Chopped 2022: Live and Let Chop

[Maverick]

 Chopped returns January 4th a series titled "Casino Royale".  Since Chopped's return shares a name with the first James Bond novel I thought it only fair this year's thread title riffs on a Bond title too.

 This tournament looks super gimmicky.  There's a craps table in the kitchen and the judges are dressed for a winter formal.  Ted looks like he should be stroking a white cat as he reveals the basket ingredients in a vague, nondescript euro accent.  Tiffani is back as a judge and Christian was one too, so I'm wondering if that's for this series or if they're moving him in as a permanent judge too.    

[mlp]

I suppose the scenario above is for New Year's but I wish they'd just go back to the original format and skip all the tournaments.  Or maybe have just one per year.  I also wish they'd ditch Tiffani because I can't stand her but I don't think I'll get that wish.

[buttersister]

The baskets should be filled with Stilton, cheddar, feta and parmigiana—this sounds so cheesy.

[Gramto6]

Yeah, I am over all the tournament too! Please let's get back to original Chopped. 

[schnauzergirl]

Amanda posted on fb that tonight's Chopped is a new episode.

[buttersister]

Not bad, although hearing the stories, you see the winner (tasty-looking food, though) pretty early. 

[Gramto6]

12 minutes ago, buttersister said:

Not bad, although hearing the stories, you see the winner (tasty-looking food, though) pretty early. 

Yeah, I agree, though I did enjoy the new show.

[Rammchick]

What was this lovefest that was on during Chopped's time slot?  This was definitely a kinder, gentler Chopped, compared to how this show started out.  I have to say that I don't like the shows where the chefs are "preordained" as much, where they're chosen to fit a theme.  It's not as in keeping with the original Chopped spirit.  All that being said, I can't say that I miss some of the arrogant jerks -- both chefs and judges -- of old.  It will be interesting to see where this goes from here.

[mlp]

I thought the show with pasta all three rounds was the new show but nothing at all was said about the show resuming and the kitchen looked the same.  Was I confused?

I was glad the Italian woman won.  I couldn't stand the other woman.

[libgirl2]

The casino idea was a bit cheesy but I was just happy to have Chopped back. It looks like they are back in the normal kitchen, thank God! 

[Grizzly]

I wonder if it makes the judging harder since the chefs aren't using the same ingredients.

[libgirl2]

30 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I wonder if it makes the judging harder since the chefs aren't using the same ingredients.

It has to be. Look at the guy with the tuna jello, he did good with that and this rest of his dish was bad. He could easily have a great dish and crappy tuna jello. 

[mlp]

I can't quite decide if I like the format.  It's interesting but it does make the playing field uneven.  The guy who placed second definitely misused the horrible egg but there wasn't much he could have done to make it palatable.  

I thought that Ted looked like he's lost weight.  His face was too thin.

[libgirl2]

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

I can't quite decide if I like the format.  It's interesting but it does make the playing field uneven.  The guy who placed second definitely misused the horrible egg but there wasn't much he could have done to make it palatable.  

I thought that Ted looked like he's lost weight.  His face was too thin.

they were telling him he should have used less egg and if he had used a "sliver", they would complain they couldn't taste it! 

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I can't quite decide if I like the format.  It's interesting but it does make the playing field uneven.  The guy who placed second definitely misused the horrible egg but there wasn't much he could have done to make it palatable.  

I thought that Ted looked like he's lost weight.  His face was too thin.

I basically said that same thing but posted it in the wrong thread:

Quote

Although I thought the theme was fun, it does remove one of the major hallmarks of Chopped:  all contestants have the same ingredients and they're judged on how well they incorporated them, relative to the other contestants.  If you swap out one of the ingredients and each contestant has the potential to have different components to work with (which would happen if all rolled the dice in a round), you're now on an uneven playing field, and judges are comparing apples to oranges.  Also, the degree of difficulty wildly varies.  While it was really obvious which dish was worthy of being chopped each time, it did make me wonder what they would do if it was close, and one dish had easier ingredients than another one.

What happens if multiple chefs roll the same number on the dice -- were the cloches replaced after each turn?  I didn't notice, but that makes the most sense.

 

[letusprocrastinate]

Well, I learned a new term during tonight's episode:  Cod Milt.

I lived a happy and contented life without knowing this.  I guess I can now impress people at parties.

