premise of the show in a more straightforward competition format.
If the judges consider a dish to be unsafe to eat for any reason, such as contamination by blood or other bodily fluids, they do not taste it but may still evaluate it on presentation and creativity.
Starting September 8, 2009, Food Network aired a four-episode Chopped Champions tournament, in which 13 previous winners were invited to face off again.
As of February 2020, the network has aired six additional Chopped Champions tournaments, each consisting of four preliminary heats and a finale.
Starting March 6, 2011, and continuing for four additional episodes, Food Network aired the "Chopped All-Stars" Tournament.
Starting April 8, 2012, and continuing for four additional episodes, Food Network aired the second "Chopped All-Stars" Tournament.
Celebrity chef & Chopped judge Marcus Samuelsson won this second competition, donating the $50,000 grand prize to the Careers Through Culinary Arts Program of New York (aka C-CAP), which helps under-served youth through culinary arts education and employment.
Celebrity chef and Chopped judge Scott Conant won this competition, donating $50,000 to the Keep Memory Alive Foundation.
On April 28, 2015, the fourth "All-Stars" Tournament began airing, with an increased grand prize of $75,000 to the winner.
Unlike previous tournaments, however, the 16 chefs involved were not split into "categories", but were sorted in what seems to be a more random fashion.
Starting July 22, 2012, and continuing for four additional episodes, Food Network aired the "Chopped Grill Masters" Tournament.
The winner was Ernest Servantes, Executive Chef at Texas Lutheran University and Pit Boss at Burnt Bean Company.
Winner Michael Imperioli donated his winnings to the Pure Land Project, an organization that helps build and maintain schools in rural Tibet.
The winners advanced to a two-round finale (Appetizer and Entrée), in which Irvine observed their cooking but did not serve as a judge.
On May 31, 2022, 16 chefs competed in a five-episode tournament judged by Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, and Chris Santos.
[14] A spin-off series titled Chopped Sweets premiered on February 3, 2020, with Scott Conant as host and head judge.
It follows the same three-round competition/judging structure and $10,000 prize as the original, with chefs required to make desserts in every round that adhere to a theme announced by Conant.