Chopped 2022: Live and Let Chop

[Westiepeach]

17 hours ago, ShortyMac said:

I, too, cannot stand Tiffani Faison.

^^^ This. ^^^ A million times this. ^^^

[Maverick]

 So this was a holdover from the temp space episodes last summer.  I wonder how many more there are.   

 The couples were surprisingly drama free.  Although I think the one woman was probably biting her tongue some with the "wimmins shouldn't be shuckin oysters" guy.

[mlp]

I didn't expect to enjoy a couples episode but I did.  They all seemed nice and I got a kick out of the one guy who was half of the winning team (can't remember his name).  He reminded me a bit of Carson Kressley with his delivery of lines.  I was glad they won.

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, mlp said:

I didn't expect to enjoy a couples episode but I did.  They all seemed nice and I got a kick out of the one guy who was half of the winning team (can't remember his name).  He reminded me a bit of Carson Kressley with his delivery of lines.  I was glad they won.

So was I. They really seemed to work well together. 

[grandmabegum]

Where is the couples episode available? The last new episode on foodnetwork.com is the Casino Finale.

[MerBearHou]

I just watched the 4 chefs cook in honor of Black History Month.  They were a delight to watch.  And I loved the 3 judges.  The young woman who was chopped first though — in pre-interviews, why does anyone say something like “all I do is win”?  It’s an absolute recipe to do the opposite!!  Great show and I hope to see some of these chefs again.  

[Rammchick]

18 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I just watched the 4 chefs cook in honor of Black History Month.  They were a delight to watch.  And I loved the 3 judges.  The young woman who was chopped first though — in pre-interviews, why does anyone say something like “all I do is win”?  It’s an absolute recipe to do the opposite!!  Great show and I hope to see some of these chefs again.  

Interesting to be seeing so many Top Chef alums on the Food Network now.  

[schnauzergirl]

There was an energy I haven't seen for a long time.  Everybody made mistakes and everybody did some great cooking and nobody talked trash.  The judges -- please bring them back.  

[sharifa70]

My dvr cut off during the dessert tasting: Who won the Black History Month episode?

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 2/19/2022 at 10:32 PM, sharifa70 said:

My dvr cut off during the dessert tasting: Who won the Black History Month episode?

Spoiler

Brian Jupiter.

Great episode.  Loved it.

They NEED to do more special episodes like that.  And I love that they changed the judges panel to way more appropriate judges for this episode.

Regarding the Blind Date/Chopped for Love one -- that's an old episode right?  I saw it before, right?  That's not new.  I saw one Blind Dating episode and it actually drove me insane because the Chopped producers put couples together that were disasters.  Like if a guy said "This is my type" they gave him a woman who was the complete opposite of that and I found it humiliating for the woman.  So I refused to watch it again.

If they're going to do Blind Dating again at least give the woman some chance of finding a guy who might be into them.  It upset me!

Edited February 23, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[mlp]

7 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Regarding the Blind Date/Chopped for Love one -- that's an old episode right? 

I don't think so.  There was a couples episode a few years ago but with different people.  I vaguely recall not liking one or two of the matches.  This episode was totally new to me and I liked everyone on it.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

I don't think so.  There was a couples episode a few years ago but with different people.  I vaguely recall not liking one or two of the matches.  This episode was totally new to me and I liked everyone on it.

Okay thanks.  If it's new, I'll try and watch it on my On Demand service.

[Maverick]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

  Reveal spoiler

Brian Jupiter.

Great episode.  Loved it.

They NEED to do more special episodes like that.  And I love that they changed the judges panel to way more appropriate judges for this episode.

Regarding the Blind Date/Chopped for Love one -- that's an old episode right?  I saw it before, right?  That's not new.  I saw one Blind Dating episode and it actually drove me insane because the Chopped producers put couples together that were disasters.  Like if a guy said "This is my type" they gave him a woman who was the complete opposite of that and I found it humiliating for the woman.  So I refused to watch it again.

