A pressure cooker environment.
A hefty cash prize on the line.
A nerve-fraying ticking clock.
The contestants on "Chopped" are wading through fire.
Alex Guarnaschelli told us what's really going on with them.
Among the many cooking competition TV shows out there, Chopped has remained consistently
popular and follows a winning formula.
As outlined by Delish, participants must impress the judges by cooking up a storm and surviving
three rounds that require them to prepare appetizers, entrées, and desserts.
They're forced to use a box filled with mystery ingredients and race against time to prepare
all of the dishes.
There's a lot going on, but that "pressure cooker" environment also separates out the
most talented chefs of the bunch.
One Twitter user praised Chopped and wrote to one of the show's judges, chef Alex Guarnaschelli,
"Format has worked beautifully for years — hence the large viewership.
I'll bet every contestant has left the studio a better chef."
"Bon appetit."
Guarnaschelli had a wonderful response, writing back,
"I love this thought.
That's the hope."
The celebrity chef had initially exchanged tweets with skeptics who argued that Chopped
has a flawed format, with drawbacks such as the fact that only one fryer is available
for the contestants to use while preparing their dishes.
"Right now they're battling for the fryer."
An exasperated Guarnaschelli wrote in response,
"The show is a near perfect format.
Its goal is to showcase the work under pressure of up-and-coming chefs who risk putting themselves
out there in the public eye.
That's the pressure cooker of it all."
Former Chopped participant Sequoia Pranger told The Statesman Journal in 2014 that working
on a single episode of the show is hard work for its crew, judges, and contestants, as
they're usually on the set for 12 hours until the entire process is complete.
And the judges can take as long as 90 minutes after every round to come up with a decision.
With the arduous competition process in mind, it's not surprising that Alex Guarnaschelli
shared something relatable about being on the show in a March 2015 Reddit AMA.
The chef wrote:
"'Chopped' looks easy when you're sitting on your couch with a bowl of popcorn, but
let me tell you, it's a whole different world when you open that basket, and Ted [Allen]
is giving you that stare."
Guarnaschelli has opened up about the emotional aspect of food and cooking competitions in
the past, too.
She told Mashed in July 2021,
"If you're competing, you're learning about yourself and what you can do under pressure.
When you win, it's great validation.
If you don't win ... you still learn a lot about yourself.
There's a lot of different ways that it's rewarding and a lot of different ways that
it's just hard."
Guarnaschelli went on to add that emotion is always a byproduct of that experience,
whether it's the disappointment one feels after losing, or how a contestant can feel
almost euphoric after a big win.
That confirms that many of the emotions we see in the contestants on the show are legit.
If all of the "pressure cooker" talk — and the fact that there's only one fryer and one
ice cream maker — hasn't deterred you from wanting to experience Chopped for yourself,
just know that the Chopped application process is almost as involved as the actual competition.
One fan tweeted in 2019:
"I am filling out the application to be on Chopped (as an amateur) and boy howdy it's
extensive."
Per the official Chopped casting call, you'll have to answer questions about your cooking
experience, along with your chosen style of cooking and your "approach to food."
Thrillist writer Julianne Feder wrote an essay about applying for the show in 2017, and the
process included answering numerous questions about her cooking background, as well as an
on-camera, in-person interview.
Of course, with a $10,000 prize on the line, it's understandable that the Food Network
series would want to choose the best possible contestants.
But being a good cook isn't everything — so if your dream is to be on the show, be ready
for a lengthy interview process, too.
Feder explained that her on-camera interview took roughly an hour, where she went into
more detail about her food background and what dishes she enjoyed making.
Applying and competing on Chopped isn't easy — but for the show's winners, it's worth it.
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