Four former Chopped runners up are brave enough to return to the Chopped Kitchen, and in the appetizer basket, they find a shocker of a protein and some sweet jam. Sugar and spice are in store for the chefs in the second round, when they must use cheesecake and garam masala in their entrees. The dessert round finds the remaining two chefs gunning for victory... finally!
Four winners return to Chopped's Casino Royale, gunning for the jackpot and the title of grand champion! As in the prelim battles, the chefs will have a choice to gamble away an ingredient before each round, and the $25,000 jackpot will get higher or lower depending on the champs' good or bad fortune. The appetizer round is a frenzy of excitement, as the competitors race to raise the bar and deliver the flavor. Nobody wants to swap out the beautiful rack of lamb in the entree basket, but the level of intensity is sky-high as the intoxicating possibility of a finale win sinks in. It all leads up to the final rolls and the final cooking round! Who will leave the casino with a huge jackpot and an even bigger sense of accomplishment?
Four Chopped Champions are asked back to the kitchen via personal invitation from legendary judge Scott Conant and will face off to see who is most worthy of returning to represent Scott in the finale. On the line: a $25,000 cash prize, $25,000 for charity and legendary status. All of the ingredients are selected by Scott himself, and a certain notorious vegetable is a true test in the appetizer basket. In the second round, one champion hits a major hurdle when an ingredient falls to the floor. Will there be enough time to pull a great plate together? And a simple pantry staple is part of the basket inspiration in the dessert round. The winner will get to cook with Scott as their sous chef in the finale fight!
In season 1, the remaining two chefs walk into the hallowed halls of Kitchen Stadium to complete their final test: Attain Greatness. With the Chairman looking on and host Alton Brown commentating from the side, the two finalists compete in a head-to-head final showdown by commencing in an official Iron Chef America battle.
Chef Graham Elliot is a creative culinary wizard with an innate ability to successfully juxtapose four-star cuisine with humor, wit and out-of-the-box artistry. As a current co-host and judge on Fox Network’s hit cooking competitions, MasterChef and MasterChef Jr., Elliot offers his expert advice to show contestants. Combining his passion for food with a love of music, Elliot will return to Lollapalooza in 2015 as the culinary director, an honor he’s held for the past 7 years.
Along with regular TV appearances on Good Morning America, Access Hollywood, The Today Show and Nightline, Elliot runs the eponymously named, Graham Elliot Bistro in his hometown of Chicago. Elliot sees the restaurant as an extension of his passionate personality, embodying his core belief that cooking is an artistic, creative outlet. The spot opened its doors in 2008, immediately hypnotizing the city, garnering Michelin stars in both 2011 and 2012 and a visit from President Obama.
In recent years Elliot, who is a self-proclaimed "Navy brat" who has traveled the world and all fifty US states, has accrued many prestigious accolades including multiple James Beard Foundation Nominations, a spot on Food & Wine Magazine’s “Best New Chefs” in 2004. At the age of 27 he was the youngest Four Star Chef to be named in any city, also earning himself a spot on Crain’s Chicago Business list of "40 Under Forty", putting him in an elite club that includes luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey.