Chopped After Hours: What Would the Judges Do?

[Bastet]

I'm so glad FN has started airing this.  I don't watch programming online (I haven't hooked up my computer to my TV, and I'm not squinting at a 19-inch monitor rather than a 56-inch TV), so I'd been missing out on these segments.  Many of the judges come off better in this than they do in regular episodes.  And it's fun to see Ted just lounging around with a glass of wine and periodically annoying them.

 

Am I correct in assuming all the judges who tackle a given basket are different than those who judged the contestants faced with that same basket?  Not that this is a competition, as they merely taste and praise each others' food - is there an episode in which flaws in the dishes are acknowledged? - but if one judge had already been in studio with a particular combination of ingredients and had time to reflect on what did and didn't work in multiple chefs' combinations, what they might have done, etc. that's an advantage.

 

Of course, for all I know, the judges are given the basket ingredients in advance and no one is flying by the seat of their pants.  That would be a shame, because the jovial atmosphere and food produced would be a treat to watch under any circumstances.

[mlp]

I *think* the After Hours chefs are different from the ones who judged the actual episode but I wouldn't swear to it.  I have no idea if they have advance knowledge of the baskets but I imagine they know what happens on episodes they weren't in so they probably all have some ideas ahead of time.  Whatever the answer is, I don't really care.  There's nothing at stake and they're just having fun.  I've been watching After Hours on line since it started and love that they've put it on TV.

[Totale]

I haven't watched these in a while but I remember the judges being the same ones as on the main show with the same ingredients.

[joanne3482]

I think in the first episode they showed last night Ted mentioned that they had been judges on that particular basket.  I really am liking this show too. It's fun to see what the judges would come up with. I've always wondered about that when they tend to be so harsh to the contestants about "this doesn't taste cheesy enough" or whatnot. 

[magpye29]

I love these episodes!  It's nice to see the judges humanized, since some of them can be so harsh on the regular eps, and I enjoy watching them have fun.

[Gbb]

I love these too! I especially love the ones where Ted gets to cook.

[SpottedCoachDog]

Ted telling Aaròn that his mole was "dirty word good" was adorable. Ted has so much fun doing these!

[nottopbravo]

I literally stumbled unto this show last night, and wish Food Network had this in primetime.  It's so much more relaxed than regular Chopped.  In fact, I like it better. 

[xaxat]

Which is more disrespectful to the fish? Using tongs to cook it or forcing it to kiss Jeffery Zakarian?

 

Scott's rules are confusing.

Edited October 23, 2015 by xaxat

[paramitch]

I love the way FN has been packaging these as full episodes of three different basket challenges, and the mix of the "Chopped" judges and the camaraderie here has been so much fun.

 

There's a real, palpable warmth between some of the chefs and it's so much fun to pick up on. If I were to guess who was closest, I would say that Alex and Ted are good friends in real life. Alex is incredibly warm with Ted on all of these episodes (and was blatantly helping him when he was cooking as well), and there's almost a funny, harmlessly flirtatious vibe. They're just very easy and funny with each other, and it's very sweet.

 

I also get a kick out of Scott, who I think is hilarious on these because he's completely willing to poke fun at himself and even to look ridiculous (and he also seems close to both Alex and Amanda, as well as Chris). Of course, Marc is even more willing to make a fool of himself, and I always find that endearing.  But the camaraderie and warmth between all of them is so much fun, and such a welcome change after the tough-talking judging rounds. Here, they're all drinking, playing around, cooking, and having fun, and it's always a joy to see Ted cook, too.

 

It's also interesting to see that some of the chefs have their go-to flavors. It's interesting that Maneet is more willing to go beyond her traditional Indian flavors much of the time, while Aaron seems far more content to stay in his particular Mexican-inspired wheelhouse. I also remember noticing that Chris Santos likes to use saffron a lot, for instance, as does Geoffrey, etc.

 

I especially get a kick out of the way everyone is willing to mess with Geoffrey, who comes across as (predictably) more uptight and competitive -- which is funny, because he's also the one who constantly will barely use a single ingredient, and then excuse it -- for instance, just putting a slice of watermelon on a plate, or using the fortune from a fortune cookie as a garnish, etc. (The episode where Alex "Chopped" Geoffrey was fabulous.) And yet even Geoffrey can be kind of funny and endearing on many of these episodes (like the one where he's dancing in front of the ice cream machine).

 

It's obvious that most of the judges really like and respect each other, and simply enjoy working together. Best of all, we get to see them do what they love to do, which is cook. The way they get to share their creative takes and experiments here makes this one of my favorite new viewing experiences. I've loved every single episode.

