Craziest Dishes 'Chopped Castaways' Competitors Made During Season 1

Chopped Castaways drops a group of elite chefs on a remote tropical island, where ingredients are won by pure grit and determination. When the chefs first arrived, they were met with sand, ocean … and absolutely no kitchen in sight. Before even beginning to cook, both teams had to build their kitchens in the wild, using whatever they could find on the beach. They had no electricity — only skill. However, the island eventually provided, and after constructing their cooking sites, it was time for the chefs to show us what they’re made of. And show us, they did. The dishes they came up with using very limited resources are nothing short of incredible (and incredibly delicious). Ahead, discover the craziest dishes these superstars made.

Chef Ara Zada used his trusty skewers and Armenian heritage to create a classic kebab and rice dish, working alongside chef James Peck, who wasn’t used to cooking with goat meat. What they ultimately made was Papaya and Scorpion Goat Kebabs With Sumac Rice, which was flavorful and expertly put together. Cooking the meat over an open fire undoubtedly gave this dish a necessary, singular smokiness, resulting in one of the best creations of the day.

During Episode 2, two teams of chefs had to literally dig their ingredients out of the sand relay-race style, with only 90 minutes to find their baskets and cook the dishes. The entirety of the Blue Team knocked it out of the park with their individual family-style meal dishes, but chef Aidan Barry Owens in particular achieved greatness, cooking with prestige way beyond his years. He utilized all four basket ingredients perfectly, taming the robustness of the century egg with the queso and using the popcorn and pickled onion as a crunchy topping. It was a gorgeous presentation and an excellent execution.

Chef James bested Cate Meade in the gauntlet during Episode 2, incorporating rabbit saddle, mamajuana, pineapple and bok choy into a risky 30-minute ramen. This was an ambitious choice that could’ve gone very wrong, given that ramen usually needs much more time to cook. The rain started to pound down on the competitors, but James’ big swing ultimately paid off. His creative and delicious rabbit ramen had soul and wound up being his best, most authentic cooking yet.

Chefs had to battle the rip currents and actually swim out to sea to grab their crate of ingredients underwater. It was incredibly taxing, but Aidan swam like a merman, grabbing several crates, followed later by running across the beach to find the treasure chest of extra ingredients. All of that and he still had a hand in cooking the best dish of the day, according to the judges, alongside chefs Carrie Baird and Logan Sandoval. Whelks — large sea snails — typically aren’t easy to work with, but Aidan was well-versed in using the protein, and the result was a dish full of deliciousness.

In a very intense gauntlet during Episode 3, Ara managed to beat chef Dwight Hudgins, utilizing passionfruit, baby octopus, culantro and vanilla ice cream ingredients to create a sweet yet balanced dish of heavily marinated passionfruit baby octopus with sweet cream and culantro sweet potatoes. And it was quite a fight for him, because smoke was pummeling him throughout the process. At times, he couldn’t see or even breathe. He still managed to create an impressive dish despite fighting against the fire — the sweet potato and passionfruit in particular were a perfect pairing.

During Episode 4, new teams were formed, and chefs had to create dishes relay-style without communicating with one another. One after the other, each teammate would have to figure out what the previous had been thinking by simply looking at what had been done. As impossible as it sounds, the Purple Team knocked it out of the park, starting with chef Stephen Kina, who set his team up by loading the grill with vegetables, without pushing a particular dish. Aidan used his time to harvest the pork perfectly using the juices, as well as build a nice sauce for chef Paulette Tejada to adjust and play with (which she did with finesse). Their incredible teamwork and general respect for each other paid off. They impressed the judges with a delectable roasted pork belly salad.

Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois spent enough summers peeling shrimp in Louisiana to know exactly what to do when given the ingredient of head-on shrimp. He faced off against chefs Logan and Carrie, stretching his Southern roots to create a beautifully cooked dish of Head-On Shrimp With Smothered Okra and Tomatoes. The dish mimicked a classic New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp, full of rosemary, garlic, black pepper and lemon, with oyster sauce used as an adhesive to bind all of those flavors together.

During Episode 5, the competitors had to use a compass and a set of written directions to find their baskets, which were placed all over the beach. After getting lost and finding his basket second to last, Ara was at a disadvantage: He was left with only one hour of cooking time. This fight against time made what Ara pulled off even more impressive. His expertly cooked Guava Guinea Hen With Blood Sausage Khorovats Salad was not only the judges’ favorite dish of the day but his best cooking yet.