In the series opener, four chefs must use octopus, duck and animal crackers to make an extraordinary three-course meal in three rounds of competition. A panel of culinary experts determines which chef's dishes deserve the $10,000 prize. Hosted by Ted Allen.

Pilot: Octopus, Duck, Animal Crackers

Featured ingredients include tofu, blueberries and oysters.

Tofu, Blueberries, Oysters

The chefs must work with avocado, cantaloupe, pecans, bran flakes and brioche bread.

Avocado, Tahini, Bran Flakes

The chefs must work with bananas, collard greens and grits.

Banana, Collard Greens, Grits

The chefs must work with yucca, watermelon and tortillas in three rounds of competition.

Yucca, Watermelon, Tortillas

Featured ingredients include canned peaches (appetizers); fruit punch and rice cakes (entrée); and beets, goat cheese and oatmeal (final course).

Canned Peaches, Rice Cakes, Beets

The chefs must use quail in their appetizers, arctic char in their entrées, and beer in their desserts.

Quail, Arctic Char, Beer

The chefs must use coconut in their appetizers, calamari in their entrées and donuts with smoked Gouda in their desserts.

Coconut, Calamari and Donuts

Macaroni-and-cheese, cola and bacon are among the featured ingredients.

Mac & Cheese, Cola, Bacon

The chefs must use string cheese in their appetizers, jicama in their entrées and gingersnaps in their desserts.

String Cheese, Jicama, Gingersnaps

The chefs must use apples, shrimp and peanut butter in their appetizers; pickled peppers and pepperoni in their entrées; and cereal in their desserts.

Jumbo Shrimp, Pepperoni, Cereal

Chocolate, figs and mussels are among the featured ingredients.

Chocolate, Mussels and Figs

The chefs must work with strawberries, turkey and gummi bears.

Strawberries, Turkey and Gummi Bears

In the Season 2 opener, four chefs find a spiny surprise in their appetizer baskets. Then, one has a serious snafu with snapper in the entrée round. Judges: Aaron Sanchez; Alex Guarnaschelli; and Chris Santos.

A Prickly Situation

The chefs must use salty vegetables in their appetizers, Thai chilis in their entrées, and Mexican ingredients in their desserts. Judges: Alex Guarnaschelli; Chris Santos; and Marc Murphy

Salted Veggies and Heated Battles

Featured ingredients include whole calamari (appetizers), bison meat (entrées) and ancho chilis (desserts).

High Hopes

The chefs are presented with a challenging cut of meat in the appetizer round. In the entrée round, they work with miniature produce and whole flounder.

Floundering Around

The chefs try to represent their cultural heritage through duck appetizers. Then they work with Serrano ham in the entrée round.

Pride on the Plate

Piquillo peppers and snap peas are among the featured ingredients.

Pretty Please with a Pepper on Top

The mystery ingredients include star fruit, liquor and spicy merguez sausage.

Pods, Grills, and Sticky Fingers

Part 1 of 4. Past "Chopped" winners return to compete in a champions round. Some chefs have an edge when a Southern specialty shows up in the appetizer basket. Then Japanese noodles and leafy greens create a challenge for the entrées.

A Wish Upon a Starfruit

Part 2 of 4. Four past "Chopped" winners face off in a champions round. Featured ingredients include cockles, ground chicken and apples.

Buckwheat Blunders and Twists of Fate

The first tournament featuring past Chopped champions, where the winner advances to face three new champions next week. First up, chefs must create an appetizer using crayfish and fiddlehead ferns and an entrée that includes dinosaur kale.

Chopped Champions - Round One: The Ultimate Face-Off

Round Two features the Round One victor against three more returning champions. Featured ingredients include cockles, kohlrabi, and goji berries.

Chopped Champions - Round Two: Best of the Best

The reigning Round Two All-Star Champion competes against three more previous winners. Featured ingredients: lavash, beef jerky, and gin.

Chopped Champions - Round Three: All-Stars Showdown

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

Chopped Champions - Round Four: Bring It!

