The junior chefs must remain fierce and focused in order to tackle mussels in the appetizer round and impress the judges, including guest Bailee Madison. Then they attempt to make incredible duck entrees, but one cook's dish comes up short. Finally, the Chopped Junior Kitchen may never be the same after peanut butter cookie lasagna appears in the dessert round basket.
'Tis the season for good times in the Chopped Junior Kitchen! The junior chefs are challenged to make a holiday meal for the judges, chefs Sandra Lee, Marc Murphy and Christian Petroni. The feast begins with duck and veggie appetizers, then stockings and wreaths made from common foods create a festive feel in the entree round. Finally, a lot of whimsy and sugar in the dessert basket keep the last two culinary elves happy and busy.
In the first round featuring rock shrimp and beef tongue, the junior chefs show kindness and help each other out, but someone must still be chopped by a judging panel featuring Maneet Chauhan, actor Rico Rodriguez, and Fabio Viviani. In the second basket, the kids get quail and a variety of tiny foods, and a very groovy cake makes the dessert round extra colorful.
Three Chopped Junior Champions are taking a seat at the Chopping Block, as four regular Chopped judges -- Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marcus Samuelsson and Chris Santos -- compete for $25,000 for charity. The chefs are cooking with some of the same ingredients that the kids did, but with a few shocking twists, starting with cured fish roe in the appetizer basket. The entree basket contains some familiar barbecue ingredients, and the chefs must also incorporate an elaborate gelatin creation. The dessert basket turns into an ice cream showdown, and the remaining two chefs must cook with ears!