Past Shows: Aired in 2013 or Earlier, But We Can't Forget Them

[Bella]

But what we need more of is Danushka! I think they should make Danushka a judge, or at least have a stink-eye contest between her and Alex G.

[cooksdelight]

I agree Bella, I adore Danushka!

[cooksdelight]

I'm watching "Mac & Cheese; Cola; Bacon" which was episode 9 from 2009. They did something different which I've not noticed before. When they come back out after the appetizer round, and Ted puts his hand on the cloche, they then pan to the chefs with the judges voices in the background saying why the person was chopped. Go to commercial. Then they come back and you see which dish they were talking about. They didn't do it with the entree round. Very odd.

And Chris Santos was a very skinny guy back then! He looked almost gaunt.

[cooksdelight]

Ep. 5, "Yucca; Watermelon; Tortillas".... a guy drops his beef cutlet on the floor during the entree round, picks it up, continues with it.... and gets a pass!! I couldn't believe it! Geoffrey and the others called him on it, and he thought he was doomed. The girl who was eliminated must have really served sucky food.

When critiquing the entire meal, it wasn't even mentioned that the guy dropped the meat. I was dumbfounded.

Fortunately, he didn't win. But, if any chef drops something in the future, they need to remind the judges about Chef Ed in Ep. 5.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Okay I hope this is the right thread, but if its not, mods please feel free to move to the correct one.

I forgot to see which season it was before deleting from my DVR. Anyway...

Just saw "Class Acts, Too" I think it was called where the contestants were all school cafeteria cooks? I really really enjoyed it and them. Because there were NO EGOS and each was happy for the other. I wish more episodes could be like this.

And even old Stink-Eye Alex was brought to tears.

[JessDVD]

I think they've done 2 school cafeteria chefs episodes. I remember specifically in the first one, they brought in some dude from the White House to pontificate about the new standards for "nutritious" school lunches (all 3, at the same time?), and all the cafeteria ladies wanted to talk about was how the meals they cook for their students are often the only decent meals their students eat, ever, and how they make them as large and as hearty as possible.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I think they've done 2 school cafeteria chefs episodes. I remember specifically in the first one, they brought in some dude from the White House to pontificate about the new standards for "nutritious" school lunches (all 3, at the same time?), and all the cafeteria ladies wanted to talk about was how the meals they cook for their students are often the only decent meals their students eat, ever, and how they make them as large and as hearty as possible.

 

Yeah, the one I saw was with the White House Chef, and I just wanted him to shut up. I'll keep my eye out for the other one, which won't be difficult since I'm recording new and repeats, heh.

[mlp]

I really liked the woman who won the first lunch ladies competition.  I think her name was Cheryl.  The PTB must have liked her also because they had her back as a judge once during the following season.  I wish they'd have her on again.  She did a good job judging IMO.

[cattykit]

I've been complaining for a while that they only show relatively recent reruns, while never showing the first season.  Well, now I'm seeing reruns on my DVR (looks to be shown only during the day) from season 1.  I've wanted to see if my memory matches with reality.  What I had mostly remembered was how dark the set was, how bitchy the judges were, and how less picky they were about having to taste every ingredient within the course.   What I didn't remember, and I can see on rewatching, is how much Ted has settled into his role over the years.  Much more relaxed and automatic now than he was then.

[blueray]

I just watched an episode not sure what season it was. But for the first time I saw someone, Lauren win even though she forgot an ingredient in the appetizer round. And there was the most arrogant guy ever, Bradley.  I was so happy when he lost, though he could have been fake. For society I hope so.

[rujasu]

Yeah, I saw that one, it was on before the new episode.  Even with the missed ingredient, I was happy to see Lauren win.  That Bradley came off like an over-the-top comic book villain even before he got chopped and acted all huffy about it.  He seemed so upset about having to grow up in a small Wisconsin town with all of the riff-raff.  (I do believe the editors made him out to be worse than he actually was, clearly they were enjoying casting Lauren as the underdog and Bradley as the villain, but still.)  Also to be fair, he seemed to be pretty good at cooking and I didn't think he was undeserving of making the finals.