The chefs must use kumquats and croissants in their appetizers; green beans and ground pork in their entrées; and grits in their desserts.

When Chefs Collide

Featured ingredients include eel, umeboshi, parsnips and soda crackers.

Oh My Goshy, Umeboshi

The chefs must work with a fish that's traditionally used for sushi in the appetizer round. Then, they find an unfamiliar condiment in the entrée basket and prosecco is used to make dessert.

Judge Knows Best

The chefs must use graham crackers in their appetizers; puffed-rice cereal and chorizo in their entrées; and coffee beans in their desserts.

A Nori Story

Sticking To It

The chefs must cook with the holidays in mind when working with the mystery ingredients, which include venison and marshmallows.

Season's Choppings

The chefs must incorporate zucchini blossoms into their appetizers; burdock root into their entrées; and chickpeas into their desserts.

Flower Power

Four previous runners-up return and compete again in hopes of finally being named a "Chopped" champion.

Sweet Redemption

The chefs must work with chicken wings in the appetizer round; catfish in the entrée round; and cherry tomatoes in the dessert round.

Winging It

A challenging piece of meat poses problems for the chefs in the entrée round. They also must use soft-shell crabs in their appetizers and peppermint sticks in their desserts.

In a Pinch

The chefs must use raw oysters in their appetizers; a rare fruit in their entrées; and miso in their desserts.

Raw Enthusiasm

The chefs must combine fish with chocolate in the appetizer round. Then, a trendy root vegetable shows up in the entrée round and violet mustard is used to make desserts.

Against the Tide

The chefs must use liver in their appetizers; pasta sheets in their entrées; and cactus pears in their desserts.

Chopped Liver

Rattlesnake meat must be included in the chef's first course.

Rattle and Roll

The chefs find frog legs in the first basket for the Appetizer Round.

My Froggy Clementine

Panic threatens to paralyze one of the competitors who is feeling jittery.

Jitters & Giant Eggs

Three of the four chefs make a huge mistake with the jumbo shrimp.

Dr. Deckle & Mr. Fried

The chefs have to muscle through to come up with a terrific mussels appetizer in just 20 minutes. Then in the entrée Round, a humble breakfast food must be combined with a high-brow delicacy. And with a favorite childhood treat in the final mystery basket, the judges are expecting whimsical desserts, but will the chefs deliver?

Mussels Mastery & Cotton Candy Can-Do

The competitors get fired up when they discover this competition is all about grilling! They find some strange basket fellows in the Appetizer Round: striped bass and strawberries. In a smok'n entrée Round the chefs try to glean ideas from one another on how to handle a tricky ingredient. And in the last course, a classic American food – perfect for the grill but peculiar in dessert – complicates the judges' final decision.

Fired Up!

When time runs out on a frantic appetizer round, two of the chefs are unhappy with what did not make it on to their plates in the final moments, while one chef is upset that a little something extra accidentally did. Then in the entrée round, it's up to the judges to determine who fell short whose dish was a cut above the rest. And the two finalists devise ambitious plans for using a salty condiment and a sweet fruit in their desserts.

First Things Worst

When panic sets in at the end of the appetizer round, the judges cheer on a competitor who appears to be giving up. Then in the rush to get a tantalizing entrée finished, one chef makes a dangerous mistake. And even though they find peanuts in the dessert basket, the finalists know that they are competing for so much more and bump the intensity level up a notch as they face off for $10,000.

Quahog Quandaries and Pickle Puzzles

One of the finalists suffers an injury as he attempts a Chopped first.

Turbot Powered

Mint liqueur and canned fish make an odd combination for the first course.

Keep On Cook'n On

The appetizer basket's ingredients get the chefs pondering ballgame fare.

Green Apps and Lamb

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

Crunch Time

Rowdy with a Chance of Meatballs

Past runners-up return in a quest to redeem themselves. They must use a pungent English condiment in their appetizers; cookies and fish in their entrées; and blueberry jelly beans in their desserts.

