Chopped Junior

[Bella]

Right, like we need this spin-off. Airing Tuesdays. And they're already casting Season 2.

[Totale]

Good riddance.  Isolate anyone on Chopped too young to buy beer on one show I can safely ignore.

[Bella]

Good riddance.  Isolate anyone on Chopped too young to buy beer on one show I can safely ignore.

 

That is the silver lining here - no more "kids specials" on regular Chopped. Adults only, please!

[cooksdelight]

I think my almost-five-year-old grand-nephew will like this show. It's on at 8, he likes to help in the kitchen. But I don't think it will appeal to many adults.

If Chopped has run through all the chefs in the U.S., maybe it's time to call it a day.

[JessDVD]

I'm excited about this show because I have a 5 and a 6 year old who are starting to get interested in Chopped and will no doubt enjoy a kid version of it. I don't mind the kid versions as long as the kids aren't insipid, like that Hunter guy, I think his name was (Maybe he was just on that Rachel vs. Guy kids cook-off? Hard to keep track of them all). Hopefully this version will be light on the obnoxious pretentious snot factor.

[Bella]

I think there's definitely an audience for the show. MasterChef Junior is extremely popular, for example, and is probably the best show in the MC franchise. 

 

I think some of the grumbling is because Chopped has lost its magic, and not all of the attempts to recover it have been successful. Or tolerable.

[rujasu]

I think some of the grumbling is because Chopped has lost its magic, and not all of the attempts to recover it have been successful. Or tolerable.

 

Well for me, it's because I just don't like the "junior" versions of cooking shows (I don't watch any of the MasterChef stuff, no interest in it) and so I don't care to watch this.  I'm happy though, as long as it means no more kids on the regular show.

[jcbrown]

Color me shocked that I actually enjoyed this last night. I didn't hate any of the kids, I thought they went out in the right order, and I liked that they were all respectful and nice to each other. Not sure what's wrong with me...

[cooksdelight]

I watched while waiting for another show I wanted to see to come on.... that girl who won was a little over the top with her sob story, but her food looked well done.

[mlp]

I was OK with the show and the kids and would have been happy with either of the last two standing winning.  What did the girl who won say happened to her when she was younger?  I didn't catch what she said.

 

I have no idea who the third judge was.  Comedian it said.  Does he have some kind of food credentials?

 

I suspect that the bloody nose was a "re-enactment."  I didn't see any blood but, more to the point, the medic was dealing with it without gloves on.  No health care person these days deals with blood without gloves unless something actually life-threatening is happening.  Also, the boy went right back to his station without even stopping to wash his hands.

[eurekagirl mOo]

Well we don't see every minute so I'm pretty sure he washed his hands!

I liked this. The kids weren't snotty, they got along nicely, helped each other out, and were super respectful when they got chopped. Most adults need to take lessons from these kids.

Glad the little self professed "weird kid" won.....She's a cutie with a good strong sense of who she is not what people tell her she is. Good job parents!!

[Crucial]

I'm out with this show if you are going to have judges like Valerie Bertinelli as a judge.  I'd rather a hundred pompous kids than a judge like Valerie.  I don't find anything she says remotely helpful to future chefs.  She's not a chef and has no resume to be a judge.  I think most of the junior chefs have more knowledge than her.  wrong judge to have.

[LennieBriscoe]

So  THIS is how the FN website describes the episode:

"A dessert made with lemon curd spells success for one young Chopped Junior competitor."  Thank for spoiling the end, FN!

[Bella]

So  THIS is how the FN website describes the episode:

"A dessert made with lemon curd spells success for one young Chopped Junior competitor."  Thank for spoiling the end, FN!

 

I am laughing so hard right now. Who runs this network? A bunch of 4-year-olds?

[cooksdelight]

I am laughing so hard right now. Who runs this network? A bunch of 4-year-olds?

The same people who edit preview clips for Survivor.

[windfall]

Based on what I saw of tonight's episode, my faith in humanity partially restored by how polite these kids are. Also the lack of sob stories is nice, although I suppose it would be a bit too depressing if children were recounting the usual gamut of unfortunate pasts. Not much to say about the judging, seemed critical without being condescending. 