[cooksdelight]

As I am in bed today, sick, I was watching some of the older shows. One thing I noticed is all the background chatter. You can hear people talking, but I had no idea what they were saying. I don't know if it was the judges or crew. I guess now they do a much better job of editing.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I think this comment belongs here. As I was binge-watching (again) last week, there was one episode where the contestants had to cook chicken drumsticks/thighs, I think it was.

 

Now, I wish I were as talented as a lot of the people I see come on this show, but I have to really disagree with the judges when they stated that thighs/drumsticks could not be cooked properly in 30 minutes.  One of the dishes I cook fairly well, is my father's recipe for chicken curry, and let me tell you, I can get those thighs and drumsticks, tender and cooked (not overcooked) in 15 minutes. I don't like my meat rare or medium rare. So I just had to shake my head when I saw how undercooked most of the dark meat was.  And preparing the curry/gravy before I put the chicken in, took about 10-12 minutes.

 

So, I dunno.

[cooksdelight]

I was wondering why none of them used the deep fryer. Good ol' fried chicken is a winner every time.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I was wondering why none of them used the deep fryer. Good ol' fried chicken is a winner every time.

 

I think one of them tried to do that at the last minute and gave Scott conniption fits when Scott saw what they had done.

[cooksdelight]

Yeah, he'd already tried pan searing the chicken. If you don't bread it and prep it for the fryer, throwing it in the fryer after it's been in a pan of oil is a bad idea. It winds up being very greasy.

[Julia]

My go to for chicken (or poultry burger, or poultry sausage) in a hurry is to sear both sides, then throw in a cup of white wine and maybe a few mushrooms, put a tight lid on and simmer. It's moist and cooked all the way through, it falls off the bone easily, and it takes way less than half an hour. They can always crisp the skin separately if they feel strongly about it.

[cooksdelight]

I'm watching an old episode, #41 "Against the Tide" and there's a basket ingredient the judges aren't familiar with: violet mustard. Ted passed a jar around for them to sample it.

[Bella]

I'm watching an old episode, #41 "Against the Tide" and there's a basket ingredient the judges aren't familiar with: violet mustard. Ted passed a jar around for them to sample it.

 

That's interesting. At least that could be shared in advance. I'm still wondering how they all knew what a cow's eyeball was supposed to taste. (I just grossed myself out typing that. Let me take this occasion to thank all of you for your comments that helped me decide to delete that episode unseen.)

[cooksdelight]

Since it was early in the show, I guess Ted thought it would be fun to show the judges tasting something for the first time.

Alex posted a photo of the executive producer on her Facebook page today. You could see a bunch of people in black t-shirts in the background, working on the Chopped set. It looked like one might have been checking to see what pantry items needed to be replenished. I would love to be a visitor on set. They could auction that as a prize for charity and make a boatload of money, I bet.

[cooksdelight]

Well, I'm about to bust!! Kent Rollins is going to be at the Saddle Up! festival in Pigeon Forge, TN in a couple of weeks. I am trying to talk my sister into going with me. He's giving a steak cooking demo on Friday, then lunch with the cowboy and others the next day. I never thought he'd get over this way, but as Uncle Jed would say,"Wheeeeeee doggies!" :)

 

ETA: We're going, and he told me I had better bring my dog, Scooby-Doo. :)

[cooksdelight]

Do you remember Vinson Petrillo, the chef who seemed so insecure, but won anyway? He and his wife just welcomed into the world a baby daughter!

[cooksdelight]

Crazy Faye is on from the "Far Far Out!" episode. The lady with curly hair who danced around and then wondered why she barely got her ingredients on the plate.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Okay, since 2014 disappeared, maybe the two recent repeats I watched last night were from earlier?