If they're going to do Blind Dating again at least give the woman some chance of finding a guy who might be into them.  It upset me!

 I think it's humiliating to both (regardless of the gender of both parties).   If throw two people together under the pretense of trying to match a match but know that they're likely going to be a match, you basically using them to create drama for a reality show.  That said, in this particular episode the participants seemed to get along ok,   I doubt there were any love matches but no one seemed to be polar opposites. 

[sharifa70]

@Ms Blue Jay Thank you! I was rooting for both of them but that cheftestant had a very slight edge for me.

[Rammchick]

I almost turned it off when I saw that Claudia Sandoval was one of the judges on the chocolate competition.  I can't stand that awful laugh of hers that she seems to unleash constantly.  I don't remember it being this obnoxious on MasterChef.

Just now, Rammchick said:

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by Rammchick

[Maverick]

 I can't stand her either.  They keep dumping her on FN shows as a judge.   Stop trying to make her happen, FN.

[mlp]

29 minutes ago, Rammchick said:

I almost turned it off when I saw that Claudia Sandoval was one of the judges on the chocolate competition. 

I did too, especially after I saw Tiffani whom I also can't stand.  I was happy to see Amanda so I decided to watch and, as it turned out, Claudia wasn't obnoxious - if you don't count her ridiculous red hair with dark roots.  I liked the guy who works for Marcus Samuelsson so I was glad he won.

[emmawoodhouse]

3 minutes ago, mlp said:

I did too, especially after I saw Tiffani whom I also can't stand.  I was happy to see Amanda so I decided to watch and, as it turned out, Claudia wasn't obnoxious - if you don't count her ridiculous red hair with dark roots.  I liked the guy who works for Marcus Samuelsson so I was glad he won.

My takeaways as well. Pierogi Guy's dessert looked unappetizing.

[Rammchick]

13 hours ago, mlp said:

I did too, especially after I saw Tiffani whom I also can't stand.  I was happy to see Amanda so I decided to watch and, as it turned out, Claudia wasn't obnoxious - if you don't count her ridiculous red hair with dark roots.  I liked the guy who works for Marcus Samuelsson so I was glad he won.

In the end, I stuck it out, and it turned out that she wasn't too bad this time.  Love me some Amanda, so that definitely made it better.

[sharifa70]

I was happy to see Claudia: I remember her from Masterchef and was glad she won. She was respectful to the Chopped chefs here and I appreciated that even when she didn’t like something she also found something positive to say about each dish.

[schnauzergirl]

Last night was my introduction to Claudia and I thought she was fine.  To-the-point critiques and I believe she even thanked one contestant for cooking for the judges.  And I'm OK with Tiffani, so guess I'm in the minority.  

[Grizzly]

Takeout Takedown. From his talking heads, Dylan came off as a typical arrogant ass. I'm not sure but he might have been a Division 1 wrestler. Once in front of the judges, he became nervous and humble. I loved his eyes. Donna seemed really talented. Joe was funny.

[mlp]

I thought the judges could have rationalized the winner either way if they had wanted to but Donna's entree was so good that she had the edge.  Both desserts had problems.  Joe's looked tastier to me but weirder.  

I liked the combination of judges tonight.

[sharifa70]

I do not enjoy the fans’ basket choices episodes. Picking out nasty-looking ingredients just to pick out nasty-looking ingredients annoys me. At least there was no Alton Brown presenting them so there’s that. Even the judges were dismayed by the entree round basket.

I felt like the right person won, though I would have been satisfied with either.

[xaxat]

I really didn't like the fact that they didn't give the chefs more time for the pie episode. The crust is a big part of enjoying a pie! And I assume that the chefs are skilled at making them.

But the time limits placed them in a position where they had to use pre-made dough (which I can do) or run the serious risk that their own dough would be undercooked. I think that was a disservice to their skills.

Five or ten more minutes would have allowed a much better judging of pie makers.

