Chopped: Season 8

Episode 1: Easy Peasy? 2011-07-12 British invasion! Four English chefs face off to see who will be headed back over the big pond with the big money. In the first basket, an American staple and a Japanese snack get the food festivities started. Will the judges be impressed by the visiting Brits appetizer plates? Then the chefs find a crunchy, cheesy surprise in the entrée basket, and one competitor sets out to make a very complex dish. But is it too complicated a dish for the allotted 30 minutes? And when the two finalists discover a distinctly British biscuit in the dessert basket, they attempt to make the familiar extraordinary. The judges are on the edge of their seats watching to see whether one competitor's cakes will make it onto the plates.

Episode 2: Ladies First! 2011-07-19 Four women compete for the $10,000 prize. Wait until they see the outrageous ingredients in the first basket! Then in the entrée round, will there be a party on the plates when the chefs must cook with sherry? In a very competitive dessert round, the two lady finalists get a pre-made dough and a canned vegetable, and the judges challenge them to stand tall at the Chopping Block.

Episode 3: Sweet Second Chance! 2011-07-26 Chopped, no more! Four previously-defeated chefs get a second chance at the $10,000 prize! Coming into this competition they could not have wanted a victory more, but will they want to call it quits once they see the mystery ingredients in the appetizer round? Then in the entrée round, the competitors' own hearts skip a beat at the sight of lamb hearts in the basket. And with just minutes left in the round, a frightening kitchen accident has everybody shaken. With an off-the-wall mystery ingredient in the mix in the final basket, the chefs are totally floored. And in a very physical dessert round, the finalists both yearn desperately to achieve sweet success at last.

Episode 4: Chard & True 2011-08-02 Octo-tastic! The four chefs take on an eight-armed mystery ingredient in the appetizer round. And the judges wonder if the cooperative behavior they see in the kitchen will continue after someone is chopped. Then in the entrée course, more seafood surprises make the 30-minute time limit seem extraordinarily difficult. And following the final round - in which the chefs had to incorporate some ballpark favorites into their desserts - the judges ponder how sportsmanship and preconceived game plans factored in.

Episode 5: My Way 2011-08-09 Time starts now! In the first round the chefs try to figure out how to make a pretty fruit work with two different seafood ingredients. And the judges wonder how the chefs' unique experiences will come into play. Then, time is not on the competitors' side in the entrée round. Two competitors are unhappy that they undercooked one of the mystery ingredients, while the other chef says it was a deliberate choice to have undercooked a second basket item. And in the dessert round, a Chopped first: soup in the mystery basket! There is no way to make borscht desserts boring. But will they be good?

Episode 6: A Is for Apple, U Is for Udon 2011-08-16 The chefs find some beautiful ingredients in the first basket, including yummy udon noodles and a brightly colored veggie. Then in the entrée round, the judges hope that the chefs can up the level of creativity, but a seemingly straight-forward basket poses some difficulties. And the chefs must resist the urge to cry when they learn they must use onions in their desserts. But some delicious apples, also in the mix, could save the finalists from despair.

Episode 7: Trick or Treat, Chicken Feet! 2011-10-16 It's Halloween! The chefs step bravely into the first round and find candy and ... chicken feet! But it turns into a "nail-biter" at the Chopping Block when the judges discover claws in their appetizers. Then more sweets and uncommon meats in the entrée round keep the competitors cooking creatively. And in the last round, the chefs must adjust their plans when their dreams of perfect desserts threaten to turn into Halloween nightmares.

Episode 8: Give It Your All 2011-11-15 It's Thanksgiving in the Chopped kitchen and four chefs are giving it all they have. Things start off on a sweet note, with maple syrup in the appetizer basket. Then when the chefs get an ingredient in the entrée round that is more popular as a decoration than as a food, will they be able to make the beautiful, edible? And after cooking with some traditional turkey day favorites in the last round, the two finalists hope the judges will want to gobble, gobble up their desserts.

Episode 9: Can't Catch Me, I'm the Gingerbread Lobster! 2011-12-06 It's holiday time on Chopped! The competitors are challenged to stay in the spirit of the season throughout the meal. In the appetizer round the chefs, not-so-gingerly, take down some gingerbread houses. And adrenaline runs so high that one chef does not realize that something has gone very wrong with his dish until it is too late. Then in the entrée round, a prized piece of meat and a beautiful vegetable have the makings of a great main dish, but a sweet surprise in the basket may present "ye old yuletide" pitfall for the chefs. And when the finalists find an often-disparaged holiday classic in the dessert basket, who will be able to elevate the ingredient and be on their merry way with $10,000?

Chopped: Season 8

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