 

First the "Winged Out" only because the fucking stupid guest judge, Sue Torres pissed me off to no end.

 

And the winner is the fireman, whose appetizer, wings was RAW, and his entrée wasn't that great either; and his dessert, eh; something with tofu mousse and carmelized tomatoes.

 

He totally should have been chopped during the entrée round and Lizzy shouldn't have been. Even though Torres made snarky comments about her not being a fireman, whatever the hell that meant.

 

And Justin should have won, because he delivered in all three rounds; Oh wait. His dessert was "too sweet." Jerks.

 

Then there was another episode with Douchenozzle, Scott and Amanda, I think. or maybe it was Scott, Amanda and Chris. I really thought Matt the chef would win, and not the military? former military sous chef, John.

 

Again with the 'not sweet' "two sweet" nonsense.

 

I do have to admit, in both these episodes, Marcella in the Pork, whatever (the one where John won) was not bitter or whiny when she got chopped; admitted she understood why.

 

And Lizzy was also gracious when she got the axe...errr got chopped.

[Julia]

OK, this is the rare occasion where I don't bitch about anything.

I love Christina Tosi. I loved her in Mind of a Chef, I loved her here, and I can't even begin to tell you how grateful I am that she's replacing the mustache-twirling villain on Master Chef.

More Christina Tosi.

[Bella]

Just FYI, the 2014 thread rolled down the page, but it's still here.

 

OTOH, in this particular forum, keeping things in the "right" thread is not something we care too much about, thanks to the Food Network's illogical (to me) airing of these shows.

[Wordsworth]

 

You will cry with joy when you see the episode which has a chef named Lance, and a female chef from France named Yoanne. It's my favorite episode, ever. It shows that there are really good people in the world and that competing on this show is not always about bragging rights or having your mom and dad be convinced that you chose the right profession.

 

 

I hadn't seen the episode, but knew how it ended because of the love other "Chopped" fans have for Madison & Lance.  I watched it with Mr. Wordsworth who wasn't too impressed with Lance's Christian proclamations because Mr. Wordsworth has seen too often people talk the talk but never really seen them do anything that exemplifies Christian behavior.  I just watched and smiled as he grudgingly kept watching.  Then Lance offered to buy Yoanne a ticket, I turned and watched Mr. Wordsworth wipe his eyes and sniffle.

 

 

[cooksdelight]

Just watched the deckle episode where chef Michael Siry won. Then, noticed an "In memoriam" note at the end. Poor guy died!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201864618691234&set=t.661893462&type=3&theater

[mlp]

Aw, I remember him.  I wonder what happened to him.  The FB page doesn't say.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Well I saw two oldie episodes that had me cringing at the winner and Aarron's pronunciation and then raising my eyebrows at Alex's statement about mache, which totally contradicts the show's and judges' edict about "transforming" ingredients.

 

Let's start with "Raw Enthusiasm" where the winner, Martin, made a cucumber raita to sort of top the pork chop he made in the entrée round. First, it's one of the easier Indian dishes to pronounce. It's pronounced Rye-tha. But Martin pronounced it like Ryeeeahta. And Aarron? Oh my goodness, he totally butchered the pronunciation when the judges were talking about it. I guess his not being able to get it right is because Spanish is just SO similar to Hindi, that it shouldn't have been a problem. What's worse is I don't think he thought he mispronounced it. But he did! He said it like "Reeeahtia", which, just NO!

 

Then there was "Mix and Mache", where we got MARCUS!!! as one of the judges! But during the appetizer, Alex says that nothing should ever be done with mache, meaning don't cook it, puree it, or what I got, "transform" it. It should be left alone, I believe she said. And I remember raising my eyebrow and saying "Oh really? really??"

 

I suppose it just goes back to me wishing they (the show/judges) would just be consistent.

