The winners of the four preliminary tournament rounds, Jet Tila, Michael Psilakis, Anne Burrell and Art Smith, have returned for one more turn in the Chopped kitchen. These final rounds will determine who leaves with the $75,000 for charity and the title of Chopped All-Stars Champion.
Glory to the Chopped Gods
"I open my basket and the angels start to sing," says Jet, really happy with the basket ingredients of fish carcasses, tasso ham, Calabrian chiles and purple potatoes. "It's about mashing up cultures the best way possible," he says of his decision to do a fusion taco, inspired by his home city of Los Angeles.
Pasta a La Minute
"I see the fish carcass and I immediately think I need to make some sort of broth with noodles," says Michael, who starts simmering the fish right away. With 15 minutes left, he gets going on making noodles from scratch. "I mucked it up," he says, realizing the dough is too wet, and adds more flour.
Competition Jitters
"I feel like I've earned my place here," says Anne, acknowledging her tough competition. Deciding to do a purple-potato salad with crispy fish cheeks, she borrows a fish head from her competitor Art to complete the four servings. "I admire him ... but I'm scared of him," she says, intimidated by his resume.
Here, Fishy Fishy
"The fish is kind of throwing me off, but when you want to win bad you'll do whatever it takes," Art says about the carcasses, deciding to cook them for a fume. "I don't want it to taste fishy fish," he says, so he uses a little bit in creating his sauce for his dish, but it might not have been enough.
The Missing Link
"It's missing something," Alex says of Anne's dish. "This is typically something I might have put a little slice of red onion in," she says, poking fun at Scott. "To me it's a little doughy," Geoffrey says of Michael's pasta. "It's my city on a plate," Jet calls his dish, which Alex thinks is "the tastiest of the round." But Art is chopped for lacking "depth" in his fish broth, as Scott explains.
Riffing on Richness
"This is well within my comfort zone," says Michael of the basket ingredients: a seafood tower, arak, fennel pollen and sea urchin. He prepares ricotta gnudi with sea urchin and yogurt fondue. "This is a decadent dish," he says, using two sticks of butter in his sauce, on top of the richness from the various types of seafood.
Seafood Fiasco
"All of this stuff on this platter is great," says Anne, who decides to make a seafood raviolo with pasta from scratch, but she's all over the place, even taking over the second station. "There is nothing that's going to stop me," she says when her seafood tower collapses, sending ice water everywhere.
Target Terminated
"The target on my back has increased," says Jet, feeling the pressure after the judges' positive comments earlier. However, the basket has him worried: "It really confuses me," he says, deciding to make a "straightforward bowl of curry noodle soup," but Alex calls the flavors "muddled" and Jet is chopped.
Dessert Disadvantage
"Dessert is not really my strength," says Michael. "I'm a savory cook." Inspired by the watermelon fruit bowl in the basket, his mind goes to spoon fruits, cooking each kind with a different spice. "I want to have that juxtaposition of sweet and savory," he says, slicing scallions to top the feta, another basket item.
Playing with Fire and Ice
"I have a few tricks in my back pocket," Anne says. But she's thrown by the ghost peppers and cookie cake, which she ends up burning. "They kind of just taste smoked," she says as her excuse for still plating them. She presents a "trio of frozen things": a grape slushie, watermelon granita and feta ice cream.
Naming the Champion
"It is like a cheese plate with a lot of condiments," says Alex of Michael's dish, but Scott finds the onion a "shock." "I see the basket, and I taste the basket," Geoffrey tells Anne. Alex calls both of their dishes the "most creative" she's seen in some time. Anne is named the Chopped All-Stars Champion, earning $75,000 for her charity. "Don't make the tough cookie crumble," Anne says, holding back tears.
More Chopped All-Stars
Go behind the scenes of the tournament: Browse photo galleries, watch video highlights and read exclusive interviews from the winning chefs.
