There's always an incredibly intense amount of adrenaline and creativity swirling around in the
Chopped kitchen. There's also a good amount of awkwardness and uncomfortable tension.
If you're a regular viewer of Chopped, you'll certainly remember a few of these
awkward moments that made for some very watchable television.
Watch enough episodes of Chopped, and you begin to pick up on the likes and dislikes
of the judges. Heck, Food Network even has a cheat sheet contestants could use,
naming certain foods the Chopped judges despise. Still, some chefs just have to learn the hard
way and get under the skin of the judges by repeatedly giving them food they don't like.
Such was the case when one competitor served Scott Conant raw red onions in the first round,
only to find out that Conant hates raw onions. It was an honest mistake, but then he decided to
serve raw onions again in the entrée round. All Conant could do was watch with concern
as the chef prepared the dish, foolishly ignoring the critique he'd just been given.
"I don't understand why the onions are there after we told you, especially myself,
I didn't like raw onions. You used them in the first course already — yet they're here."
The chef explained that he felt the onion in the dishes "makes
sense" before Conant cautioned him about onion in the dessert round.
"I was thinking an onion jam.”
It's almost like the guy was actively trying to not win $10,000.
Mmm, who wants a big ol' plate of practically raw eel that just may kill you? No takers? Well,
surprisingly, neither did the Chopped judges when one contestant served them up a meal
that wasn't just unappetizing, but potentially lethal, too.
The chefs had to work with eel, and it's apparent that things are
about to go badly for one contestant when Alex Guarnaschelli asked a pretty important question.
“How did you cook the eel?”
“He didn’t.”
“Not at all just the torching.”
“The torching.”
The contestant had simply hit the eel with a blow torch for a few seconds and called it a day.
Nope, that simply won't cut it when it comes to eel. The other judges point out that the eel is
not just raw, but bloody and full of potentially deadly toxins. This is because eel blood is
poisonous and even eating a little bit could kill someone, according to Boston.com. Uh oh.
“It's harmful as-is, so I don’t think we can eat this.”
Having your food critiqued on national television by celebrity judges has to
be nerve wracking enough, without them jumping on you for almost killing them. Cringe-worthy indeed.
Chef creativity comes into play on Chopped perhaps more than any other competitive
cooking show. There's no way a chef can create an appetizing entrée with gummy worms, skirt steak,
and oyster crackers unless they get really creative. The ultimate goal is to create a dish
that tastes good, of course, so when that dish tastes like, well, nothing, it's a bit awkward.
One chef used phyllo dough to construct a cup for what appeared to be some sort of
pudding-like dessert. Watch any cooking show, and you'll learn that it's always a bad idea
when a chef puts something on the plate that they maybe didn't intend for the judge to eat.
Phyllo sheets really don't have much taste to them, and when Scott Conant
informed the chef of this, she made it obvious she disagreed and snapped back.
“But it tastes… uh… like nothing.”
“I think it’s a matter of taste on that one.”
“It’s not necessarily a matter of taste.”
This is precisely when things got awkward as the camera panned to Ted
Allen and the other contestant, who have that "Oh, no she didn't" look
on their faces. Conant informed her she couldn't talk her way around it.
It seems like a miracle when at the end of every round on Chopped, the chefs manage to
construct a gourmet dish in the course of 30 minutes. Using a basket of mystery ingredients
makes the feat even more impressive. Most chefs pull it off and at least get something on the
plate — even if that something isn't always a dish the judges seem excited about eating.
Then there's poor chef Mauro Maccioni. The son of iconic New York City restaurateur Sirrio Maccioni,
Mauro failed to get any of his food on the plate. That's right — he had to
serve empty plates to the Chopped judges ... in the first round!
