The chefs find themselves swimming against the tide when they have to combine fish with chocolate in the Appetizer Round. Then for the entrée course, the remaining contestants pull from their cultural backgrounds to work with a trendy root vegetable and an old favorite fruit. And in the Dessert Round, the judges ponder two big questions: What does violet mustard taste like? And which of these two passionate finalists deserves the win?
In this competition, the baskets are full of usually-discarded food scraps. In the first round the chefs must contend with herb stems and what is left of a filleted fish. Then the competitors open the baskets to find eyes on potatoes looking back at them. And the two chefs left in the dessert round must make yummy sweets from the least desirable part of the bread and the least juicy part of the orange.
Making their kids proud, four daring dads take on the pressure cooker that is the Chopped Kitchen, but how will the fathers-turned-competitors fare with fish and salt and vinegar potato chips in the appetizer round? The dads get the gift of a bottle of scotch in the entree basket. And after the two fathers fight it out in the dessert round, the judges debate whose rice pudding and pretzel dessert was more successful.
Cue the fireworks as China's biggest holiday has its moment in the Chopped Kitchen! For the first course of their Chinese New Year feasts, the chefs must create appetizers using one of American diners' favorite Chinese dishes. Then, in the entree round, a giant fish is front and center in the basket, and in the final round, the chefs must include an oversized cookie and a strawberry-flavored treat in their desserts.
The chefs get some surprises in the ingredient baskets, starting with the appetizer round, when they have to make gefilte fish work with something super sweet and something soft and salty. The judges are excited to see a beautiful pork product in the entree basket, but will the chefs treat it right? And a particularly strange collection of ingredients in the dessert basket leaves the remaining two chefs scrambling to solve the final culinary puzzle.
A new group of kid competitors bond over their love of music and food as they prepare dishes for the judges: Food Network's Valerie Bertinelli, ballerina Misty Copeland and chef Chris Santos. First, they find themselves working with beets and octopus in block form in the appetizer round. A salmon-like fish filet in the entree round presents challenges, then the finalists must figure out how to work edible piano keys into their desserts.
With mint liqueur and canned fish in the appetizer basket, the judges have concerns about how the first course will taste. Then in the Entrée Round, after raiding the pantry for a plethora of ingredients to complement lamb, one chef endeavors to prepare a very complicated sauce. And when the finalists find an unfamiliar grain in the dessert basket, they boldly present it as the main component in their desserts.
Let's taco 'bout it! Four chefs attempt to prove who deserves to win all the dinero for their all-taco meal. A frantic first round leads to some missteps in the kitchen, and fish tacos are in order for the entree round, when the chefs find red snapper in the baskets. In the dessert round, a festive cocktail is part of the puzzle, but will the judges be toasting the chefs' final plates?
The chefs are excited to face smoked-food challenges requiring them to make delicious modern dishes with the ancient cooking method. First, a colorful, sweet surprise and a buttery fish are two of the ingredients the competitors choose to smoke in the appetizer basket. The second basket features a lean specialty meat and a spicy liqueur. The two chefs left standing must make do with a fishy candy in the dessert round.
Guy Fieri's hitting the road and digging into joints that are loading it, stuffing it and frying it. In Santa Fe, NM, a farm-to-table gem putting out hearty goodness like bison gravy fries and a lights-out lamb sandwich. In Kansas City, KS, a funky Mexican seafood spot fryin' fish and stuffin' outrageous oysters, and in El Paso, Texas, a barbecue joint serving up fully loaded baked potatoes and serious smoked sausage.