 

I've finally figured out why Marcus is my favoritestest judge of all of them: his critiques are constructive and not snarky, condescending or petulant, like say Chris or that douchenozzle, Geoffrey.

 

And I continue to rail and not understand why the judges have a problem with desserts that are SWEET. They're supposed to be sweet, and decadent. That's why they're called desserts! Unless this is a new phenomenon?

[Bella]

And I continue to rail and not understand why the judges have a problem with desserts that are SWEET. They're supposed to be sweet, and decadent. That's why they're called desserts! Unless this is a new phenomenon?

 

I mostly agree, but I have a strong sweet tooth and have had a few things that were just too much. The awesome Canadian treat known as Nanaimo bars would be an example. Yikes! (But try them if you haven't. They are amazing, in addition to being too sweet even for me.)

 

I assume some of the judges are just peckish or difficult, but it's possible that "too sweet" could be just that, especially coming from my favorite judge, Amanda.

[Julia]

I mostly agree, but I have a strong sweet tooth and have had a few things that were just too much. The awesome Canadian treat known as Nanaimo bars would be an example. Yikes! (But try them if you haven't. They are amazing, in addition to being too sweet even for me.)

 

The one I couldn't take was Stuckey's pecan logs, and that's coming from a salt water taffy fan.

[Bella]

The one I couldn't take was Stuckey's pecan logs, and that's coming from a salt water taffy fan.

 

Okay, I just had a major flashback to childhood vacations and my brothers and I whining to stop at every Stuckey's on the road. Dad called it "Sticky's." The divinity could make your teeth rot if you just looked in its general direction. I wonder if Amanda, who seems to have the biggest sweet tooth, is from the south originally. 

[shok]

I mostly agree, but I have a strong sweet tooth and have had a few things that were just too much. The awesome Canadian treat known as Nanaimo bars would be an example. Yikes! (But try them if you haven't. They are amazing, in addition to being too sweet even for me.)

 

I assume some of the judges are just peckish or difficult, but it's possible that "too sweet" could be just that, especially coming from my favorite judge, Amanda.

 

Canadian Nanaimo bars, when made properly, are not that sweet. The crap that is mass produced with cheap ingredients is and even I won't eat them, but my homemade recipe with unsweetened chocolate over a custardy filling and a nuts, coconut, cocoa, graham crumbs, etc base is yummy and a fabulous meld of flavours melting in your mouth. Properly made, they'd satisfy any of the judges whether they like their desserts sweet or less so.

[mlp]

 

Canadian Nanaimo bars

I've never heard of those.  I'd appreciate it if someone would be so kind as to write Nanaimo out phonetically so I know how to pronounce it.  I'm saying nan-eye'-mo in my head but I don't know if that's correct.

[JessDVD]

Nuh-NEYE-moh is what I've always heard

[Bella]

And my Toronto friends who brought me the tooth-shatteringly sweet bars called them nah-neye-EE-moh bars. The difference might be due to regional accents.

[JessDVD]

Hm, interesting. I'll ask my mom as her family is mostly in Canada, some in Toronto and some a few hours northwest. I think at my oma's in Canada might be the only place I've seen nanaimo bars (not eaten as I hate coconut), but I didn't realize that till now.

[JessDVD]

In case anyone's dying to know, a brief Facebook survey of my Canadian-born but US-living since the 80s mom's Canadian friends & relatives shows that nobody's ever heard nuh-neye-EE-moh, just nuh-NEYE-moh. Other votes are pronounce it how you like but get the recipe right and serve them with a bold dark roast coffee.

 

Back to the judges, I am of the mind that if I wanted to eat something non-sweet, I'd eat dinner so please serve me a good sweet dessert. I would probably not do well on Chopped. Actually what's more likely is that I'd try so hard to make something non-sweet that I'd end up getting the "This reads more like brunch" feedback.

[cooksdelight]

Right! If it's not sweet enough, they groan that it's too savory.