As Ted Allen warned the chefs that they had mere seconds left,
Maccioni was seen still trying to prepare his pasta before asking another chef where
the plates are. He then casually walked over to get the plates ... perhaps aware
that he's essentially dead in the water at that point. Nevertheless, the judges were
horrified. Judge Aarón Sánchez covered his eyes in disappointment and Geoffrey Zakarian shook
his head on the table like a 4-year-old who just found out there's no kids menu.
The judges threw Maccioni a bone and complimented him on the flavor of
his sauce after Allen requested he bring over his unfinished product,
but it's pretty apparent it's all too little too late.
Nobody gets out of the Chopped kitchen without having their cooking techniques
nitpicked and critiqued by the judges. That's just
part of the deal that goes along with potentially walking away $10,000 richer.
Most of the contestants welcome this criticism and take it in stride — the keyword being "most."
Some chefs just seem to interpret constructive criticism as a personal attack,
and that makes things especially uncomfortable for everyone in the room.
Judge Geoffrey Zakarian called out one especially defensive chef.
"We here welcome criticism because we know we get better,
and we learn. It's the one ingredient you're gonna need for the rest of your life."
The sage advice fell on deaf ears, though,
and the hardheaded chef immediately went on the defense, calling himself a "damn good cook."
Ted Allen tried to deflate the situation, but it didn't do much good,
and it's obvious that neither the other judges, nor competitors,
were thrilled to be in the same kitchen with this particular chef.
A quick look at Chopped judge Geoffrey Zakarian's website, and it's apparent the guy has some clout
in the culinary world: multiple executive chef positions, restaurant openings, awards,
cookbooks, even projects with cruise lines and luxury hotels. Obviously, Zakarian has quite
the background to draw upon when it comes to critiquing a plate of food — which is why when
one chef put a hot pepper on Zakarian's plate that he didn't approve of, things quickly went south.
Zakarian held up the pepper and asked the question no Chopped contestant wants to hear:
"What are we supposed to do with these?"
“Nibble.”
Basically, it's the Chopped equivalent of the viral "What are those?" meme. The
chef's answer of "nibble" didn't sit well with Zakarian, who proceeded to inform her
how a hot pepper would prevent him and the other judges from even tasting the food.
Rather than simply nod "yes, chef" and letting it go, the contestant decided to reply.
"But you know you're alive."
Then she shot the still not convinced Zakarian a look that said "your move, pal."
It's exactly this sort of uncomfortable moment between judge and contestant that
makes the judging portion of Chopped such a highly entertaining part of the show.
There are a lot of things that could be said about chef Rory Philipson's appearance on
Chopped. However, one YouTube comment perhaps sums it up best:
"She is like a red onion in human form."
Yes, the bitterness and overall lack of popularity perfectly captures the chef's time on Chopped.
Philipson appeared on the incredibly entertaining "Viewer's Choice Baskets" episode,
in which the contestants were delivered baskets with items like durian,
chicken in a can, and lime gelatin. As terrible as the basket ingredients may have been,
the other contestants were good sports and took it in stride — but not chef Rory.
After having her food called "dull" by Geoffrey Zakarian and too rare by Amanda Freitag, the chef
tried to pull the other contestants — who clearly wanted no part of her defense — into her excuse.
The cherry on top of the whole exchange was courtesy of Scott Conant,
who decided to respond to Philipson's complaint that the baskets were too hard.
“But I feel like this was, uh, much better than the first round.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m saying the basket.”
"Seriously, guys?"
If you thought Rory Philipson was less than a delightful ray of sunshine,
allow us to introduce you to chef Lauren Von Der Pool. Generally, Chopped chefs seem to
focus 100 percent of their attention on, you know, cooking an incredible dish in under half
an hour with a bunch of mystery ingredients. Von Der Pool, however, devoted a significant amount
of her energy to being annoyed by chef Sarah Pouzar. Apparently, asking to use the Sriracha
was just too much! It's the sort of uncomfortable tension that makes you root for anyone else,
simply out of sympathy for their misfortune of having to share a kitchen with Von Der Pool.