But at least I'm not going to have to eat it. 

(Cod sperm)

Edited January 12, 2022 by letusprocrastinate
Or maybe gross people out

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, letusprocrastinate said:

Well, I learned a new term during tonight's episode:  Cod Milt.

I lived a happy and contented life without knowing this.  I guess I can now impress people at parties.

But at least I'm not going to have to eat it. 

(Cod sperm)

AT first I thought it was something like a tripe. I would not want to cook with it, let alone eat it. Yuck. They are really finding some God awful ingredients! 

[Rammchick]

13 hours ago, letusprocrastinate said:

Well, I learned a new term during tonight's episode:  Cod Milt.

I lived a happy and contented life without knowing this.  I guess I can now impress people at parties.

But at least I'm not going to have to eat it. 

(Cod sperm)

If you ever watched the old Japanese version of Iron Chef, it was referred to as soft roe, and appeared on the show many times.

[ZoqFotPik]

I'm almost positive this isn't the first time it has been an ingredient.

[libgirl2]

Oh wow, our local radio station had an interview with the latest winner who is from the Chicago area. Her father is a legendary news person. I had no idea. 

[letusprocrastinate]

On 1/12/2022 at 10:32 AM, Rammchick said:

If you ever watched the old Japanese version of Iron Chef, it was referred to as soft roe, and appeared on the show many times.

Thank you.  I have watched the Japanese version of Iron Chef but it looks like I missed those particular episodes.

I know where I live when Shad Roe makes its annual appearance it's a big deal. 

As for the whole "Casino Royale" thing, I don't mind it since Chopped has been pretty stale lately, and at least they're doing something to liven things up a bit.

[Rammchick]

1 hour ago, letusprocrastinate said:

Thank you.  I have watched the Japanese version of Iron Chef but it looks like I missed those particular episodes.

I know where I live when Shad Roe makes its annual appearance it's a big deal. 

I'm guessing SE Pennsylvania?  I lived in the Philly suburbs for 13 years and there was a Shad Festival every year, I recall.

[letusprocrastinate]

2 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

I'm guessing SE Pennsylvania?  I lived in the Philly suburbs for 13 years and there was a Shad Festival every year, I recall.

Northern Virginia.

[KayVeeTeeVee]

On 12/22/2021 at 11:06 AM, mlp said:

I suppose the scenario above is for New Year's but I wish they'd just go back to the original format and skip all the tournaments.  Or maybe have just one per year.  I also wish they'd ditch Tiffani because I can't stand her but I don't think I'll get that wish.

Agree on all points.  Ditch Tiffani and the insufferable deese, dems, and does, ugly sweater-wearing Christian.  I would never go to one of his restaurants - he skeeves me out.

[libgirl2]

I was surprised last night as I thought the other person would win. The judges seemed really impressed with their cooking. 

[Rammchick]

I've liked all the chefs we've seen so far (especially this week's crew), but in thinking about this, I still am not completely on board with everyone potentially cooking with different ingredients.  What if they left the odd/even thing as it was, and each of the chefs rolled the dice until they gathered all the basket ingredients?  Then all would cook with whatever they collectively "won".  Man, could they end up with weird baskets that way!

[Grizzly]

I loved Amanda's mauve jacket tonight. Now we have 4 women advancing to the finals. Has that ever happened before?

[xaxat]

Deep fried Iberico ham is the equivalent of a well done wagyu steak.

[emmawoodhouse]

I fell asleep during the dessert round. Who won?

 

[ZoqFotPik]

Nicole won. Tiffany made a puff pastry dessert, but it wasn't cooked through.

[emmawoodhouse]

8 minutes ago, ZoqFotPik said:

Nicole won. Tiffany made a puff pastry dessert, but it wasn't cooked through.

Yes, the last thing I recall was the judges talking about the puff pastry not having enough time to bake.

Edited January 27, 2022 by emmawoodhouse

[Rammchick]

11 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Yes, the last thing I recall was the judges talking about the puff pastry not having enough time to bake.

That was such a shame.  I think she would have taken it otherwise.

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, Rammchick said:

That was such a shame.  I think she would have taken it otherwise.

I agree but she used the dreaded puff pastry. How often does it bake completely on this show? 

Edited January 27, 2022 by libgirl2

[Rammchick]

19 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I agree but she used the dreaded puff pastry. How often does it bake completely on this show? 

