An odd mix of ingredients in the first basket, including mache and pickled sausage, has the four chefs working hard to complete unique appetizer plates: And one chef is up against a personal challenge, defending his dish while trying to control a life-long speech impediment. Then in the entree round, the chefs must make squid dishes that impress the judges.

In a Chopped first, two pairs of brothers compete to see which chef family prevails. In the first round, the competitors must come up with oodles of ideas for falooda noodles. In the entree down, the judges watch eagerly to see how the three plates of steak and cinnamon rolls will turn out. With family pride and bragging rights looming large, the last two chefs must make desserts from a Greek pudding and a Japanese candy.

The chefs are given pots of bubbling oil, so that they can create crispy, delicious additions to their dishes. Catfish catches the chefs by surprise in the first round. In the entree basket, the competitors find a cheese and a cherry preserve.

The competitors leap into action and come out strong with four impressive appetizers, made with seitan and mezcal. In the second round, pre-made sauce and a sizable fish are in the basket. When the two finalists proceed to dessert, they must make a pastry and a pork product play nicely on their plates.

Some of the ingredients in the first basket are difficult to identify and even more difficult to incorporate into proper appetizers. In the second round, the chefs open the basket to find a gargantuan seafood surprise. And when the final two chefs move on to the dessert round, they must waste no time inventing dishes using jicama, but a hiccup with the ice cream machine leaves one competitor unsure of how to carry on.

Another intense competition in the Chopped Kitchen starts when the chefs get gyro meat and hearts of palm in the first basket! Then in the second round, the remaining three chefs must pair steak and donuts.

Four amazing teenaged chefs invade the Chopped Kitchen for Chopped's second teen competition. The judges are in awe of what the teen chefs do with tuna and cereal in the first round. In the entree round, will the young cooks be taken aback when they open the basket to find something that requires some skilled butchery? The last two teens standing must make dessert with a snack food and an Asian condiment.

In the first round, the competitors must very quickly compose dishes from escargot and biscuit dough. Then in the entree basket, the chefs find an unfamiliar produce and an unappealing pate.

To avoid the judges' cleaver fever, the competitors have to work with bacon popcorn in the first round. In the entree round, an injury causes one chef to lose valuable time on his lamb dish. A mashed treat meets floral syrup in the dessert basket.

The chefs are surprised to discover a decadent, sweet creation along with every basket. In the first round a towering cake threatens to topple the chefs' chances at producing perfect plates. Then in the second round, a very colorful dessert ingredient makes for a very stressful challenge. And the two lucky competitors who make it to the last round are happy to see a fabulously chocolatey treat — a sweet surprise that may finally work in their favor.

A wild first basket, including whelk snails and lemon bars, has the chefs battling the clock to create delicious dishes. And in the entree round, the chefs all bring their personal styles to their plates in a notable way in their lamb shawarma dishes. Then cucumber salad is a cumbersome ingredient for the finalists' desserts.

Halloween means very frightening surprises in the baskets for the chefs. In the first round, they encounter a very troublesome, bloody protein and a can of chips that's more than meets the eye. The three chefs who move on to the second round are in for something gooey and gory — and something that is just offal. The final two chefs boldly move on to a devilishly difficult dessert round.

This Thanksgiving, football doesn't have anything on Chopped! Four chefs fight ferociously to see who can make the best holiday meal from the bountiful mystery baskets. In the first round, the chefs must make green bean casserole into something more inviting. Then the competitors find a big bird and a frozen orange treat in the second basket. And with both of the last two chefs determined to show all that they can do with desserts, ambition is amped up in the final round.