Dream'n of Redeem'n

The chefs must incorporate trout and white chocolate in their appetizers; whole coconuts in entrées; and two Japanese ingredients in their desserts..

Wok This Way

Four female chefs compete. Featured ingredients include kabocha squash and sardines.

Squashed

Bring on the Champions for the $50,000 prize! Four previous winners return to compete in the first leg of an extraordinary, five-part Chopped event. A repeat win gets a berth in the Grand Finale competition with $50,000 at stake! But when the champs discover Rocky Mountain oysters in the appetizer basket, things get off to a bumpy start.

$50,000 Tournament: Round One

Ready to repeat?! Four new returning champs compete for one of the prized spots in the $50,000 Grand Finale fight. Feeling the pressure of this potentially life-changing opportunity, the chefs set off with record speed and exceptional confidence. But the judges must debate whose catfish appetizer will get one champ chopped.

$50,000 Tournament: Round Two

Four previously unbeatable chefs compete to see who will win the chance to return to fight for $50,000! But in the appetizer round, will the sweetbreads be the not-so-sweet surprise that unhinges a proven champ?

$50,000 Tournament: Round Three

One spot left!! Four returning champs compete to see who can secure the very last place in the Grand Finale champions' contest. With their minds on the $50,000 grand prize, the chefs open the appetizer baskets to find something fishy and something fizzy.

$50,000 Tournament: Round Four

Who is the unstoppable, un-"choppable" champion? Four tenacious repeat winners fight it out for the three-peat and the biggest cash prize in Chopped history! Ready for anything, the chefs open the appetizer baskets to find an over-sized sea creature and a scoop-shop treat. Then a wild combination in the entrée basket makes an intense round even more outrageously difficult. And when the two remaining champions find champagne in their baskets, just whose victory the judges will be toasting is the $50,000 question.

$50,000 Tournament: Grand Finale

A chef spills beer during the appetizer round; the entrée round features an ancient grain; and global ingredients are used for the desserts.

Spouting Off

The chefs must use octopus in their appetizers; flank steak and granola bars in their entrées; and Greek and Japanese ingredients in their desserts.

When Octopuses Attack

A Halloween-theme challenge has the chefs cooking with creepy ingredients, including a very daunting piece of meat.

Fright Bites

The chefs must make a Thanksgiving meal, using assorted cheeses, a bitter vegetable, mushrooms and a Chinese condiment.

Cornuchopia

Holiday dishes are made using non-traditional ingredients, such as gingerbread oysters and a sweet jarred fruit.

Yes, Virginia, There Is a Chopping Block

The chefs must use goat brains in their appetizers. Later, they're faced with a stinky surprise.

Victory on the Brain

The chefs must use mussels and waffles in their appetizers; a lean meat and a delicate flower in their entrées; and a nostalgic candy in their desserts.

Prove it on the Plate

Marrow bones and a frozen ingredient show up in the mystery basket.

Marrowly We Roll Along

A chef faces a major setback while preparing her trout appetizer. Then another chef's behavior brings up safety concerns in the entrée round. And coquitos present a challenge when the contestants make their desserts.

Doughs and Don'ts

The chefs must use catfish and marshmallows in their appetizers; pork country-style ribs in their entrées; and a Latin ingredient in their desserts.

Step Right Up!

Part 1 of 5. Fan favorites from "The Next Food Network Star" begin competing for charity. Mystery ingredients include pound cake; calf's liver; an unusually bitter vegetable; and a small game bird.

All-Stars Tournament: Round One – Competitors from "The Next Food Network Star"

Part 2 of 5. Four popular Food Network personalities compete for charity. They must used teething biscuits in their appetizers; a kid's breakfast favorite in their entrées; and jelly beans and baby fennel in their desserts.

All-Stars Tournament: Round Two – Food Network Personalities

Part 3 of 5. Four acclaimed chefs compete for charity. They must use fresh pasta sheets in their appetizers; big fish and little crackers in their entrées; and a Chinese spice in their desserts.

