The Best Episodes of Chopped

The competing chefs must use the fryers to create crunchy, decadent dishes; the appetizer basket contains something spicy and a strange soda; the judges are excited for fried fish entrees but won't let anyone off the hook for making mistakes.

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Four funny women (Tichina Arnold, Jackee Harry, JoMarie Payton and Betsy Randle) who are best known for playing mothers on TV, take on the role of Chopped competitor! The actresses have a hard time coming up with solid ideas for what to do with the mushrooms and frozen TV dinners in the appetizer basket. In the entree round, the cooks have 30 minutes to deal with minute steak, and the judges worry they might get served overcooked meat. In the final hilarious round, the two sitcom moms remaining are asked to get creative with tiramisu and strawberry sauce.

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All four chefs in this special Thanksgiving competition dedicate their time and talents to soup kitchens. In the first round, the chefs each come up with distinctive appetizer concepts in response to the typical Thanksgiving leftovers found in the baskets. Then in the entree round, the remaining chefs are surprised to see a theme emerging with the baskets. And an ice cream cake and a starchy candy are two of the perplexing items to be dealt with in the final round.

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For the love of chocolate! In this battle, the chefs are blessed with an abundance of the so-called food of the gods. In the first round, the competitors attempt to make duck and chocolate fly. Faux deviled eggs are a sweet trick in the entree basket, and by the time the dessert round is done, it might be natural to ask if there's such a thing as too much chocolate. Not for the winner of this chocolate challenge!

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Chomp, chomp, chop! The chefs get alligator in the first basket and race to see who can make it most tender and flavorful. The three competitors who advance to the second round are determined to show their skill and creativity, but the clock threatens to upset their plans. Then, when missteps in the final minutes of the dessert round result in errors, will the judges be disappointed or unfazed by the plates they get?

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In the final, the two remaining chefs go all out.

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Guest judge Andrew Zimmern is on hand in this competition filled with bizarre surprises in all the baskets. The chefs have to contend with an offbeat ice cream flavor and an unusual meat in the appetizer round. In the entree round, a shocking-looking protein must be combined with a pink veggie. And the dessert basket contains some odd eggs and a peculiar Turkish treat.

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Four chef/entrepreneurs have something to prove in the Chopped kitchen. In the first round, will their hearts sink when they see hearts of palm and rabbit escabeche in the basket? And a curious ingredient substitution leaves the judges perplexed. Then three chefs fight to make goat chops a great main dish ... or risk being chopped. And it's crunch time for two finalists, when they must make dessert using blue corn tortilla chips.

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Four chefs set out to prove that ice cream can work well in two savory courses. A scoop is sandwiched in the middle of an indulgent ingredient in the first basket. Then a unique ice cream flavor at the center of an unusual dish is the big surprise in the second basket. And the judges have high hopes for the much-anticipated ice cream dessert round.

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Four repeat champs are back for the Chopped Champions Grand Finale and the chance to make a $50,000 meal! The appetizer basket challenges the chefs with a seafood delicacy that requires a high degree of thoughtfulness. An in-your-face shocker in the second basket leaves the remaining chefs racing to make bold plates. And with the prize at stake, the two remaining chefs face off in a dessert round with a basket that is fittingly difficult.

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The four competing chefs get budget baskets full of low-cost ingredients for every round, and they have to make basic foods burst with flavor. A box of fish sticks is the big catch in the first basket, and the second round involves a lesson in putting your best foot forward when cooking with chicken feet. Finally, cheap wine and a cake mix mingle in the last budget basket.

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Conclusion. Four "Chopped" all-stars face off for $10,000. Featured ingredients include bananas, endives, melons and molasses.

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Conclusion. The final round of the All-Stars Tournament finds four celebrity chefs cooking with offal, a tangy fruit and trail mix in a quest to win $50,000 for their favorite charity.