[Maverick]

 I saw a couple of episodes last night.  In one, Ted competed in all 3 rounds and the judges were total assholes toward him--particularly Zakarian and Conant (I know, quelle surprise).   The y kept making comments about why was he cooking and they hoped he could keep up.  I know the judges rib each other when they cook on the show, but it just seemed more mean spirited than playful with Ted.  GZ was the worst when he filled in the  host role because he kept shouting "10 minutes chefs!  And Ted".   Bitches, you've called everyone from cops to models to talentless sitcom stars chef and you can't do Ted that courtesy?  At least Alex seemed to be pulling for him.  

[paramitch]

 I saw a couple of episodes last night.  In one, Ted competed in all 3 rounds and the judges were total assholes toward him--particularly Zakarian and Conant (I know, quelle surprise).   The y kept making comments about why was he cooking and they hoped he could keep up.  I know the judges rib each other when they cook on the show, but it just seemed more mean spirited than playful with Ted.  GZ was the worst when he filled in the  host role because he kept shouting "10 minutes chefs!  And Ted".   Bitches, you've called everyone from cops to models to talentless sitcom stars chef and you can't do Ted that courtesy?  At least Alex seemed to be pulling for him.  

After watching these as well as the two newest full CAH episodes, I think Geoffery is simply really tone-deaf about humor. Sometimes he can be endearingly amusing, usually in his more surprisingly vulnerable moments (like when he realizes he's made a potentially crippling mistake), but when he tries to be har-har-har funny, he seems to be kind of awkward and obvious.

 

I'm sure he thought he was being funny for constantly joshing Ted about not really being a chef (never mind his respectable status as a celebrity cook and food critic), but the difference is that Geoffrey just couldn't let it go and kept repeating the joke through the entire episode. So by the end what wasn't all that funny anyway became pretty cringeworthy. His natural pompousness can occasionally be funny, but far more often it can be annoying and frustrating.

 

When I watched the latest CAH episode, I became convinced that the cast is overall much closer to one another (Alex and Ted especially) but that Geoffrey tends to keep himself apart. It seems to me that Geoffrey may be liked and appreciated, and there's real affection there, but that perhaps he is a bit prickly day to day, and that he is not perhaps as close or chummy as the other chef judges are to one another (although I do think, out of all of them, that he is somewhat closer to Alex).

 

I did laugh at one of the latest, when Ted asks Alex about the nuts she had roasted (and worried over):

 

Ted: How are your nuts, Alex?

Alex: They are tasty and delicious in my mouth.

CUT TO: Ted making a hilarious "I refuse to respond to this or this will be NSFW" face.

 

But then Ted is constantly hilarious, as in the Rock Stars Episode:

AARON: Even with a few singing numbers.

TED: That would be great, Aaron, because... I want to know what love is.

AARON: And I want you to show me.

 

Or:

 

SCOTT (as Ted is handling fish carcass): Ted, can I sniff your fingers?

TED: Anytime you want...

 

One interesting thing I just realized this weekend -- I was checking on a Geoffrey moment for this post response, when I realized that the CAH videos "On Demand" (which is the only way I've ever viewed them) are really edited down. The CAH videos online include about 3 more minutes of footage per every 10 minutes or so. Seriously. 

Speaking of which: FWIW, In one of those Ted-cooks episodes where Geoffrey emceed (the "Carnival" ep), Geoffrey was very enthusiastic about Ted's cooking (and early on exclaimed, "This man has chops, ladies and gentlemen!" but I don't think that moment showed up in the On Demand version, only in the online version, so sometimes those edits may add additional harshness. I still think Geoffrey was kind of awkward and semi-assy to Ted, but I do think he was actually trying (and failing) to be funny.

I do think everyone seems to have genuine affection for each other. To me, it's like Geoffrey is the tough yet lovable Dad, Scott and Marc are the funny big brothers, Alex and Amanda are the big sisters (with Ted as their pal), and Maneet and Chris are the kid siblings who get a little more flack (and yet a little more gentleness in judging) from the others.

Edited November 2, 2015 by paramitch

[Kromm]

Alex clearly shows her wicked sense of humor in these. Geoffrey puts on a persona of being self-important, but it's kind of what he sees as humor. Aaron jokes a lot. I don't know if he's ever particularly clever, but he seems genuine. Scott's pretty funny, but that doesn't surprise me. Chris comes off as a lot warmer than he does on Chopped. Marc, he kind of bores me. Maneet seems about the same as on Chopped.  Maybe a bit more adventurous in her cooking than I'd have assumed though. Amanda seems delightful... but that's also no different than she does on Chopped itself.

[Bastet]

I'm so glad this is back!  It's probably my favorite version of the show.  Even the judges I generally dislike are often enjoyable as contestants, because of the camaraderie between the judges.  I don't care that they don't do one episode's baskets from start to finish, but instead pull three from different episodes.  It's kind of random and disjointed overall, but in a way that adds up to feeling relaxed and fun rather than something negative;  I like the loosey-goosey feel of it all. 

[mlp]

I like After Hours too.  I even like Aaron on this show because he isn't all all pretentious like he is when he's a judge.  It always astounds me how many camera people are involved.