All-Stars Tournament: Round Three – Notable Chefs

Part 4 of 5. The "Chopped" judges compete for charity. Featured ingredients include smoked fish; strawberry powder; and a labor-intensive protein.

All-Stars Tournament: Round Four – "Chopped" Judges

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.

All-Stars Tournament: Grand Finale!

Peking duck, a seemingly simple protein, and an unusual fruit are among the featured ingredients.

A Cornish Mess

Rivals face off! Four solid competitors from rival cities enthusiastically jump into the first round. But will they be able to settle on a firm idea of what to do with firm tofu and recover from some absentminded mistakes? Then one chef shows incredible speed moving around the kitchen, and a sugary surprise in the entrée basket poses a creative challenge. And once the finalists open up the dessert baskets, they make it their mission to make delicious mission fig dishes and to make the judges decision very difficult.

Chefs on a Mission

Ready? Go! Confidence abounds in the first round when four determined chefs try to get a leg up on the competition through their smoked turkey leg dishes. Then when the chefs are challenged to use beef and chocolate frosting in the entrée round, one competitor makes a big splash, but not intentionally. And after the two finalists present battling banana desserts, it is up to the judges to decide which chef will not survive the third chop.

The Icing on the Steak

Say canned cheese! The chefs are not all smiles when they see the first-round basket. Can canned cheese make for delicious appetizers? Then the competitors who move on to the entrée round must figure out how to work with two ingredients that are entirely new to them. And when a crunchy vegetable and a frozen treat meet in the dessert basket, will the finalists be able to push their creative limits to make some great dishes?

Canned Cheese, Please!

Ah, shucks! Oysters in the first basket cause some problems, leading up to an emotional ending to the round. Then the competitors gain momentum in the entrée round when they're challenged to work with two Japanese ingredients. And the judges have to say sayonara to one last chef, after tasting the finalists' passionately prepared passion fruit desserts.

Saying Sayonara

Have a heart! Duck-heart starters are the chefs' ticket to the second round. But will every competitor know how to make this organ meat delicious? Will anyone just give up? Then a super slimy surprise awaits the chefs in the entrée basket, but it may not end up being the most challenging ingredient of the round. And when the finalists find an English tea treat and gelatin candy in the dessert basket, they push themselves to create final dishes sweet enough to propel them to victory.

Have a Heart

It is a Chopping Block block party! The chefs are surprised to learn they must grill as part of this special competition. With a classic condiment in each round's basket, it should be easy to get into the cookout spirit. Yet, which competitor will be fired up enough to make it all the way to the final round and win the $10,000 prize?

Gotta Grill!

With canned fruit and a seafood delicacy in the appetizer basket, the chefs have to get it together fast, to get a cohesive dish made. Then in the entrée round, when the chefs set out to make snapper dishes in a snap, two of the competitors run out of time to do exactly what they planned. Will it hurt their chances? Then, after two very driven finalists tackle the dessert round, the judges face a difficult choice.

Get It Together!

With tongue in the first basket, the chefs attempt to lick their competition. Sadly, proper cleaning technique, creativity, and the 20-minute timeframe pose problems. Then in a highly competitive second round, the chefs must take a colorful vegetable and a lean meat and make hearty main dishes. And when the two finalists move on to the dessert round, the judges are on pins and needles, wondering which chef will edge ahead.

Bite Your Pickled Beef Tongue

With a Frenchman and an Irishman in the mix, the competition could take on a European edge. When one of the chefs goes for plates with less than two minutes left on the clock in the appetizer round, the judges urge him to get all of the ingredients onto the dishes. The competitors are given tequila to give their entree dishes a kick, and another ingredient could make them scream. Then second thoughts on what to do with the corn tortillas in the dessert basket cause some problems for one of the finalists.

Go for It!

