Chopped All-Stars - Episode 4 [spoilers]

[ipsedixit]

Up this time on the chopping block are some of our favorite judges

Geoffrey Zakarian
Aarón Sanchez
Maneet Chauhan
Amanda Freitag

Maneet, Aarón, and Amanda we know from the Next Iron Chef America, as well as being contestants in Kitchen Stadium.

Geoffrey, well, we know as Geoffrey ... or as Aarón affectionately calls "grandpa".

Loved the smack talk and the respect shown from the judges as well as between the competitors.

That last toast between Aarón and Geoffrey was very ... I don't know ... cool.

Oh, and the winner? Aarón.

[Just Plain Craig]

I couldn't watch it. I think I counted the word love 19 in the first round. BONES, I've seen chefs lose for having bones and Aarons response....okay....Geoffreys response....okay like its okay to have bones in a meal.

I think it would have been better to have past Chopped winners be the judges. Then the current judges would know how it really felt to be judged then admired.

[smartie]

I like your idea of past Chopped winners becoming judges, maybe for another special.

although I think saying ok was a good thing, arguing with the judges is futile.

[paulj]

Do you think they would be good judges, or do you just want some sort 'justice' or 'revenge'?

[Just Plain Craig]

What makes Alex qualified to be a judge or any of the others? I'm sure there are 1000's of chefs or even chowhounds that know good food. I'm also sure that the judges "bone" up a little on the strange ingredints beforehand.

[goodhealthgourmet]

i think past *winners* would be good judges. losers might be somewhat bitter and vengeful :)

[ipsedixit]

Madison's on-air talents would be wasted as a judge.

[DiningDiva]

Probably, but it would have been fun to listen to him speak if nothing else ;-)

[LurkerDan]

Not sure who will be the favorite next week, I just know that the NFNS reject is going to be seriously outclassed!

[DiningDiva]

I know a lot of people upthread a predicting that the final 2 in the dessert phase will be Anne and Nate with Anne winning the whole thing.

Not having seen the episode, my predictions are as follows
Chopped after the appetizer round - the NFNS
Chopped after the entree round - Nate
Chopped after the dessert round - Aaron
Winner - Anne

The second episode with Anne and Robert duking it out (yet again) was the most fun because they were clearly having the most fun, and both of them provided a tour de force on how to compete on Chopped.

Last night's episode was actually (for me) the most interesting. They all commented on how awkward it was for them to be on that side of the table, and it really must have been. Natto was probably the equivalent of the canned haggis, I certainly wouldn't want to have to work with either product!! And incorporating powdered strawberry milk into a fish dish isn't exactly a typical flavor combination. I think had Geoffery used the whole duck he would be going to the final and not Aaron.

In order for any of the 3 guys to beat Anne, they're either going to have to cook the meal of their life, or pray that she makes a tactical error. I think the judges will give Aaron a bit of a pass in the early rounds since he is "representing" them. Nate went right down to the time wire with all his dishes, if he does that again he may rish not getting something on the plate. The NFNS is the wild card, we really don't know what he can, or can't do. IIRC, he's a caterer in real life and caterers tend to not do so well on Chopped.

Of course, I could be way off base too, but having watched Chopped almost from the inception, and knowing how FTV likes to promote it's own, I think it will be the 2 current Food TV chefs in the final

[Worldwide Diner]

Geoffery was in the finals, against Aaron.

[goodhealthgourmet]

she meant he'd be going to next week's *finale* instead of Aaron if he had used the whole duck.

[Sam P]

I would have liked to have seen Marcus Samuelsson instead of Maneet Chauhan, he did really well on Top Chef Masters

[goodhealthgourmet]

i actually would have liked to see Chris Santos compete.

[ipsedixit]

I just have one word ... Alex.

That's who I wanted to see.

[DiningDiva]

Bingo!

[smartie]

plus a million!

[goodhealthgourmet]

oh, absolutely! but we've been saying that since they first announced the show. i had kinda forgotten about Chris Santos until i saw him judge last night's competition, but i've found his attitude in some past episodes to be a bit much, so i'd like to see him in action.

[smartie]

I would love to have seen Scott Conant as a contestant.

[DGresh]

I thought a priori that Maneet Chauhan was the weakest competitor. Based of course on my wide knowledge of cooking reality shows :) I also thought Jeffrey had it wrapped up for the win, and was surprised at the result.

[goodhealthgourmet]

definitely enjoyed the camaraderie among the chefs, and Geoffrey's comment that Aarón's duck tasted "very Lower East Side" was hilarious.

i agree with ptrap that Geoffrey should have won, and that it will come down to Nate & Anne next week...but i think there's a chance Nate might take it all, and that's what i'm hoping for.

[ptrap]

I think Jeffrey should have won. Aaron bugs...all that chef bravado and trash talk gets so old. I am calling Anne and Nate in the final dessert round. And Anne taking it all.

[johnb]

I would add that Aaron's sob scene, while it might have been genuine, came across a bit hokey.