[grandmabegum]

Completely agree. It's a pie challenge you should be encouraging them to make their own dough. They've certainly given chefs on this show and others guff for using premade pasta dough instead of making their own. They could have removed all the premade dough from the kitchen so they had to make their own, or leave it as they did and used self made vs pre made dough as a determining factor.

[emmawoodhouse]

I did get a laugh at that jerk who hoarded all the puff pastry getting chopped. 

[Gramto6]

37 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I did get a laugh at that jerk who hoarded all the puff pastry getting chopped. 

A well deserved chop!! I actually cheered out loud at that!

[Rammchick]

20 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

A well deserved chop!! I actually cheered out loud at that!

Me too!

I agree with everyone else here -- why weren't the first two rounds 30 min/45 min instead of the usual 20/30?  Really, what is the point of having a pie challenge if you're not going to give the chefs enough time to bake a decent pie?

Edited April 14, 2022 by Rammchick

[Koalagirl]

On 4/13/2022 at 3:55 PM, emmawoodhouse said:

I did get a laugh at that jerk who hoarded all the puff pastry getting chopped. 

I knew the karma bus was heading his way as soon as he did that!

[libgirl2]

On 4/13/2022 at 3:33 PM, Gramto6 said:

A well deserved chop!! I actually cheered out loud at that!

So did I! 

16 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I knew the karma bus was heading his way as soon as he did that!

Puff pastry rarely works on this show and he should have known that. 

[Grizzly]

Stephanie Izard is a really good judge. They can make her permanent in my opinion.

[kirklandia]

It was cool to see two chefs representing Seattle! Happy that they both made it to the (extremely challenging!) dessert round. 

Kind of strange that nobody asked if they knew each other…

Edited April 21, 2022 by kirklandia

[buttersister]

Quote

Stephanie Izard is a really good judge. They can make her permanent in my opinion.

It’d be great, but she’s opening more restaurants, so probably not. I’ve eaten at all of her Chicago places, each wonderful in its own way and always tasty.

I meant to add they’re always fun to eat in, too. Great service. What you see here, her knowledge and personality, is a factor in her places, from the upscale to the play on a diner and those in between.

Edited April 21, 2022 by buttersister

[Rammchick]

10 hours ago, kirklandia said:

It was cool to see two chefs representing Seattle!  Happy that they both made it to the (extremely challenging!) dessert round. 

Kind of strange that nobody asked if they knew each other…

Have you eaten at Mamnoon?  I tried to get a reservation in there a couple of times and they only had a very late seating available.  Still want to get in there, especially if he makes food that looked like that! 

[xaxat]

It was kind of weird seeing Marc Murphy judging knowing that he is now in Poland working at a World Central Kitchen.

[schnauzergirl]

A new series -- Desperately Seeking Sous Chef -- starts tomorrow.  I'm not sure how many episodes there are or who is seeking a sous chef, but I've found the last couple of shows underwhelming so am looking forward to this.

[FormerMod-a1]

Looks like it will be 4-5 episodes. They mentioned 16 competitors, so 4 eps at least, but I don't know if there will be a final Chopped with the winners of the first 4.  It's odd because they are making it like Chris, Maneet, and Scott are all looking for sous chefs so ending with either 4 or 1 wouldn't work.

[Rammchick]

37 minutes ago, aquarian1 said:

Looks like it will be 4-5 episodes. They mentioned 16 competitors, so 4 eps at least, but I don't know if there will be a final Chopped with the winners of the first 4.  It's odd because they are making it like Chris, Maneet, and Scott are all looking for sous chefs so ending with either 4 or 1 wouldn't work.

I guess whoever wins gets their pick of who they want to sous with, of the three chefs.

Edited June 1, 2022 by Rammchick

[mlp]

That was a pretty good episode.  I thought the chefs went out in the right order.  

I gathered from something Ted said that the winners of the first 4 rounds will compete for the actual win - so 5 episodes.  It always seems chintzy to me that FN doesn't give the winners of each round a cash prize.

I'll be surprised if the winner wants to work for Scott Conant.  I know he has a very successful restaurant but he's such an egotistical so-and-so.