Double trouble! With two proteins in the appetizer basket, the chefs struggle to marry flavors, and the judges caution competitors against cooking to please instead of cooking from their hearts. Then as the clock ticks down on the entrée round, the chaos in the kitchen ramps up. Will the chefs be able to get out of the woods in time to make their hen-of-the-woods mushroom dishes delicious? Then with cookie dough in the final basket, it seems like the chefs have a head start with dessert. The judges wonder if the competitors will take advantage of the opportunity to create some exceptional dessert surprise.

Thyme Flies

Cooking with Cacti! The chefs must stay sharp as they carefully navigate a first basket that includes prickly nopales; and in talking about the texture of the food, the judges must consider the slime factor. Then in the entrée round, a colorful Chinese ingredient and a less popular pork product make for an intense challenge. Finally, in the last round when things suddenly go all wrong for one of the competitors, the judges watch breathlessly to see if the chocolate dessert can be salvaged.

Nopales, No Problem

British invasion! Four English chefs face off to see who will be headed back over the big pond with the big money. In the first basket, an American staple and a Japanese snack get the food festivities started. Will the judges be impressed by the visiting Brits appetizer plates? Then the chefs find a crunchy, cheesy surprise in the entrée basket, and one competitor sets out to make a very complex dish. But is it too complicated a dish for the allotted 30 minutes? And when the two finalists discover a distinctly British biscuit in the dessert basket, they attempt to make the familiar extraordinary. The judges are on the edge of their seats watching to see whether one competitor's cakes will make it onto the plates.

Easy Peasy?

Four women compete for the $10,000 prize. Wait until they see the outrageous ingredients in the first basket! Then in the entrée round, will there be a party on the plates when the chefs must cook with sherry? In a very competitive dessert round, the two lady finalists get a pre-made dough and a canned vegetable, and the judges challenge them to stand tall at the Chopping Block.

Ladies First!

Chopped, no more! Four previously-defeated chefs get a second chance at the $10,000 prize! Coming into this competition they could not have wanted a victory more, but will they want to call it quits once they see the mystery ingredients in the appetizer round? Then in the entrée round, the competitors' own hearts skip a beat at the sight of lamb hearts in the basket. And with just minutes left in the round, a frightening kitchen accident has everybody shaken. With an off-the-wall mystery ingredient in the mix in the final basket, the chefs are totally floored. And in a very physical dessert round, the finalists both yearn desperately to achieve sweet success at last.

Sweet Second Chance!

Octo-tastic! The four chefs take on an eight-armed mystery ingredient in the appetizer round. And the judges wonder if the cooperative behavior they see in the kitchen will continue after someone is chopped. Then in the entrée course, more seafood surprises make the 30-minute time limit seem extraordinarily difficult. And following the final round - in which the chefs had to incorporate some ballpark favorites into their desserts - the judges ponder how sportsmanship and preconceived game plans factored in.

Chard & True

Time starts now! In the first round the chefs try to figure out how to make a pretty fruit work with two different seafood ingredients. And the judges wonder how the chefs' unique experiences will come into play. Then, time is not on the competitors' side in the entrée round. Two competitors are unhappy that they undercooked one of the mystery ingredients, while the other chef says it was a deliberate choice to have undercooked a second basket item. And in the dessert round, a Chopped first: soup in the mystery basket! There is no way to make borscht desserts boring. But will they be good?

My Way

The chefs find some beautiful ingredients in the first basket, including yummy udon noodles and a brightly colored veggie. Then in the entrée round, the judges hope that the chefs can up the level of creativity, but a seemingly straight-forward basket poses some difficulties. And the chefs must resist the urge to cry when they learn they must use onions in their desserts. But some delicious apples, also in the mix, could save the finalists from despair.

A Is for Apple, U Is for Udon

It's Halloween! The chefs step bravely into the first round and find candy and ... chicken feet! But it turns into a "nail-biter" at the Chopping Block when the judges discover claws in their appetizers. Then more sweets and uncommon meats in the entrée round keep the competitors cooking creatively. And in the last round, the chefs must adjust their plans when their dreams of perfect desserts threaten to turn into Halloween nightmares.