[jcbrown]

Wow, Martha Stewart was... not warm. I was sad that the purple-haired kid did not win but he really choked at the end. I was rooting against the Mormon kid who did win (don't appreciate people who think  God is on their side and their side only) but he was so nice he won me over.

[Tarasme]

I liked Martha's judging. She asked questions to the contestants that revealed missteps and then explicitly pointed out that particular choice was responsible for the results (one example, Martha asked one of the young ladies if she cooked her ham in the sauce or glaze. She did, consequently, her ham was dry- gah- I think I'm remembering that right). It was nice that she wasn't overly indulgent or falsely complimentary. I tend to trust positive comments more when I know that negative comments- if warranted- will be forthcoming.

Edited November 18, 2015 by Tarasme

[AZChristian]

I saw the previews and asked my hubby if there was any reason those kids would be so excited to meet Martha Stewart.  His tongue-in-cheek response, "Well kids that age aren't usually allowed to hang around with convicted felons."

 

LOL.  

[Crucial]

Glad to see a guest judge who is a chef. I got killed on twitter when I said this to the Wolfie fans - Valerie Bertinelli ( gosh I cannot stand her fakeness )  LOL loved being told I was "chopped" but her dumbass fans said nothing to my comments (had to block them they were - and Valerie too with the threats).

 

Give these contestants real judges and judge them.    Loved this one!

[penbrat]

Like the eppy last night - love Madison as a Judge, wish he would get a show on FN- the little girl who won was cute but I was pulling for the runner up  she was so sad at the end but such a good sport

[NikSac]

I have enjoyed this show way more than I ever thought I would. It's like they took the most irritating and snotty kids they could possibly find for the regular Chopped "special kids version" episodes, but found much better kids for Chopped Junior.  The kids on this show have been really talented, gracious, and supportive of each other - at least on the couple episodes I've seen.

 

Penbrat I was pulling for the runner up as well, but even from the very beginning of the show I kind of thought they were setting it up for the other girl to win. I loved how they were competitive but still supportive all the way to the end.

[The Bullpen]

I loved all of the kids on tonight's episode. The boy who is a cancer survivor was such a sweetheart! And so was the boy who won. As usual, I loved Amanda, too. And Ted? Ted is THE BEST. The short clip they showed in-between commercials of Ted talking to Rachel, the lone girl contestant, was the sweetest thing ever. Ted Allen, you rock.

I agree with those who said above that Chopped Junior has exceeded expectations. The contestants are sweet, genuine, and usually pretty talented.

[Fishy]

Hate that Chopped Junior is on prime time viewing.  Who decided THAT was a good idea.  It's a crappy idea.  Put it on Nickoledeon for gosh sakes.  Not interested in watching kids cook.  Ugh Ugh

[paramitch]

I'm enjoying this way more than I expected to, given that the teen/kid episodes of "Chopped" were often kind of insufferable.

 

But the kids in these episodes have been specifically really lovely, collected, calm, and poised. Yeah, we do get several "performer" kids, but you know what I like? They actually admit that about themselves. It's not like on Masterchef Junior, where you know that little Addison (for instance) is DYING for a show of her own so she'll cook in the meantime, etc. (that's just my take). Instead, these kids just seem to be channeling their creativity into different channels and cooking is one of them.

 

I never watched the Rachel Vs. Guy competition with the kids (I can't stand Rachel OR Guy, so... there you go), but the four kids featured in the Chopped Jr. episode were simply lovely and adorable, and the final round was so mutually supportive it was really heartwarming. 

 

On the third "celebrity judge" thing they're doing here? I don't mind it so much. They're judging food cooked by little kids, and while I wouldn't want a full panel of celebs, some of them have done really well. I loved Mila Kunis (who is also obviously a fan of the show -- really cute to see her fangirl over Ted) and thought she came off as sharp yet supportive. Camila Alves was okay, but on the flip side, Hayden Panetierre -- wow. She came across as just incredibly vacant and not even fully aware of the show or how it worked. She did kind of pull herself together by the end, but seriously -- her appearance was pretty cringeworthy.

 

But the "guest judges" for these do mean we get a lot of really interesting viewpoints and counterpoints, and sometimes get a glimpse of celebs in a different light, which is fun.

