Meet the Competitors: Chopped Legends Tournament 21 Photos
Four of Chopped's most legendary judges will hand-pick the 16 past champions they want representing them in the kitchen.
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Episodes
See Episode GuideHungry for Love: Married
In this preliminary battle of an unprecedented tournament, which challenges couples to compete together, married pairs attempt to show that they're ready to rock the baskets as teams! But are their relationships tough enough to weather three rounds in the Chopped kitchen? A fancy item in the appetizer basket requires careful handling. A personalized ingredient in the entrée basket brings a smile, but things get serious when more than one couple wants access to the deep fryer. Then, two ambitious pairs attempt to wow the judges with their desserts, but only one team can be deemed worthy of moving on to the $50,000 finale fight.
Finer Diner Dining
Four chefs enter the Chopped kitchen for a diner-themed battle with three courses of elevated comfort food, all under the watchful eyes of guest judge Neil Patrick Harris. The chefs find pie in the first basket and must rise to the challenge of making an appetizer with it. A play on pancakes is a clever addition to the second basket, and a breakfast-inspired final basket leads the chefs in two distinct directions.
Mizuna Matata
Four chefs are eager to impress as they race to make appetizers with mizuna and a weird pizza, but first round jitters are a real problem. A deep-fried oddity is part of the challenge for the competitors in the second round. In the dessert round, both chefs get a little bit frazzled attempting to make marvelous last plates that include a breakfast indulgence.
Double-Edged Swordfish
Great minds, limited time! The ingredients in the first basket inspire all the chefs to use the deep fryer, resulting in a kitchen traffic jam. In the second round, the judges are hoping for tender, juicy swordfish steaks, but not all of the chefs appear to be nailing the assignment. Then in the third round, an unusual cheese product prompts one of the chefs to attempt a cheesecake.
Easy Breezy, Mac and Cheesy
Four competitors think they're ready for whatever the Chopped kitchen might throw at them! In a dynamic first round, the chefs have a lot of ideas for their turkey legs and milkshakes, but they struggle to keep pace with the clock. Then in a drama-filled second round, the chefs rush to make steak work with a wacky candied surprise. When the final two chefs open the dessert basket and find a lot of frosting and a freeze-dried fruit, they must wrap their heads around the challenge in time to make terrific final plates.
Grilling on the Edge
Grilling is living! Four chefs with a talent for live-fire cooking bring their passion to the Chopped kitchen. Beef in the first basket should be a breeze, but nothing is ever easy on Chopped. Second-guessing in the entree round leaves one chef confused about the best plan for the main protein, and the two grilling gurus who advance to the last round must make final plates that include a dough and a fancy fruit.
Avocado Bravado
Four chefs have the green light to go wild for avocados! For all their energy and enthusiasm, the chefs struggle to keep up with the clock in the first round, and the judges are on the edges of their seats. Then, figuring out how to work with a "secret" meat in the second basket might be the key to making delectable main dishes, and the two chefs left for the final round must be creative and conscientious to make avocado work well in their desserts.
Hungry for Love: Exes
Breaking up is hard to do, and staying friends is even harder! Four pairs of exes compete in this preliminary battle of the impassioned Hungry for Love tournament, but when former partners team up in the kitchen, can things stay civil for long? Special dumplings and a thematic treat are two of the ingredients that the teams find in the appetizer basket. In the entrée round, one team starts to panic when a sauce they made is suddenly nowhere to be found. Then, flowers and chocolate make for a romantic dessert basket. The winning team heads to the tournament's $50,000 finale.
Bacon Me Crazy
Four wildly carnivorous cooks are thrilled to get a bacon theme for their competition, but can they do justice to one of their favorite foods? In the appetizer round, a bold breakfast sandwich joins Berkshire bacon in the basket. Whoever said "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" was not thinking of the bacon-forward apple creation in the entrée basket. Then, as the final round flies by, the chefs are not particularly concerned about how to include bacon in their desserts. The cruel clock, on the other hand, gives them plenty to worry about.
Pickled Tricks
In a pickle! Four chefs find themselves eager to show off their pickling talents but with limited time to do so. The competitors must pickle something in every round, and the baskets are packed with pickled goodness as inspiration, like pickle ice cream for the appetizer round. In the second round, the judges encourage the chefs to amp up the pickle flavor. Will they succeed? Finally, an action-packed dessert round features pickled flower blossoms, and the remaining duo work hard to leave a favorable final impression while taking some risks.
Bacon Me Crazy
Four wildly carnivorous cooks are thrilled to get a bacon theme for their competition, but can they do justice to one of their favorite foods? In the appetizer round, a bold breakfast sandwich joins Berkshire bacon in the basket. Whoever said "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" was not thinking of the bacon-forward apple creation in the entrée basket. Then, as the final round flies by, the chefs are not particularly concerned about how to include bacon in their desserts. The cruel clock, on the other hand, gives them plenty to worry about.
Pickled Tricks
In a pickle! Four chefs find themselves eager to show off their pickling talents but with limited time to do so. The competitors must pickle something in every round, and the baskets are packed with pickled goodness as inspiration, like pickle ice cream for the appetizer round. In the second round, the judges encourage the chefs to amp up the pickle flavor. Will they succeed? Finally, an action-packed dessert round features pickled flower blossoms, and the remaining duo work hard to leave a favorable final impression while taking some risks.
