Episode
Chopped: Southwestern Strength
Overview
Four Southwestern competitors take the reins in the Chopped kitchen, and the baskets are packed full of ingredients from America's most arid and untamed lands. A cactus product and a comfort food casserole stand out in the appetizer basket, while a spicy surprise forces the competitors to bring the heat in the entrée round. Then, a special flour in the dessert basket could prove to be inspiring or intimidating for the chefs.
Details
- Series
- Chopped
- Season
- Season 59
- Episode
- Episode 9
- Air date
- 2024-06-25
- Runtime
- 41 min
Episode context
Southwestern Strength is Episode 9 in Season 59 of Chopped. It aired on 2024-06-25. The runtime is 41 min.
Previous / Next
Episode 8: Tickled Pink Pineapple
Four chefs will have a nose-to-tail tale to tell after finding a biggie piggy surprise in the appetizer basket and get a bit overzealous pounding pork for their entrée. Then, the final two competitors are tickled pink by the discovery of pink pineapple in their dessert baskets and try to do it justice in their final plates.
Episode 10: Avocado Bravado
Four chefs have the green light to go wild for avocados! For all their energy and enthusiasm, the chefs struggle to keep up with the clock in the first round, and the judges are on the edges of their seats. Then, figuring out how to work with a "secret" meat in the second basket might be the key to making delectable main dishes, and the two chefs left for the final round must be creative and conscientious to make avocado work well in their desserts
More episodes from this season
Episode 7: Drag Brunch
In an exuberant Pride-filled competition, extra-large personalities and seriously good food are sure to make it a meal to remember. In the first round, the energetic chefs turn PB&J pancakes into fantastic appetizers. Then, a rainbow-themed ingredient in the entrée basket is not a sunny surprise, and ice cream machine drama in the dessert round has the judges on the edge of their seats.
Episode 11: Crustacean Craze
Shell-shocked, the chefs must crush open crustaceans in every round to make sensational seafood meals that will float the judges' boat. In the appetizer basket, the chefs uncover a royally special seafood surprise, but a more basic ingredient could trip them up. Then, big ambitions in a tight time frame might mean trouble for one of the chefs, and the judges wonder if a risky plan in the dessert round will pan out
Episode 6: Gimme Guilty Pleasures
The chefs go overboard when it comes to making gloriously gluttonous food. In the appetizer round, three chefs compete for their time with the fryer. Steak in the second basket is a welcome surprise, but the chefs struggle when the rest of the basket becomes a challenge. Then, the last two competitors pull out all the stops with gummy candy and cinnamon roll desserts.
Episode 12: Heart and Sole
Set on success, four chefs are ready to wow the judges with their heart, talent and drive! In the first round, the competitors make appetizers that include a Central Asian bread and a fun sweet-and-sour treat. When the chefs find a packaged product in the entrée basket, they must think up ways to make it sing with sole. Then, it's anybody's guess who will prevail after a dessert round featuring an Indian snack and a plethora of pastries
Episode 5: Battle Italiano: Finale
The four winning chefs return for the Battle Italiano finale, where they'll represent their regions and fight to take home the Grande Campione's $25,000 prize! The baskets are anything but standard issue, and the appetizer round features pizza in a tube! Emotions run high in a dramatic entrée round with just three chefs left in the epic tournament. Then, unfamiliar ingredients in the dessert basket promise to keep the two finalists on their toes!
Episode 13: Death Is Not an Option
Four brave chefs prioritize flavor over fear as they take on outrageously daring ingredients to make killer dishes for the judges. The heat is on in the appetizer round with frighteningly difficult ingredients and just twenty minutes to cook. Then, the chefs prove they have the chops to make a swamp-loving chomper tasty in the entrée round and try not be be stung by a shocking sweet in the dessert basket.
Episode 4: Battle Italiano: Tuscany
Four chefs focus on the fabulous food of Tuscany in all its fresh, humble, sensational glory. In the appetizer round, the judges wonder whether the chefs will manage to make good choices while dealing with a super-lean meat in the basket. Then, issues of confidence and competence plague the chefs in round two, and two chefs inspired by an Italian cookie tray -- and their desire to score a spot in the finale -- race to make amazing final plates!
Episode 14: Celtuce Setbacks
Off to the pantry! The chefs are eager to put their own mark on things by grabbing extra items for their appetizers, but their pantry picks may not be the smartest choices. In the entrée round, none of the chefs have worked with celtuce, a leafy Chinese vegetable, and figuring out what to do with it sucks up time and challenges the competitors' skills. Then in the final round, it's crunch time for the two remaining chefs, who find potato chips in the dessert basket.
Episode 3: Battle Italiano: Puglia
Four chefs get inspired by Italy's "olive oil capital" as they create coastal cuisine from Puglia. In the appetizer round, a chef's mistake causes a big stink in the kitchen -- literally, and an imposing protein takes up a lot of space in the entrée basket. In the dessert round, a tough basket that includes cactus creates a prickly situation for the final two chefs.
Episode 15: Basket Antics
Fooled you! Certain ingredients in the baskets are not what they appear to be, and the chefs do a double take to find they've been faked! An ice cream treat in the appetizer basket is not the sweet it's posing as, pigs in a blanket in the entrée basket turn out to be surprisingly vegetarian-friendly, and the red wine in the dessert basket won't get the chefs tipsy, but it might trip them up.