 

I loved all of the kids on tonight's episode. The boy who is a cancer survivor was such a sweetheart! And so was the boy who won. As usual, I loved Amanda, too. And Ted? Ted is THE BEST. The short clip they showed in-between commercials of Ted talking to Rachel, the lone girl contestant, was the sweetest thing ever. Ted Allen, you rock.

I agree with those who said above that Chopped Junior has exceeded expectations. The contestants are sweet, genuine, and usually pretty talented.

 

I loved everything you mentioned so much, and that episode was a standout. I love that on so many of these episodes (as in this one), the kids are so enthused to have met other kids who love cooking like they do, and the finalists here going, "I would like to win, but at least I made a really good friend!" was just the most adorable thing ever.

[Rai]

Not really watching this, but via channel-flipping last night, I landed on an interstitial where a kid could not stop talking about how Scott Conant reminded him of Wolverine.  He just kept saying it over and over at the judges' table, as well as explaining in his TH about how Scott's hair is up and spiky like Wolverine's, and Scott has that powerful build, and it may be one of the funniest things I've seen in the Chopped world in a while.  I can probably see Scott calling someone, "Bub."

[jcbrown]

I can't help it, for some reason I really enjoy this show. I like that the kids support each other, especially, and that they aren't told to bring DRAHma like I think contestants are on some of the other competition shows. Last night's was great, with the kids helping each other in just about every round. Call me a sap, if you must.

Edited May 11, 2016 by jcbrown
clarification

[mlp]

I enjoyed last night's show also and I thought the right kid won in the end.  I thought the judges did a pretty good job of being nice to children and also being straightforward about mistakes.  That's probably not the easiest thing to do on camera.

[Grommet]

I've recently started watching this and quite enjoy it, especially the lighter emphasis on the drama. I don't have to FF as much as I do with the grown-ups.

[paramitch]

I loved the Mother's Day episode! And yes, I may or may not have cheered when it was revealed that Smidge (Sarah Michelle Gellar) was a guest judge. I've adored her since her "Buffy" days, and I also think she and Freddie Prinze, Jr. are an incredibly cool couple simply for the nerd cred -- and also for the fact that Freddie basically stepped back to be the home front person (and FWIW he does gorgeous voice work the past several years for the "Mass Effect" and "Dragon Age" game series). They just seem so laid-back and un-Hollywood.

So this was like the collision of my TV, fantasy, gaming, and food-competition worlds, and it was AWESOME!

The kids did a great job as always, and were (as we've come to expect) all courteous, mutually supportive and charming. I also thought Sarah was a kind and knowledgeable judge (and I was tickled when she revealed that she's a regular "Chopped" viewer when she expressed surprise that the "Chopped Junior" shows weren't dumbed-down and were presented in the exact same format as the original edition).

Now if Kristen Bell ever shows up on the show, I'll seriously probably just faint from the nerd awesomeness. ;-)

[NikSac]

Enjoyed the last episode again. I like how the kids are so supportive with each other. But I have to ask who was that dingbat judge who kept talking about the "Salmon" instead of the actual ingredient, Arctic Char?  She didn't look familiar. I couldn't believe no one corrected her and I swear the kid who made the dish even winced a little when she said it the second time.

The food didn't look as good to me as it has in some previous episodes, but I also remembered to watch it when I wasn't hungry for a change. The one bummer thing is I kind of felt like the winner was pre-determined and wasn't going to lose no matter what she did in the final round. I mean they already had a ready-made winner's gift for her. Maybe they had something in back for all 4 just in case?

[Sugaree]

All I wanted to do during tonight's show was wash the eventual winner's face. The caked on make-up was terribly distracting. 

[Juneau Gal]

3 hours ago, Sugaree said:

All I wanted to do during tonight's show was wash the eventual winner's face. The caked on make-up was terribly distracting. 

HA! I thought the same thing. Crazy amount of make-up for a 13 year old. 

[Pepper Mostly]

she was a remarkably pretty girl,though! Makeup or no--I was really struck by how lovely she was. And how is someone so self possessed at 13??

