"Chopped Champions" tournament will return for Season 5 on Tuesday, March 29 at 10/9c on Food Network channel. In the new season, fans will see all the 16 returning champions compete for the opportunity to earn the Ultimate Champion title and a cash prize worth $50,000.
There will be four preliminary rounds in Season 5 of the cooking show directed by Michael Pearlman to decide on the contestants, who will get an opportunity to participate in the finale. While all the 16 chefs are participating to win the Ultimate Champion title, only one will rule the mystery baskets, Food Network reported.
Battle 1, Best of the Best - March 29 at 10|9c
The Chopped Champions tournament begins with four defending champs taking on pig ears in the appetizer round; the combo of fish and cheese when cooking entrées in the second; and artichokes as a mandatory ingredient when making desserts in the final round. Judges for this part are Maneet Chauhan, Marc Murphy and Aarón Sánchez, TV.com reported.
Battle 2, Fighting Shape - April 5 at 10|9c
With the returning champions compete; the second part of the tournament will include the appetizer basket featuring a deceptively simple sausage and cabbage. In the second round, entrée dishes center around an organ meat, while two chefs face an extremely challenging dessert round in the final.
Judges for this part include Alex Guarnaschelli, Aarón Sánchez, and Marcus Samuelsson.
Battle 3, Chefs in Control - April 12 at 10|9c
In the third part, four returning champs will offer their best in the appetizer round, where they will go through a hard-to-melt candy and a difficult-to-prep veggie. They will suffer some execution errors in the entree round with a seemingly chef-y protein. Judges for this part are Geoffrey Zakarian, Christian Petroni, and Chris Santos.
Battle 4, Kitchen Storm - April 19 at 10|9c
In the fourth part, fans will see a husband and wife among the chefs who are all geared up for killer cooking and serious drama. They will be seen dealing with crab claws and vanilla frosting in the first basket, and a wild boar for their entrees. In the dessert round will include a savory mousse. Judges for this part include Alex Guarnaschelli, Aarón Sánchez, and Angie Mar.
Final Battle, $50,000 Payday - April 26 at 10|9c
There will be some unusual clams and a decadent meat as part of the culinary riddle that needs to be solved in the first round of the grand finale. In the entree round, the protein takes up the almost entire basket. When the last two chefs confront one another in the dessert round, there will be onions in the basket. The judges for the grand finale are Scott Conant, Angie Mar, and Amanda Freitag.
Watch the video "Chopped Champions Battle 1 Best of the Best Full" below:
