Southern hospitality at its yummy best! Four chefs who hail from down South aim to up their games against talented peers, all dreaming of the title of Chopped champ. The judges love the appetizer basket, which includes a questionable take on fried chicken, but they worry that the Southern chefs need to pick up the pace to get their dishes plated in time. Then, the chefs must get creative with a casserole in the entrée basket. In the dessert round, when one of the chefs grabs the puffed pastry from the pantry, it's uncertain whether there will be enough time to cook it through.
A pork theme is a true treat! The chefs get basket ingredients that make them feel like they've died and gone to hog heaven. Round-by-round, the competitor who's able to celebrate the pig the best in their dishes is bound to be the champ. A prized cut of meat is a nice head start for the chefs in the appetizer round, but they'll need to cook it perfectly to do it justice. Then in the entrée round, an offal surprise in the baskets leaves some chefs spooked. Donuts and an unusual nose-to-tail offering keep the chefs on their toes in the dessert round.
Four distinct groups of champs will return to the Chopped Kitchen: professionals, amateurs, heroes and celebrities, all leading up to a grand finale where one chef will seize the biggest prize in Chopped history: $50,000 and a new car! In this initial battle, four stellar professionals fight to see who will represent the pros in the finale. They have to wrangle and cook eels and figure out what to do with a super salty veggie for their appetizers. Then in the entree round, the champs have to work with a bird and a soda. And a special cheese and a creepy chocolate item appear in the dessert basket.
Guy Fieri invites three of the best all-star chefs to take on a 60-minute multi-course fruit showdown! The chefs are given a whopping $100 each to make a fruit-forward appetizer and entrée, but before they can cook, they must compete in a fruit auction. Chefs outbid each other to earn exclusive rights to the fruit they must feature in all of their dishes. After the auction is over, Guy gives the chefs an extra $10 to whip up a fruit-forward dessert before the hour is up! The all-star whose dishes best celebrate their fruit will get a shot at winning $20,000.
Jeff Mauro leads a tour of The Kitchen's most surprising recipes, starting with his Magic No-Bread Meatballs with a secret low-carb mix-in. Then, Sunny Anderson and Katie Lee Biegel show off some secret-ingredient smoothies with some healthy new additions. Plus, Sunny reveals how peanut butter just might be the best way to make your pulled pork flavorful and rich. Martha Stewart drops by to cook Turkey Burgers with an added twist to make them extra juicy, and Lindsay-Jean Hard shows the hosts how you can make a banana cake with banana peels! Finally, Katie whips up an expected appetizer with her Parmesan-Stuffed Strawberries with Balsamic.
Guy Fieri brings in two pairs of hot shot chefs from Chicago and New York who have one non-stop hour to prepare a regional feast that proves their city's food is truly world-class. In honor of "The Big Apple" and Chicago's "The Bean" sculpture, each team must select a unique 2-for-1 apple and bean food duo to feature in their appetizer and entrée. The teams are told mid-cook that they must also prepare a regional dessert featuring a canned item they knock down with a pitch worthy of their legendary baseball teams. The team with the highest combined score wins $15,000 and big city bragging rights.
Four phenomenal live-fire cooks stand tall, ready to claim the last remaining spot in the tournament's finale. They get lucky with a promise of perfectly porky baskets, but only one chef will take the judges to hog heaven. One of nature's sweetest gifts is a part of the appetizer basket, but it may not be a treat to the competitors. A prized piece of pork seems like a gimme in the entree basket, and as the last two competitors race the clock in the dessert round, the $25,000 grand prize begins to feel within reach. But only one chef will still be in the running after the last cloche is lifted.
Everybody is spinning with excitement for the highly anticipated battle five fight! The three remaining chefs from the pool finally get to cook against the reigning champion, and the already astronomical jackpot is destined to go higher. Upon opening the appetizer basket, the chefs come face-to-face with an intimidating ingredient. In the entrée round, the chefs are shocked at the dollar value of the ingredient from the wheel, and they must tame one of the most bitter ingredients in Chopped history. After the final two contenders discover a giant sweet surprise in the dessert basket, they frantically stir, blend and bake their hearts out in an effort to emerge as the one and only Spin It to Win It grand champion!
Meeting a blind date at a coffee shop is so passé! The Chopped Kitchen is the place to go when looking for love and the experience of a lifetime. Four pairs of chefs are set up on teams to compete against other lovelorn duos in an epic showdown, where sparks could fly in the heat of battle. Heart-shaped pasta and a flirty cocktail get things going in the appetizer round. As they cook up chateaubriand entrees, the couples find ways to connect, like doing shots in the pantry and discovering matching tattoos. A race to the ice cream machine in the final round adds some stress to the blind dates and has everyone wondering which duo can persevere under pressure and win.
Ree Drummond is sharing a seasonal spread of her favorite Christmas dishes. She starts with Mexican Wedding Cookies and Holiday Bacon Appetizers, delicious vintage treats passed down by her family. Then, it's on to festive finger food with Grilled Chicken Skewers, fabulous Fig and Blue Cheese Bruschetta, and no-cook Cheesy Mini Peppers. For last-minute eats, there's a fun Christmas Tree Pizza and 10-minute Chicken Curry in a Hurry. She unwraps a stunning side with Yorkshire Pudding and tells the secret of her showstopper Prime Rib with Rosemary Salt Crust. Next, Ree beings her potluck A-game with Cheery Cheesecake Santa Hats, cute Holiday Haystacks, Shortcut Peppermint Bark and charming Christmas Tree Tarts. Plus, there's a sneak peak of Ree's holiday movie, Candy Coated Christmas.