But I really lost my heart to the boy who was chopped second--he was adorable and I was really pulling for  him. I missed the beginning, did he have some kind of health issue?

[LazyToaster]

I join those of you who watched this show and ended up pleasantly surprised.  I haven't seen them all, but the ones I saw were pretty good.  I keep thinking - wow, these kids are much nicer than most Chopped contestants!  I thought they were competitive and yet good sports all around.  

Their cooking skills just amaze me.  I couldn't even make pudding from a package at their age - and I tried and got into trouble for my effort (let's just say it involved a very messy kitchen and my mother coming home earlier than I expected).  

One more thing - I think Ted is the best!  I'm not a big "fan" type, but would probably be a little starstruck if I got to meet him.  

[mlp]

I thought there was something odd about tonight's show.  The girl who eventually won started cooking her scallops early in the entree round, right after she got them out of their shells.  Much later as she was finishing up, I could see them in a pan on the back of her stove all cooked.  I couldn't tell if the pan was on a hot burner but.............Either they were way overcooked or they were cold when she plated them.  None of the judges said anything about it.

I have no idea who the actress was or why she was judging a cooking show but I thought she was very attractive and low key for an actress.  I liked her.

[Grommet]

I think she cooked 2 batches, the first perfect and the second burned.

[Betelnut]

This season all the winners have been girls, so far! Girls rule, boys...well...you know.

[BensBritches]

And the girl winners continue... its overly predictable now.

[Grommet]

Yes, but she was cute and made good use of her "cheese goop."

[jcbrown]

Oh, but I loved the little girl that won the last one. And the no-affect kid that lost got no tears from me. He's probably just not emotional at all but he did not make good TV (neither would I, for what it's worth).

[nonnybaby]

I know it's terrible, but I always hate the kids at the beginning of the show when they do their intros. It's like the director tells them to be their most obnoxious, snowflaky selves. But then, I end up loving them and remember that they're just kiddos when they are humbled by the pressures of the competition.

I loved that Cheryl Hines cried about this week's kid (Addy) who got his ice cream done at the last minute. I wanted him to win soooo bad. I know this show has had past issues with multiple people wanting to use the ice cream machine. I kind of hate that there is just one and it ends up being a factor in the competition.

[mlp]

I really disliked both of those girls the minute I saw them.  Who lets kids that age look like that?  The little redhead was so obnoxious and unattractive that I was glad she got chopped before I flew through the TV and throttled her.  

I wanted Ade to win because the other boy was a bit much but he deserved his win.  Ade left off an ingredient and the judges were right about the other problems.  

I'd never heard of the actress or her show.  She didn't seem to have any food credentials nor did she seem to know much about it.  The new VP of FN who thinks people want to see "celebrities" whether they make sense in context or not is............wrong.

[BW Manilowe]

On July 28, 2016 at 10:19 PM, mlp said:

I really disliked both of those girls the minute I saw them.  Who lets kids that age look like that?  The little redhead was so obnoxious and unattractive that I was glad she got chopped before I flew through the TV and throttled her.  

I wanted Ade to win because the other boy was a bit much but he deserved his win.  Ade left off an ingredient and the judges were right about the other problems.  

I'd never heard of the actress or her show.  She didn't seem to have any food credentials nor did she seem to know much about it.  The new VP of FN who thinks people want to see "celebrities" whether they make sense in context or not is............wrong.

By "actress", do you mean Cheryl Hines (I forgot who the judges were & saw her mentioned in the post above yours, & I'm guessing)? She plays Larry David's wife on Curb Your Enthusiasm which has aired on HBO, is taking a hiatus right now, & I think is supposed to start airing again later this year, sometime next year, or by 2018 (I've heard multiple return dates). She also married into the Kennedy family in August, 2014. She married Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., 1 of the sons of Ethel Kennedy & the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Sr.

[mlp]

I  guess I meant Cheryl Hines - didn't retain the name.  She was described as "actress" and something else I've forgotten that had nothing to do with food.  AFAIC Marrying into the Kennedy family doesn't qualify one to judge cooking.   Obviously, FN feels otherwise.  That kind of thing isn't so bad when the cooks are kids and not professionals but it really annoys when me when I see, for example, a TV personality (or Katie Lee) sitting in judgment on legitimate working chefs on Beat Bobby Flay.