Whatever bad blood there was between chef Pouzar and Von Der Pool, it spilled over
into the latter's cooking and spoiled the entire dish. "Overly sweet," "heavy," and "aggressive"
were just a few of the negative adjectives judge Amanda Freitag used to describe Von Der
Pool's dish — and the chef threw back a steely death stare the entire time.
After learning she had been chopped, Von Der Pool responded with "seriously,
guys?" before walking off in a huff. You get the feeling that both the judges
and contestants were relieved when the whole Von Der Pool experience was over.
Chopped is full of high-stakes moments, but moments that are also sort of hilarious?
Those are a bit more difficult to come by, which is what makes the battle over
a grill pan between two chefs such a gem in the show's history of awkward moments.
Chef Elda Bielanski went toe-to-toe over a grill pan with competitor Keith Young — a
man who easily has 18 inches and probably 75 pounds on Bielanski.
When the two chefs literally got into a tug-of-war over the grill pan,
the judges looked on in amusement at the kitchen battle unfolding before them.
“I got my money on Elda.”
A true battle for the ages if there ever was one.
The two competitors tangled for the kitchen tool for several seconds.
“Come on, let it go. Let it go.”
“I am not gonna look good fighting with a grandma for God’s sakes.”
“Let it go.”
“Go ahead. Do your thing.”
For the most part, the chefs on Chopped treat each other cordially.
Sure, they're competitive, but they don't typically shoot each other down. That sort
of trash-talking is generally a lot more prevalent on shows like Cutthroat Kitchen.
Chef Chris Burke didn't get the memo, though, and fully went after chef Amy Roth with
condescending vengeance, taking direct aim at his competitor's okra. In the final judging round,
chef Burke stated his case for why he should win:
"I was able to outperform my competitor and it's just been obvious,
from her soggy okra to my crispy okra."
Chef Roth retaliated and said she watched the judges' reaction while eating Burke's food,
and Burke quipped right back that they were "probably drooling."
It's easy to see why Roth felt comfortable sharing her truth during one of the interview segments.
"I can't stand him."
People on a Serious Eats thread chatting about
the episode seemed to have similar views on Roth. One commenter wrote,
"Chris seems to be the biggest jerk I've ever seen on reality tv or in real life."
There are certain safety guidelines that one should know in the kitchen if they're
a professional chef. We're not talking about obscure safety guidelines like how to properly
cook a puffer fish, but basic stuff like don't run with a knife and don't put cooked food on
a cutting board that just had raw meat on it. These are basic, elementary safety tips.
Chef Hannah seemed to have skipped safety day in culinary school,
because she nearly burned down the Chopped kitchen with a grease fire.
The chef doused her grill with oil which eventually caught fire and had all the
Chopped judges looking with worrisome faces that read, "I don't want to die on the Food Network."
Rather than extinguishing the fire with salt or baking soda, chef Hannah did the absolute worst
thing — she went for the water. The chef carried the grill to the sink, turned on the water,
and then started to go back to her station as the flames grew larger. Thankfully, disaster was
averted, but for a few brief moments this awkward moment was heading in a seriously scary direction.
Contestants on Chopped are certainly expected
to adopt a "whatever it takes" mindset to emerge victorious. The exception, though,
is treating the kitchen like a total slob. A sloppy chef does not impress.
Things got a bit unpleasant for chef Lola Garand
when she was called out by judge Geoffrey Zakarian over her messy cooking habits.
Zakarian chastised the chef during the entrée round for throwing her food scraps on the floor.
"I don't really appreciate that, it's really disrespectful to us and to the competitors."
The chef attempted to explain herself, but he was not having it.
"I was trying to play the game, and do what was asked of me."
“This is not a game!"
Welp, that was all it took.
"I don't want to continue. Not the way you spoke to me."
Garland did finish the "game" and made it to the dessert round, but it's entirely possible that she
was already out before Zakarian even tried her apple blackberry crumble, and she was chopped.
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