16 surprising things you probably didn't know about 'Chopped'

According to Julianne Feder, a two-time "Chopped" standby who contributes to Thrillist, the producers elect five "Chopped"-worthy chefs for each episode.

The fifth acts as an understudy in case one of the chosen four has to back out of the show for some reason.

"As a standby, I had to show up and be prepared just like the real contestants. The night before I sharpened my knives and laid out my shoes and comfortable clothes. I set the alarm for 4:30 a.m.," Feder wrote for Thrillist.

In a 2016 interview with Tasting Tables, "Chopped" winner Michael Vignola said that although the contestants get a tour of the pantry, they don't get to see the mystery ingredients ahead of time.

Also, they don't get any extra off-camera time to come up with a recipe idea.

"As soon as you open the basket, the clock starts. I have no idea how I came up with the dishes I made. I just did it in the moment," Vignola said.

However, host Ted Allen told Vice in 2017 that they do sometimes have to film the chef's reactions multiple times to get the right shot.

"We have four camera operators right in front of each of the chefs. We're looking for, 'Oh my god, it's chicken in a can,'" he said, referencing a 2013 mystery ingredient.

Another former "Chopped" contestant, Kathy Fang, told Delish in 2016 that the chefs can be standing in front of the mystery ingredient basket for up to 15 minutes before opening it to get these reaction shots.

"They really draw out the anticipation," she said.

Cooking in an unfamiliar environment can be challenging — but it's made a little easier when chefs can have some of their own tools. As former contestant John Lewis told the AV Club in 2015, the producers allow contestants to bring their own set of knives.

According to the Food Network, every "Chopped" contestant is allowed to bring up to seven of their own knives.

Lewis also said that contestants receive instructions for operating the different equipment in the "Chopped" kitchen —like the ice cream machine — since they aren't allowed to bring their own.

In the same interview with Tasting Tables, Vignola said that the competition is completely real. They don't stop and start throughout the rounds to try to look for the perfect shots.

"It's very much like real kitchen life, and you have to just make it happen," he said. "You're really being timed, you're being filmed from all sides and it's a real competition, not just a fake reality show."

Ever notice the scurrying chefs beating the clock to plate not three, but four platters of food? There are only three judges, so one might wonder why there's an extra plate.

Apparently, when Allen unveils the losing dish from under the infamous silver cloche, he's unveiling the fourth plate.

"Also, we take close-up shots of that fourth plate," Allen said while answering fan questions on the Food Network's blog. "By the time we're done with that fourth plate, it's about two and a half hours after it was cooked, and it's been sitting out at room temperature, so no one's going to eat that."

A watched pot doesn't boil, and that's especially true when you're on the clock. That's why "Chopped" contestants get a little help from the producers by starting off the challenge with a boiling pot of water and an oven preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Lewis.

Sara Nahas-Hormi is the culinary producer of "Chopped," and according to Allen, she and her team go to great lengths to come up with challenging basket ideas that can really be turned into meals.

"They plan the baskets for a whole season," Allen told Food Republic in 2015. "So that's three baskets a day, times four ingredients, times 39 episodes; and all the baskets have a riddle inside them. It's hard work. And finding things we haven't already used is harder and harder."

"They don't want to make a basket that's impossible, just incredibly difficult," Allen said on Food Network's blog.

In addition to planning out each basket, the team also produces a five-page document that gives background information on each ingredient for Allen and the judges, according to Design Sponge.

According to Allen, each episode can take up to 12 hours to film — and the hungry contestants don't even get to eat their own creations.

Lewis told the AV Club that his filming day took 14 hours from start to finish.

The ice-cream machine is a heated subject among "Chopped" fans — many think there should be two machines for the final two contestants to use during the dessert round.

"Chopped" judge Marcus Samuelsson made it clear during the 2018 Food and Wine Classic that the one-machine suspense factor is very much intentional, and therefore, unlikely to change.

"We want it to be a run for that, right?" Samuelsson said. "It's really for creating that level of semi-chaos. It's really like cooking on a treadmill. It's not easy at all."

Allen also told the Food Network blog that he doesn't think they'll ever get another machine.

"Well, if it were up to me and the judges, we'd have 20 ice cream machines and make it easier on our contestants," he said. "But the fact is, it is totally possible for two batches of ice cream to get made within a 30-minute round, and when that happens, it's exciting for us."

Throughout each round, Allen goes around to each chef to ask them questions about their dish. However, Lewis told the AV Club that contestants don't have to engage with Allen.

"They actually warn you about him, because he gets close when he comes in to do his interview about what you're making. It's kind of his thing — he wants to see if he can distract you or get in your head," he said. "The producers tell you that if he's bothering you to tell him to go away and he will."

While answering fan questions for the Food Network's blog, Allen was asked if he ever gets to sit during the show.

"No, I never get to sit down. I've asked; they said no. I don't know why they're obsessed with making me stand up all the time," he said.

Lewis also shared in his interview with the AV Club that the producers of "Chopped" are looking for contestants with a story throughout the audition process.

"I met the producers and they talked to me about some more personal things, because they're trying to tell a story with each contestant and they want something that will appeal to the audience," he said.

There aren't any real guidelines for what the chefs can and can't make, but Lewis said that he was explicitly told not to make bread pudding for the dessert round.

"Apparently everyone does that and the judges are sick of it," he told the AV Club. "They want you to be more creative."

After each round — appetizer, entrée, and dessert — the contestants must present their dishes to the panel of judges. On an episode of the show, the whole judging process only lasts a few minutes, but in reality, filming can take up to an hour per round.

And before judging even starts, the judges are already tasting the chefs' food.

In response to a question on the Food Network's blog about whether the food is cold during judging, Allen said, "Almost always. Occupational hazard. They usually run over to the stoves the moment a cooking round ends so they can taste components the way they were intended."

After that, Lewis told the AV Club that the judges can take up to 15 minutes to give feedback on each dish and that the contestants get a chance to comment back and explain something if they disagree with a judge.

"You do have the opportunity to explain yourself if you leave an ingredient off or if something doesn't come out the way you intended," he said.

The "Chopped" mystery baskets can include anything, even leftovers.

According to Allen, these leftovers come from local restaurants throughout New York City's Chelsea neighborhood, where the show is filmed.

"There's a pizza joint up the street that makes really nice New York City-style … thin-crust pizza. I remember once a guy put a slice of pizza in the blender and made a sauce out of it, and it was actually good," he said.

Before the version of "Chopped" that fans know and love aired on the Food Network, the original concept was a cooking show filmed in a mansion.

The "butler" hosted the show, and the losing dish was served to the pet chihuahua.

Allen told Vice in 2017 that it wasn't until Food Network executive producer Linda Lea "stripped away the extraneous elements and realized the potential" from the un-aired pilot that the show took off.

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