[Bella]

 

In case anyone's dying to know, a brief Facebook survey of my Canadian-born but US-living since the 80s mom's Canadian friends & relatives shows that nobody's ever heard nuh-neye-EE-moh, just nuh-NEYE-moh. Other votes are pronounce it how you like but get the recipe right and serve them with a bold dark roast coffee.

 

Lol - we won't introduce your family to my friends, who were adamant. I don't care how it's pronounced, I'm not going to have them again! Still, they're not as bad as Stuckey's products.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Saw the episode "Easy Peasy" I think it was called where Chef Jun won. I knew he won, because I had just watched the five parter of former Chopped Champions returning and he won that as well. I really, really, really like him. Hell, I liked ALL the chefs in this episode--they were all from England.  Not a whiner or snarker amongst them, and they were all so gracious and polite--with each other and the judges. It was so...refreshing to see. Then there were the varying accents, too. Sure all English, but you could tell they were from different parts of England.

 

Then to have to watch another redemption that brought back that smug turd, Trygg (who originally lost to Poppy) was not how I wanted to end my night. So GLAD he LOST. AGAIN.  He lost to Sammy Davis, Jr., who was a lot more humble this time around, and I'm glad he won. Though, like Sam, I wanted to the final battle to be between Sam and Michelle; but she forgot to put the Root Beer Schnapps in her lamb stew during the entrée round.

Edited March 4, 2015 by GHScorpiosRule

[GHScorpiosRule]

Sorry for the double post, but I forgot to say, that in "Easy Peasy", one of the ingredients for the entrée was Chia seeds! Yes, the same seeds for those horrid Chia Pets that are sold here! Ted even informed the chefs what they were, and where they came from!

 

I just remembered going "Ewwwww!" because both Jun and Lottie had the same idea to coat their lamb with the Chia seeds! Yuck.

[cooksdelight]

I put chia seeds in yogurt. They're actually very good for you.

[Bastet]

I like them, too; they have oodles of health benefits and a mild flavor, so they're quite easy to work in.  I like them with oatmeal, in muffins, sprinkled on fruit or salad, and sometimes I use them to thicken a sauce.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Just saw an episode from season one! The fourth one, entitled "Bananas, collard greens and Grits."

And the thing that stuck out to me was how Dark the studio was. Like they were all cooking with the lights off.

[cooksdelight]

Yep, the first season was their "testing ground" and it improved in season two. But I think they had some of the best chefs in the first season.

[Jaegerjd]

Redemption episode, am I the only person in the world that caught the oral sex hand gesture?

[cooksdelight]

I'm watching episode 2 for the first time.... it's hilarious in a weird way. The first guy eliminated didn't seem to want to leave. He hesitated and cussed on his way out.

For the entree round they had 5 ingredients. First time I've ever seen that. One guy really got the death stare from Alex, completed with "Dun-dun-DUNNNNN" music! She stared at him, then picked a piece of oyster shell out of her mouth, and said she possibly injured a molar. Which caused the woman in the group to smile. Her smile quickly left when Alex dinged her for leaving some raw oyster in the shell, and only giving her one oyster. Oh, and for not utilizing the chili peppers enough. The woman "Pippa" gave a sideways eye roll so I thought she'd be a goner for sure.

The ingredients were easy, in my opinion. Dessert round was gorgonzola cheese, phyllo dough, blueberries and dried pineapple rings. At least no one did a bread pudding or French toast.

Alex rolled her eyes a lot and criticized the guy in the end for having a crunchy element in each round. Which she usually wants. Pippa, the winner, was obnoxious and pretentious, in my opinion. I just never warmed to her personality.

The music throughout the show was verging on the bizarre.

[NikSac]

ha Cooksdelight I just saw that one recently too and it was such a throwback, like "early days of Chopped." The sideways eye roll completely cracked me up. I was wondering if she was the one who invented the term "side-eye" for a minute there.