Oh no argument from me.  And you're right, never.  But I thought she was the most creative of the four chefs and probably would have won if not for that.

[libgirl2]

20 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

Oh no argument from me.  And you're right, never.  But I thought she was the most creative of the four chefs and probably would have won if not for that.

Totally agree. She was really in the lead going into the last round. I have seen the other chef who won before. I want to say maybe GGG? 

[El maestro]

On 1/26/2022 at 11:22 AM, xaxat said:

Deep fried Iberico ham is the equivalent of a well done wagyu steak.

I like the new concept of gambling to change an undesired ingredient and maybe getting a worse ingredient. It makes it more interesting.

 

I agree with you. It is embarrassing that a chef who claims to respect the product and said the “farm to table” mantra cooked ibérico ham.

 

 

 

It’s like making a purée out of Caspian caviar.

[schnauzergirl]

Last night's Casino Royale Finale: I thought all four women were excellent, but my favorite won.  Cooking without posturing or trash talk ... what a relief.

 

[Gramto6]

17 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

Last night's Casino Royale Finale: I thought all four women were excellent, but my favorite won.  Cooking without posturing or trash talk ... what a relief.

 

She was my favorite too!

[xaxat]

I thought the level of execution was exceptional through this entire run. I wonder if the fact that contestants knew the basket ingredients and were able to think strategy during the filming of the craps table played a role.

[pdlinda]

On 2/2/2022 at 7:38 PM, xaxat said:

I thought the level of execution was exceptional through this entire run. I wonder if the fact that contestants knew the basket ingredients and were able to think strategy during the filming of the craps table played a role.

I unexpectedly enjoyed the whole series.  The chefs seemed superior to some of the others featured in the "theme" shows prior to the hiatus AND I thought the concept was interesting and entertaining.

Amanda looks FABULOUS.  Her hair, wardrobe and makeup were very flattering.  I'll refrain from commenting on the other judges appearances but I thought that Ted's hair style and appearance looked more polished and professional (please indulge me such "superficial" chatter but, hey, it is TV😃) than was the case before the hiatus.  

The winner was my favorite and I hope she's able to use the $40K to purchase a house, although in the very competitive and pricey real estate mkt throughout the Country it might not go that far.   She was an amazing chef and I enjoyed everything she prepared!

 

[Deskisamess]

Love the show, but Food Network has decided it's ok to run gross "Dr. Pimple Popper" commercials during Chopped. We had to turn it off, the commercials were so offensive and gross. Very disappointing.

Is the Casino thing a permanent change?

[pdlinda]

18 minutes ago, Deskisamess said:

Is the Casino thing a permanent change?

 I think it was simply a one-shot series.

No mention was made of future new shows so I guess we'll simply have to see what the Food Network schedules.

[emmawoodhouse]

Next week appears to be new. Cooking for Love.

[pdlinda]

2 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Next week appears to be new. Cooking for Love.

That's GREAT!!  Thanks for the update!

[kirklandia]

8 hours ago, pdlinda said:

The winner was my favorite and I hope she's able to use the $40K to purchase a house, although in the very competitive and pricey real estate mkt throughout the Country it might not go that far.

Kaleena is a chef in Seattle, so sadly her 40K will not go far.

[Rammchick]

On 2/5/2022 at 6:52 PM, kirklandia said:

Kaleena is a chef in Seattle, so sadly her 40K will not go far.

Too right -- though not a bad start to a downpayment.

[pdlinda]

On 2/5/2022 at 7:52 PM, kirklandia said:

Kaleena is a chef in Seattle, so sadly her 40K will not go far.

YAH...that's what I was thinking.  It seems like a lot of $$$ until it's compared with what the local real estate market is showing as homes to purchase.  

Maybe she should invest it and perhaps, in the future, she might be in a relationship where, perhaps the 2 of them could plan on buying a home together....or MAYBE SHE SHOULD BUY A LOTTERY TICKET !!😄

She was a lovely young lady and very talented!!

[ShortyMac]

I, too, cannot stand Tiffani Faison.

[libgirl2]

This Chopped Love thing.... not digging it. 

[Grizzly]

Chopped did a better job pairing up the couples than Amazing Race did a few years ago. I liked the episode. Everyone got along. It was an interesting premise for a first date.