Trick or Treat, Chicken Feet!

It's Thanksgiving in the Chopped kitchen and four chefs are giving it all they have. Things start off on a sweet note, with maple syrup in the appetizer basket. Then when the chefs get an ingredient in the entrée round that is more popular as a decoration than as a food, will they be able to make the beautiful, edible? And after cooking with some traditional turkey day favorites in the last round, the two finalists hope the judges will want to gobble, gobble up their desserts.

Give It Your All

It's holiday time on Chopped! The competitors are challenged to stay in the spirit of the season throughout the meal. In the appetizer round the chefs, not-so-gingerly, take down some gingerbread houses. And adrenaline runs so high that one chef does not realize that something has gone very wrong with his dish until it is too late. Then in the entrée round, a prized piece of meat and a beautiful vegetable have the makings of a great main dish, but a sweet surprise in the basket may present "ye old yuletide" pitfall for the chefs. And when the finalists find an often-disparaged holiday classic in the dessert basket, who will be able to elevate the ingredient and be on their merry way with $10,000?

Can't Catch Me, I'm the Gingerbread Lobster!

Welcome back, champs! Four Chopped heroes return to action to see who can go up against the very best and win again. But this time, time becomes a very big challenge in the first round. Then with the sting of the judges' harsh criticisms fresh on their minds, the competitors face stinging nettles and antelope in the entrée round. And in the decisive last round, it is clear that both chefs are craving a chance to move on to the finale, but only one will prevail once the judges taste the pie crust desserts.

Champions' Tournament: Part 1

Four returning winners fight for a spot in the $50,000 grand finale competition. In the first round a pre-made breakfast food prevents some of the competitors from being as creative as they should, and presentation flaws plague the champs. The remaining competitors are left trying to figure out what to do with an expensive fish and an unusual snack food in the entrée round. And the two champs who move on to the dessert round have to do their best with a dough that they don't know well.

Champions' Tournament: Part 2

With only two spots remaining in the $50,000 Chopped Champions Grand Finale competition, four champs attempt to elbow their way to victory. In the appetizer round, the chefs are unsure how to treat a pretty fruit and a succulent seafood product. Whose choices will leave the judges impressed? Then the champs try to balance out the flavors of a great big fish and a little cookie in the entrée round. And with two champs left champing at the bit to cook dessert, the judges wonder if either one can turn duck fat and guava paste into sweet perfection.

Champions' Tournament: Part 3

Four returning winners fight for the last remaining spot in the Chopped Champions Grand Finale! The heat is on when the chefs discover hot cross buns and a shocking meat in the appetizer basket. Then in the entrée round, will anyone make a wreck of the wreck fish? And the last two chefs must make delectable desserts using a box of something familiar plus a can of something sweet.

Champions' Tournament: Part 4

A high energy, fast paced cooking competition that challenges four up-and-coming chefs to turn a selection of everyday ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal. After each course, a contestant gets “chopped” by our panel of esteemed culinary luminaries until the last man or woman left standing claims victory.

All Episodes of Chopped

Browse all episodes of Chopped

Season 1

Pilot: Octopus, Duck, Animal Crackers

Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/13/2009

Tofu, Blueberries, Oysters

Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/20/2009

Avocado, Tahini, Bran Flakes

Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 1/27/2009

Banana, Collard Greens, Grits

Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 2/3/2009

Yucca, Watermelon, Tortillas

Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/10/2009

Canned Peaches, Rice Cakes, Beets

Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/17/2009

Quail, Arctic Char, Beer

Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 2/24/2009

Coconut, Calamari and Donuts

Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 3/3/2009

Mac & Cheese, Cola, Bacon

Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 3/10/2009

String Cheese, Jicama, Gingersnaps

Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/17/2009

Jumbo Shrimp, Pepperoni, Cereal

Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 3/24/2009

Chocolate, Mussels and Figs

Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 3/31/2009

Strawberries, Turkey and Gummi Bears

Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 4/7/2009