Episode
Chopped: Lighten Up!
Overview
Four chefs who specialize in cooking lighter, healthier fare are challenged to make delicious, lean dishes in the Chopped kitchen. Low-calorie chips and some leafy greens inspire creativity in the first round. After opening the entree basket, the chefs are left pondering whether avocado-free guacamole is yucky or yummy. Finally, light desserts are a tall order, and the remaining chefs try to measure up.
Details
- Series
- Chopped
- Season
- Season 44
- Episode
- Episode 12
- Air date
- 2020-05-19
Episode context
Lighten Up! is Episode 12 in Season 44 of Chopped. It aired on 2020-05-19.
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Episode 11: A Pretty Pickle Pizza
Is pickle pizza dill-ightful or frightful? Four chefs must sort out what to do with the unusual pie in the appetizer round. An egg-flavored snack in the second basket leads to some novel ideas for the entree plates, and there's hardly time to stop and smell the rose latte in a speedy dessert round.
Episode 13: Raise Your Game
It's game day in the Chopped kitchen, and when four football-loving chefs bring their best offense, anything can happen. After kickoff, the chefs get an appetizer basket loaded with foods to fuel hungry sports fans. The entree basket has more of the same, including a super strange shot glass and some winning wings. Finally, the chefs left tackling game-day desserts must make cookies work with a cocktail.
More episodes from this season
Episode 10: Eyes on the Prize
Mock meat and an unusual green powder set the level of difficulty high in round one, and an Italian-Japanese mashup ingredient in the entree round threatens to mess up the chefs' plans. When the two remaining competitors find something called frog eye salad in the dessert basket, they both have their eyes on the prize, but only one can achieve their dream.
Episode 9: Dine on a Dime
The four competing chefs get budget baskets full of low-cost ingredients for every round, and they have to make basic foods burst with flavor. A box of fish sticks is the big catch in the first basket, and the second round involves a lesson in putting your best foot forward when cooking with chicken feet. Finally, cheap wine and a cake mix mingle in the last budget basket.
Episode 8: New Year's Party
As the clock counts down on New Year's Eve, four chefs take on Chopped baskets to celebrate another trip around the sun. In the appetizer basket, a bite of something decadent and a peppery sauce await. Incredibly luxurious ingredients in the second basket set expectations sky high for the New Year's entree course, and a clever champagne treat is a nice touch in the dessert basket.
Episode 7: Holiday Sugar and Spice
Holiday desserts take center stage as four Chopped champions return for a sweet competition with sugar and spice and not everything nice in the baskets! A bold beverage in the first round has the chefs making faces and making do. Unwrapping chocolates in a hurry is a tedious part of the challenge in round two, and a candy cane with an unconventional flavor threatens the champions' plans for magnificent desserts.
Episode 6: Holiday Sweethearts
Four Chopped judges compete alongside their significant others in a festive, feisty battle between friends. As the teams endeavor to create appetizers quickly and cooperatively, they must figure out how to use novelty pasta and a splendid fruit in their plates. The entree basket contains a stunning protein and a sweet seasonal surprise, and gingerbread and olives are an odd couple in the holiday dessert basket.
Episode 5: Meat Fight
Where's the beef? In the baskets! A beef theme is a meat lover's dream in this competition. The four chefs must cut jumbo-sized ribs down to appetizer-appropriate portions in the first round. A premium steak and a second-rate grocery store meal meet in a puzzling entree basket, and creativity and a shining example of good sportsmanship are on display in the dessert round.
Episode 4: Thanksgiving Heroes
Four big-hearted amateur chefs arrive in the Chopped kitchen ready to give the judges an unforgettable Turkey Day meal. The competitors, who are celebrated for serving their communities, get creative in the first round when they must make something usually paired with coffee work with ham. Everyone gives thanks for turkey in the entree basket, and the final two unsung heroes are challenged to find a place for a festive beverage in their desserts.
Episode 3: Thanksgiving Champions
Four Chopped champions are hungry for more as they return for a special Thanksgiving competition. The ferociously competitive chefs must deal with a shocking poultry product in the appetizer round, and the three who make it to the entree round get a big, bright orange surprise. A Thanksgiving dessert basket packed with pumpkin and cranberry flavors inspires the chefs to celebrate the holiday on their final plates.
Episode 2: NO MEAT? NO PROBLEM!
The competing chefs are challenged to make delicious dishes from plant-based mystery basket ingredients. A marvel of modern food science is the centerpiece of the first basket, and a crispy green makes an appearance in round two.
Episode 1: Horror Flick Halloween
In a Halloween-themed competition, the four chefs face ingredient baskets packed with nods to horror movies, which guest judge and actor Rose McGowan knows well. A cringeworthy surprise in the appetizer basket brings to mind a startling plot twist in a classic scary scene featuring maggots. The entree ingredients -- liver, fava beans and Chianti -- are inspired by one of the creepiest quotes in movie history, and a bubbling cauldron is a nice touch in the final basket.