Chopped: Reality Cooking TV Series on Food Network

Chopped is a Food Network reality based cooking television series created by Michael Krupat, produced by Daniel Kay, and hosted by Ted Allen.
In each episode, four chefs compete. The show is divided into three rounds: Appetizer, Entrée and Dessert. In each round, the chefs are given a basket containing between three and five ingredients, and the dish each competitor prepares must contain each of those ingredients. Generally speaking, the ingredients are ones which are not commonly prepared together. For example, in "Yucca, Watermelon, Tortillas," the episode which originally aired on February 10, 2009, the appetizer course boxes contained watermelon, canned sardines, pepper jack cheese, and zucchini. The competitors are also given access to a pantry and refrigerator stocked with a wide variety of other ingredients. Each round has a time limit: twenty minutes for the Appetizer round (thirty minutes in some season one episodes), and thirty minutes for the Entrée and Dessert rounds (some episodes gave the chefs 40 or 45 in the entrée round to allow them to handle whole large poultry, e.g. turkeys, geese, or ducks; another gave the chefs fifty minutes in the dessert round). The chefs must cook their dishes and complete four platings (one for each judge plus one "beauty plate") before time runs out. After each round, the judges critique the dishes based on presentation, taste, and creativity. The judges then decide which chef is "chopped," who is then eliminated from the competition. Thus, by the dessert round, only two chefs remain. When deciding the winner, the judges consider not only the dessert course, but the entire meal presented by each chef as a whole. The winner receives $10,000.
The panel of three judges changes from week to week, and thus far has drawn from a pool of thirteen chefs and restaurateurs: Mark Bittman, Josh Capon, Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy, Aarón Sánchez, Marcus Samuelsson, Chris Santos, Sue Torres, Jody Williams, and Geoffrey Zakarian.
According to host Ted Allen, the show "was originally meant to be taped at some guy’s mansion with him and his crazy Chihuahua. A stuffy fellow in a tuxedo was to host, and the losing chef’s dish was then fed to the dog". He said that "it was too much for Food Network".
Starting September 8, 2009, and continuing for three additional episodes, Food Network aired the "Chopped Champions Event", wherein 13 past winners returned and faced off against each other (four per episode) to retain their title of Chopped Champion. The winner of an episode in the event earned an additional $10,000, and the winners of the first three episodes moved on to the next episode to face a new set of three previous champions.
Starting August 31, 2010, and continuing for four additional episodes, Food Network aired the "$50,000 Tournament". Sixteen past champions competed. The winners of the first four episodes competed against each other in the "Grand Finale" for the $50,000 prize. The winner was Madison Cowan, Chef and Caterer, Avenue Inc, New York, NY.
Starting March 6, 2011, and continuing for four additional episodes, Food Network aired the "All-Stars Tournament". Sixteen chefs competed. The first four episodes featured four types of chef: The Next Food Network Star contestants, Food Network celebrities, celebrity chefs, and Chopped judges, respectively. The winners of those four episodes then competed against each other in the "Grand Finale", where the winner received $50,000 to donate to a charity of his or her choice. Nate Appleman, a celebrity chef, won the competition and donated his $50,000 to Kawasaki Disease research, a disease from which his son suffered.
Chopped Season 7 Episode 2 (Saying Sayonara) airs: Tuesday, May 17, 2011 at 10:00pm EDT on Food Network.
Chopped Season 7 Episode 7 (Bite Your Pickled Beef Tongue) can be watched on Tuesday, June 14, 2011 at 10:00pm EDT on Food Network.
Chopped Season 7 Episode 8 (Go for It! ) airs: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 at 10:00pm EDT on Food Network. Synopsis of the episode: A Frenchman and an Irishman in the mix; tequila to give the entree dishes a kick; corn tortillas in the dessert basket.
Chopped Season 7 Episode 9 (Thyme Flies) airs: Tuesday, 28 June 2011 at 10:00pm EDT on Food Network. Synopsis of the episode: Two proteins in the appetizer basket; chaos in the entree round; mushroom dishes.
Chopped Season 8 Episode 2 (Easy Peasy? ) airs: Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 10:00pm EDT on Food Network. Synopsis of the episode: An American staple and Japanese snack in the first basket; crunchy, cheesy surprise in the entree round.