As I was watching Food Network the other night I noticed a promo for a new edition to their usually reliable show Chopped. The concept was that taking the usual Chopped format of 3 timed rounds cooking baskets full of unusual ingredients, but the twist being that all the competitors in this special tournament will be Food Network chefs/personalities. It goes without saying that I will tune in for this. I love the Chopped format, and I consider it the toughest short-form test of any cooking competition on television. However, I have to say that having these special guest competitors actually detracts a little something from the show. The whole point of Chopped is how are these chefs going to create something beautiful and delicious out of these crazy ingredients in only 20 or 30 minutes. That's it. That's all I need. It doesn't matter who's cooking or judging the food really. It's all about a showcase of technique and creativity. I think Food Network probably knows this also, but they are never above any sort of shameless self-promotion. Have you ever watched Iron Chef America or really any other program? They have more crossovers than the Marvel Universe. When they do this sort of thing it takes the show out of its main element and reduces it to hawking other mediocre or worse Food Network programming. For example, that annoying woman who hosts, not judges or competes on, Food Network Challenge is included in the tournament. Why?? She has never done anything that I'm aware of that would hint that she has even a fourth of the culinary chops usually exhibited by average Chopped competitors. I still like the Food Network a lot, but it's becoming more and more evident that it's increasingly not interested in showcasing talented chefs.
(Photo courtesy Eater.com)
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