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Martha Stewart is thrilled to celebrate her favorite holiday, Halloween, as a judge in the Chopped kitchen. All manner of spooky fun is found in the first basket, including a scary sight in a martini glass and macaroni and cheese in a clever package. A witch's cauldron holds a green, savory surprise in the entree basket, and it's demolition day at the haunted gingerbread house as the final two chefs make their desserts.

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Host Ted Allen and his sister -- plus three judges and their siblings -- crowd the kitchen for a wild Thanksgiving competition! These turkeys are sure to have a blast cooking together, starting round one by tackling a curious green bean creation and a bitter green. There's no bird in the Thanksgiving entree basket but there's plenty of delicious fall goodness. Finally, a latte and lots more await the final competitors in the dessert basket.

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A proud legacy of delicious cooking! Four chefs celebrate Black History Month through incredible food. Fish fillets and fish peppers must be combined for the appetizer course, and a hearty soup and a Southern vegetable inspire the chefs in the entree round. Then, when chefs with two unique perspectives make it into the dessert round, they both have a good feeling about the basket, but only time will tell if the ingredients can come together just as they would like.

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Four chefs tackle a takeout takedown in this thrilling battle. The baskets are packed with go-to, to-go choices like pizza in the first round. In the second round, the chefs must make a Chinese specialty work with an Italian cocktail. Then, a tower of something sweet and a cup of something bubbly are part of the puzzle for the dessert round.

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The judges are excited by the prospect of beautiful octopus appetizers in the first round as the four chefs scramble to create dishes featuring mollusk morsels. The canned product in the second round threatens to throw the competitors off their game and leaves one chef in an unusual predicament. The two remaining chefs choose the same format for their Gorgonzola dolce desserts in the final round, leaving the judges to thoroughly compare the two dishes.

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Talented kid cooks compete with their brothers and sisters in an impressive show of cooperation in the Chopped Kitchen. The sibling teams uncover a strange pizza and some bitter greens in the appetizer basket. In round two, the judges find out if the kids have the chops to cook goat chops. Finally, a tropical fruit and a sugary cereal keep the kids on their toes in the dessert round.

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Four daring competitors are up against the clock to come up with amazing appetizers using a cheesy creation in the first basket. A red spread and dried fish are two of the surprises the chefs must make sense of in round two, and a citrus food and an unusual seaweed snack must be combined in the desserts.

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With just two spots left in the tournament's $50,000 grand finale, four winners return to try to beat the odds and be victorious again. As time runs out in the first round, one chef struggles to get every ingredient onto every plate of his smoked eel appetizer: Will he do it? The champs leap into an entree round, featuring frog legs and gin. Two very different styles are represented in the dessert round, featuring araucana eggs and coconut macaroons, leaving the judges with a complex final decision to work out.

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The chefs hope the basket ingredients speak to them and inspire them to create some delicious appetizers from smoked beef tongue and garbanzo beans. Then the competitors have a heck of a time making halibut work with aquavit in their entree dishes. And the judges are eager to see what the last two chefs can do with banana chips and almond butter in the dessert round.

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The appetizer round prompts a couple of critical questions -- namely, what in the world is a narutomaki, and what are you supposed to do with it? The judges are astonished when one of the chefs takes an extremely unusual approach with the fish from the entree basket that also includes caul fat. Finally, the last two chefs attempt to make scrumptious dishes in the dessert round with Swedish syrup and a classic cookie.

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Martha Stewart, the queen of farm-to-table cooking, is excited to judge a competition with gorgeous garden goodies in every basket. In the first round, the chefs find some impressive greens and a sweet treat with a good-for-you spin. Squash is the meatiest find in the second produce-packed basket. Will the chefs successfully make it a star on their plates? Finally, a puzzling dessert basket includes spinach as a savory surprise.

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The chefs are excited to find a small plates theme in effect for their competition. The judges -- including Martha Stewart -- are expecting modern, creative dining experiences in every round. The first basket features a surprise from one judge's restaurant. The round two basket contains a German sandwich that sounds unappealing to the uninitiated, and the third basket has the final two chefs scrambling to make small plates with big flavor that include a sensational citrus.

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