Hungry for Love: Exes
Breaking up is hard to do, and staying friends is even harder! Four pairs of exes compete in this preliminary battle of the impassioned Hungry for Love tournament, but when former partners team up in the kitchen, can things stay civil for long? Special dumplings and a thematic treat are two of the ingredients that the teams find in the appetizer basket. In the entrée round, one team starts to panic when a sauce they made is suddenly nowhere to be found. Then, flowers and chocolate make for a romantic dessert basket. The winning team heads to the tournament's $50,000 finale.
Midnight Snack Attack
This battle is all about indulging wholeheartedly in late-night cravings, with no worries and no regrets. In the first round, tacos and ramen in the basket force fusion plates. A very hot pepper and a beloved potato product are two of the mandatory entrée round ingredients. A risky move in the dessert round makes a baking blunder a distinct possibility.
Hungry for Love: Exes
Breaking up is hard to do, and staying friends is even harder! Four pairs of exes compete in this preliminary battle of the impassioned Hungry for Love tournament, but when former partners team up in the kitchen, can things stay civil for long? Special dumplings and a thematic treat are two of the ingredients that the teams find in the appetizer basket. In the entrée round, one team starts to panic when a sauce they made is suddenly nowhere to be found. Then, flowers and chocolate make for a romantic dessert basket. The winning team heads to the tournament's $50,000 finale.
Midnight Snack Attack
This battle is all about indulging wholeheartedly in late-night cravings, with no worries and no regrets. In the first round, tacos and ramen in the basket force fusion plates. A very hot pepper and a beloved potato product are two of the mandatory entrée round ingredients. A risky move in the dessert round makes a baking blunder a distinct possibility.
Hungry for Love: Exes
Breaking up is hard to do, and staying friends is even harder! Four pairs of exes compete in this preliminary battle of the impassioned Hungry for Love tournament, but when former partners team up in the kitchen, can things stay civil for long? Special dumplings and a thematic treat are two of the ingredients that the teams find in the appetizer basket. In the entrée round, one team starts to panic when a sauce they made is suddenly nowhere to be found. Then, flowers and chocolate make for a romantic dessert basket. The winning team heads to the tournament's $50,000 finale.
Southwestern Strength
Four Southwestern competitors take the reins in the Chopped kitchen, and the baskets are packed full of ingredients from America's most arid and untamed lands. A cactus product and a comfort food casserole stand out in the appetizer basket, while a spicy surprise forces the competitors to bring the heat in the entrée round. Then, a special flour in the dessert basket could prove to be inspiring or intimidating for the chefs.
Hungry for Love: Exes
Breaking up is hard to do, and staying friends is even harder! Four pairs of exes compete in this preliminary battle of the impassioned Hungry for Love tournament, but when former partners team up in the kitchen, can things stay civil for long? Special dumplings and a thematic treat are two of the ingredients that the teams find in the appetizer basket. In the entrée round, one team starts to panic when a sauce they made is suddenly nowhere to be found. Then, flowers and chocolate make for a romantic dessert basket. The winning team heads to the tournament's $50,000 finale.
Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
Four cooks are surprised by a Cinco de Mayo theme, and in the first basket, they must grapple with a green pie and a big fish fillet. The fiesta continues in round two when the chefs must work with a cheese blend and a Mexican barbecue specialty, then black beans and chocolate are part of the dessert challenge.
Flamin' Hot
With powerful peppers in every basket, four chefs learn that they'll get chilies increasing in heat on the Scoville scale for every round. In the appetizer round, the chefs fight over the fryer and try to figure out how to properly balance heat with the other flavors in their dishes. Then, the entrée basket has hot and cold components, and the two finalists must use finesse to incorporate one of the hottest peppers in the world into their desserts.
Fiesta Mexicana
It's a Mexican fiesta in the Chopped kitchen as every basket features foods from our neighbor to the south, and the chefs will be encouraged to dial up the flavor to make extra scrumptious dishes. In the first round, the chefs struggle under the time pressure and hope that their appetizers don't fall flat when it comes to technique. In the second round, the chefs must combine a weird ice cream and a classic Mexican sauce. Then in a neck-and-neck final round, the chefs get creative with some unusual potato chips and a distinctively flavored leafy green.
Taco Throwdown
Crunchy or soft, minimalist or filled to the max, it's taco time! The chefs are tasked with making tacos that are worth ten thousand bucks. A beverage is in the first basket, as well as a seafood surprise. Meaty tacos are in the works for the entree round, but can the competitors find a place on their plates for a squirmy shocker? Then, spicy dessert tacos sound delicious in the final round, however, time management issues become a problem after both chefs decide to make tortillas from scratch.
Hungry for Love: Blind Date
Four pairs of singles are set up on blind dates and challenged to work as teams in this preliminary battle. When missteps in the first round cause the couples problems, will they panic or power through? In the entrée round, the protein in the basket is far from a grocery store staple. Then, in the final round, the clock doesn't seem to be the chefs' friend, and undercooked desserts seem like a possibility. The winning team will advance to the tournament's finale for a chance to win $50,000!
Death Is Not an Option
Four brave chefs prioritize flavor over fear as they take on outrageously daring ingredients to make killer dishes for the judges. The heat is on in the appetizer round with frighteningly difficult ingredients and just twenty minutes to cook. Then, the chefs prove they have the chops to make a swamp-loving chomper tasty in the entrée round and try not be be stung by a shocking sweet in the dessert basket.
Taco Time!
In each round of this competition, the chefs are tasked with showcasing their creative take on the taco. The judges talk tripe and mustard rabe after an exciting appetizer round. Asian sauce and a beautiful protein are in the entree basket, and the finalists bring tortillas to the sweet side with inventive desserts that include Mexican chocolate.
