Episode
Chopped: Smorgastarta Your Engines
Overview
The chefs learn all about the wonders of savory Swedish layer cake when they get the competition underway with some smorgastarta appetizers. A sweet powder and prickly produce make the entree round more complicated than the competitors wished it would be. And eggplant seems like a doozy for dessert, but preserved in sugar, the veggie is easier for the finalists to incorporate into their sweet plates.
Details
- Series
- Chopped
- Season
- Season 31
- Episode
- Episode 1
- Air date
- 2016-10-13
Episode context
Smorgastarta Your Engines is Episode 1 in Season 31 of Chopped. It aired on 2016-10-13.
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More episodes from this season
Episode 3: Beat Bobby Flay: Battle One
First part of a 4-part tournament featuring twelve returning Chopped champions. Each episode's winner progressed to the finale, where the three episode winners competed to determine the tournament finalist. The finalist would choose a dish and compete for $40,000 against Bobby Flay in making a better version of the dish. For the whole tournament, one item in each basket was chosen by Bobby Flay.
Episode 4: Midnight Snack Attack
The four chefs in this special competition are tasked with making the perfect midnight meal. In the first round, fried foods and a trendy cocktail are creatively reimagined in appetizers. Prized mushrooms and a much-craved street food are part of the basket challenge in the second round. And the finalists hope breakfast flavors wake up the judges' palates in the last round.
Episode 5: Beat Bobby Flay: Battle Two
Second part of a 4-part tournament. Chef Thomas is the youngest competitor in this tournament, having won the first all-teen episode back in season 13. In round 1, the can of fruit contained peaches, grapes, pears, and cherries. Also, due to the extensive prep time required, the abalone in round 1 was pre-cleaned.
Episode 6: Chaudin Chow (aka Hearty Party)
The chefs unveil a Cajun specialty in the first basket that is "offal-y" special. A prized protein adds some porky flavor to the chefs' fish entrees. And a drink that you have to chew is certainly the oddest mystery ingredient in the final basket.
Episode 7: Beat Bobby Flay: Battle Three
Third part of a 4-part tournament. Contestants Matt Romine and Mike Romine previously competed together in a twins' team competition episode, but competed individually in this episode. The "ultimate milkshake" in the third round was reminiscent of "unicorn milkshakes" that are overloaded with rainbow candies, rainbow cereal, and colorful cookies in a large mug.
Episode 8: Cheap Eats
The chefs are surprised with some thrifty, yet uniquely yummy, finds in the baskets, like pork buns and Mexican street corn in the first round. The competitors must pair a pickled product with a fair favorite in their entrees, then some delectable little cakes and an odd sauce make an appearance in the last basket.
Episode 9: Beat Bobby Flay: Finale
Final part of a 4-part tournament. The 3 finalists competed over 2 rounds (appetizer and entree) to win a guaranteed $15,000. The winner faced Bobby Flay in a $25,000 wild card round for a chance to increase their winnings to $40,000. This round was played like the second round on Beat Bobby Flay with both chefs making a dish of the winner's choice, which in this case was bibimbap. The chefs had 45 minutes in the 3rd round instead of the usual 30 to accommodate the crossover format.
Episode 10: Battle of the Butchers
Chopped brings butchers to the stoves to show what practiced protein pros can do! In the appetizer round, the butchers direct their cleavers at a beautiful cut of pork as one of the competitors passes around whiskey shots. A big bird and an unfortunately-named radish mingle in the entree basket, then in the dessert basket, the finalists find an ice cream that only a butcher could love.
Episode 11: Beast Feast
The competitors face off in a protein-packed battle, even featuring some fierce ingredients that are too big for the baskets. In a fast and loud appetizer round, the blenders are booming as the chefs try to make meaty appetizers with a creative touch. Then, the chefs get to choose what part of an imposing whole animal to use in their second dish. The final chefs must rise to the challenge in order to make marvelously piggy desserts.
Episode 12: Back in Time
The baskets are filled with retro ingredients, which have the competitors and the judges thinking back on bygone eras and savoring flavor memories. In the first basket, a familiar can and a space-age beverage are two of the foods that transport them back in time. Something frozen in time and something nostalgically spherical are part of the challenge in round two, and a refreshment named for a movie legend is one of the throwback ingredients in the dessert basket.