[candall]

This whole premise just seems highly improbable to me. 

I don't think the Chopped process is how the highly successful judge chefs would select and hire a sous chef.  (And if it is, that's a pretty stupid criteria.)  Further, I don't think there's any way these 16 people all came on the show prepared to pull up stakes and relocate anywhere they're sent.

As five-show Chopped "themes" go, though, it's new and different and Martha Stewart isn't involved, so I'll hang in there.

I do agree with the poster above that anyone who sweats out a Chopped win should go home with prize money.  This show is in its 52d season and remains the popular workhorse anchor of the Food Network; there's definitely $10k in the budget to spare for each winner.

.

[libgirl2]

I knew from the start who would win last night. The judges seemed to really like them from the start. 

[BradandJanet]

Is Chopped Sweets part of this series? It's three desserts, but the same format otherwise. 

[libgirl2]

Well, I called that one from the start. I think the only way the winner would have lost would have been to leave food off the plate or contaminate it with blood! 

[schnauzergirl]

Apparentlly we're back to no new episodes.  Starting tonight Alex is on at 9:00.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

I finally got to see "Cooking for Love" here in Canada!  Just 5 months later than you all.  One of my favourite episodes of Chopped I've ever seen!

This was so much better than the Blind Dating episode they did  few years ago.  The couples all liked each other or at least pretended to - and that's fine with me.  Everyone was respectful!

My favourite couple won!  Thank God Chopped actually tried to put compatible people together this time.

Edited July 20, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[nitrofishblue]

Has anyone watched the new cooking competition shows, like the supermarket one that is now in the Chopped slot? It seems that the producer are trying so hard to find new ideas. Sorry but they all fail as far as I am concerned. The host for the supermarket one is Jeff "The Sandwich" king. I really don't like his presence on the TV. I have never enjoyed watching him. Then there is Alex. Why are they pushing her on the viewers? She grates on my last nerve every time I see her. Right now if it isn't GG, it is Alex. The only show I have any interest in is Chopped. So I won't be watching Food Network until new Chopped episodes are telecast.

I do wish they would upgrade Chopped and drop all this conflict stuff. I don't enjoy watching chefs having to fight over use of the fryer/ice cream maker. I want to watch good cooking not equipment issues. They really need to bump up the prize money. It has been $10,000 from the beginning. Now that money will barely pay for the expense the chef incur just to come to New York. Just think of how much they leave there in taxes!!!!

[mlp]

4 hours ago, nitrofishblue said:

I do wish they would upgrade Chopped and drop all this conflict stuff. I don't enjoy watching chefs having to fight over use of the fryer/ice cream maker. I want to watch good cooking not equipment issues. They really need to bump up the prize money. It has been $10,000 from the beginning. Now that money will barely pay for the expense the chef incur just to come to New York. Just think of how much they leave there in taxes!!!!

Amen to all of that.  I've been wondering why there haven't been new shows lately.  I thought they usually filmed numerous episodes of Chopped way way in advance.

[Crs97]

What I won’t forget about Tiffani F is the finale of Top Chef when, after a contentious season with Dave, he made the dessert based on his recipe for her and she passed it off to the judges as her own.  Dave said nothing; the other assistant was the one who told the judges that their favorite dish was Dave’s.  I am watching her judge Dave on a rerun of Chopped, and she delighted in being brutal after saying “he wasn’t very nice to me.”  At least he didn’t steal from you.

[Salacious Kitty]

3 minutes ago, Crs97 said:

What I won’t forget about Tiffani F is the finale of Top Chef when, after a contentious season with Dave, he made the dessert based on his recipe for her and she passed it off to the judges as her own.  Dave said nothing; the other assistant was the one who told the judges that their favorite dish was Dave’s.  I am watching her judge Dave on a rerun of Chopped, and she delighted in being brutal after saying “he wasn’t very nice to me.”  At least he didn’t steal from you.

Dave's "I'm not your bitch, bitch!" to Tiff remains an iconic Top Chef moment, for all the wrong reasons.