The competitive cooking show "Chopped" doesn't make things easy for chefs who are looking
to overcome cooking challenges and emerge victoriously. The rules are pretty rough.
Some episodes air a year after they were shot,
which means it's essential to make sure no spoilers get leaked beforehand.
Every participant has to adhere to a strict non-disclosure agreement.
If broken, the violator will have to cough up as much as $75,000, according to E! News. Also,
you're pretty lucky if you even make in on the show. Some chefs,
like former participant and winner Kathy Fang, were fortunate enough to be chosen quickly,
while others have to be patient and wait for years to compete.
"I may be small and petite, but I'm going to be running circles around
Bobby Flay and he won't even know what hit him."
When Fang competed on "Chopped," she knew that it would be a daunting task to survive
all the cooking tests and brave through mysterious ingredients while cooking, according to Delish.
She mentioned that it was important to be prepared for feedback from the judges, and explained,
"You look at how accomplished the judges are, and you feel like their opinion matters a lot. If they
don't like something you made, you might wonder, 'Does this mean I'm not that good of a cook?'"
The chef dealt with her insecurities by working on a dish again and again until she felt satisfied.
Fang explained to Delish that once they're done filming the competition,
they have to hang around for an hour or even an hour and a half to film critical moments.
If you've ever wondered when reality shows film those scenes about what was
going through contestants' minds during each episode's big moments, there's your answer.
The rule about post-show interviews applies to everyone on "Chopped," not just the winners.
Sure, you have to stick around for a post-show interview, but to get there in the first place,
all "Chopped" contestants undergo a grueling application process. According to Thrillist,
the form itself is pretty exhausting to fill out and has a plethora of questions that gauge
your ability to succeed on the TV show. While there are generic questions, aspiring "Chopped"
contestants must also be able to answer more personal questions, like what motivated them to
be a chef in the first place, what their family life was like, and even more probing questions.
Chef Julianne Feder tried to make her answers as interesting as possible when
she applied to be a part of the show. Feder wrote on Thrillist,
"I wrote about growing up in New York and eating my way around the
city with my family. I told them how living in France inspired me to start
cooking. [...] I told them about being a total dork in the kitchen."
Feder added that the call from the "Chopped" team didn't take too long and she was invited for an
interview in New York. However, once she was done with the on-camera interviews with the producers,
she had to be really patient — it took more than a month for her to get a response.
If you're a "Chopped" contestant, you need to accept the fact that you'll have
to be able to come up with something that's impressive and gives you a competitive edge
over other participants in just 30 minutes.
"Oh you got to be kidding me."
According to Delish, there are no exceptions to this rule and every contestant's work is timed.
Oh, and if you're preparing an appetizer, you have even less time to prepare your dish — 20 minutes.
A former participant who's been on the show a couple of times,
Michael Vignola, told Tasting Table,
"You're really being timed, you're being filmed from all sides and it's a real competition,
not just a fake reality show."
"So whose dish is on the chopping block?"
He added that nobody gets any extra time to study the ingredients or think about
interesting ideas in advance. You have to be prepared to improvise quickly. Vignola said,
"As soon as you open the basket, the clock starts.
I have no idea how I came up with the dishes I made. I just did it in the moment."
Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus,
even more Mashed videos about your favorite cooking shows are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.