[CoyoteBlue]

On 7/27/2016 at 9:18 PM, nonnybaby said:

I know it's terrible, but I always hate the kids at the beginning of the show when they do their intros. It's like the director tells them to be their most obnoxious, snowflaky selves. But then, I end up loving them and remember that they're just kiddos when they are humbled by the pressures of the competition.

Yeah, I don't usually watch Junior and when I caught it last night, I was stuck how they took the annoying Chopped sob story intros and dialed it up to 12 with special snowflakiness. If it's always like this, I'll pass. It's kinda why I stopped watching the original.

[nonnybaby]

10 hours ago, CoyoteBlue said:

Yeah, I don't usually watch Junior and when I caught it last night, I was stuck how they took the annoying Chopped sob story intros and dialed it up to 12 with special snowflakiness. If it's always like this, I'll pass. It's kinda why I stopped watching the original.

Yesterday was a "Very Special Chopped Jr." episode. Frankly, it was HARD TO WATCH!

[jcbrown]

Yeah, I usually love this show but last night's contestants were SO young and so ON that it was tough. I liked Avery the best. Did not like the Clockwork Orange hat boy at all and was not crazy about Lucy and her speech impediment (I'm going to hell, I know).

ETA: And I hate hate HATED the stupidly dressed blogger judge.

Edited August 4, 2016 by jcbrown

[jhlipton]

On 8/3/2016 at 8:48 PM, jcbrown said:

Yeah, I usually love this show but last night's contestants were SO young and so ON that it was tough. I liked Avery the best. Did not like the Clockwork Orange hat boy at all and was not crazy about Lucy and her speech impediment (I'm going to hell, I know).

"Dude, if you want to stop being bullied, lose the damn HAT!"  (Bullying is wrong, but so was that hat.)

Avery won 2 out of 3 rounds.  I would have preferred it if they gave Avery the win, or if they gave her and Linda $5000 each, and donated $5000 to each of their food charities.

[paramitch]

On 7/27/2016 at 7:18 PM, nonnybaby said:

I know it's terrible, but I always hate the kids at the beginning of the show when they do their intros. It's like the director tells them to be their most obnoxious, snowflaky selves. But then, I end up loving them and remember that they're just kiddos when they are humbled by the pressures of the competition.

I hate the kid-intros over the latest few months of this show SO MUCH.

The show started out promisingly, with groups of adorable kids who were visibly enthused about food, from all over the country.

But over the latest several episodes, the arrays of real kid contestants have seemed to dwindle, and the episodes are now overwhelmingly stuffed with Special Snowflake performer-wannabe kids, most of whom seem (1) privileged and rich enough to receive "lessons" and "training" from chefs and restaurants, and (2) not that into food so much as the chance to be on TV. 

I also blame the overproduced intros because they're awful and they enable the kids at their absolute worst, so that a good 50% or more come across as overpampered and full of themselves, and as if most are only participating only because they aren't starring in their own shows yet (so "Chopped Jr." will do for now). It's really hard to like them when in their (largely insufferable) intros, they're mugging for the camera, taking mock-curtain calls and dancing, twirling, and showing off what good little performers they are. None of which have anything to do with cooking!

It's also kind of hard to watch so, so many kids whose NYC-area parents are obviously rich (and who even hired chefs as cooking tutors in many many cases) against the few kids (dwindling rapidly lately) who seem to be from all over the country and who are really there simply because they love to cook. Meanwhile, most of the little rich-kids manage to tilt their heads winningly while saying things like, "I want to be an actress. <cough> I mean, a chef. Or -- an actress who owns a restaurant." Gah. Bless their little deluded hearts.

I just think the show should honestly cut most or all of the introductions to the kids -- the production quality is awful, and it just makes you think you're about to watch the most spoiled kids in America cherish their delusions of grandeur on TV, no less, at least until the judges crush their teeny little spirits. 

On the plus side, I find most of these at their worst in the overproduced and cloying intros, and by the time they just compete, they end up mostly being nice, enthusiastic kids, and at that point, the shows are still fun and worth watching. But: gahhh.

Edited August 10, 2016 by paramitch