Meet the Host and Judges of Food Network's 'Chopped'

A former senior editor and restaurant critic, Chef Ted Allen is the author of The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes. He's battled on Iron Chef America and is part of the Culinary Council of the Food Bank for New York City.

The chef and owner of Johnny Sánchez in New Orleans and Baltimore, Aarón Sánchez is the host of Cooking Channel’s Taco Trip, and he has published two books: Simple Food, Big Flavor: Unforgettable Mexican-Inspired Recipes from My Kitchen to Yours and La Comida del Barrio: Latin-American Cooking in the U.S.A.

Winner of The Next Iron Chef: Redemption, Alex Guarnaschelli is the chef at New York City's Butter and The Darby restaurants. Her first cookbook, Old-School Comfort Food: The Way I Learned to Cook, was published in 2013.

Chef at New York's Empire Diner, Amanda Freitag is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and has worked under famed chefs Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Alain Passard. She's battled Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America and recently became the runner-up on The Next Iron Chef: Redemption.

Working in restaurants since he was only 13 years old, Chris Santos earned his first executive chef position when he was 23. He's the owner of two New York City restaurants, Beauty and Essex and The Stanton Social.

Winner of The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, Geoffrey Zakarian is the chef and owner of The Lambs Club and The National in New York City. His first cookbook, Geoffrey Zakarian’s Town/Country, was published in 2006.

Enjoying a passion for the culinary arts since she was a child, Maneet Chauhan graduated from both India's WelcomGroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration and The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. She's worked at Vermilion restaurants in both New York City and Chicago and has been a challenger on Iron Chef America.

After graduating from The Institute of Culinary Education, Marc Murphy worked under a host of famed chefs in top restaurants in both Paris and New York City before opening his first restaurant, Landmarc [Tribeca], in 2004. He's since opened another outpost of Landmarc as well as three Ditch Plains locations and now serves as the vice president of the Greater New York City Chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Owner of New York City's Red Rooster Harlem restaurant, Marcus Samuelsson has been a guest chef at the White House, cooking for President Barack Obama. In 2011 he was a contestant on The Next Iron Chef: Super Chefs, and he has battled on Iron Chef America.

Owner of five Scarpetta restaurants across the country plus D.O.C.G. in Las Vegas, Scott Conant is a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America and is known for his next-level interpretation of classic Italian cuisine. He's been the host of 24 Hour Restaurant Battle and has battled on Iron Chef America.