Chopped Season 61: Episode Guide & Ratings

Four fearless chefs take on a wild Chopped tournament event with a major curveball: There's an auction before each round to determine each chef's fourth ingredient! The chefs could end up with major advantages or extreme challenges, resulting in an unpredictable competition. In this preliminary battle, things get interesting in the appetizer round when the chef who scores the most enviable auction item ends up struggling with a basic basket ingredient. Then, the pie filling in the entrée basket isn't exactly a treat, and in the dessert round, the tables turn on the chef who seems to have the edge after the auction. The winner of each of four preliminary competitions moves on to the tournament's grand finale, where someone will score a sizable cash prize and the coveted title of Chopped Grand Champion.

In this Name Your Price tournament, the chefs uncover just three items in their mystery baskets and must bid on their fourth ingredients in a live auction. In round one, a crowded fryer derails one chef's carefully timed plans. Then, in the entrée round auction, a bidding war breaks out over a premium ingredient. In the dessert round, one chef makes ambitious plans to make ice cream, but the judges are skeptical of the approach. Only one talented competitor will move on to the tournament's grand finale.

The chefs get only three items in each basket and must bid in a live auction for a fourth ingredient. In this preliminary competition, the chef who ends up with what seems like the least desirable auction item decides to double down on the level of difficulty by using an unusual technique and flavor. Will they make something great or just make a mess? The entrée round auction includes an unusual protein that gets big bids from more than one chef. Then, in the dessert round, when both competitors decide to bake something, they take on a high risk in hopes of a high reward. The winner advances to the tournament's finale to compete for the title of Chopped Grand Champion and an enormous cash prize!

Four new competitors are ready to commit to a tournament that stretches their strategic planning abilities as well as their cooking skills. Every basket has just three items, and a live auction determines what each chef scores as their fourth ingredient. In this preliminary battle, one chef spends a ton of money to secure a favorite ingredient for his appetizer dish, raising expectations that he should be able to ace the round. Will his dish deliver? The chefs open up the second basket to discover a weird burrito, and the most promising auction item seems to be some lovely mushrooms. Then, all eyes are on the last two competitors as they race to make desserts using a fruit, booze and some pastries from the basket, plus the two very different items from the auction. Only one chef will advance to the Name Your Price tournament grand finale!

Four champions enter the kitchen ready to name their price and fight for every edge as they try to repeat a win by defeating all others! In this high stakes finale, the chefs are given a larger sum of money to bid with, and the auction levels up as the items are revealed one at a time, so the champions have no idea how bad or good each sequential ingredient might be. In an extremely fierce first round, all of the ingredients that the chefs win at auction seem challenging in their own way, and the judges' expectations are sky-high for this group of exceptional chefs. Before the entrée round, one chef's heart seems set on winning the alligator heart at auction. Then, in the decisive dessert round, a clumpy reduction seems to reduce one chef's chances of victory. But after the judges discuss all three courses, who will be the grand champion and walk away with an extraordinary sum of money, and who will be the fifteenth chef of the tournament to be chopped?

Four chefs aim to create dishes at the highest level as they cook Thai-inspired meals in the culinary tightrope act called Chopped. In the appetizer round, a mishap and a time management issue put the chefs' ability to finish their chicken feet plates in jeopardy. A colorful entrée basket includes some pretty purple dumplings. Then, in the dessert round, a competitor must juggle two simultaneous snafus. Will the last round of this Thai-inspired feast end in disaster?

Four wildly carnivorous cooks are thrilled to get a bacon theme for their competition, but can they do justice to one of their favorite foods? In the appetizer round, a bold breakfast sandwich joins Berkshire bacon in the basket. Whoever said "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" was not thinking of the bacon-forward apple creation in the entrée basket. Then, as the final round flies by, the chefs are not particularly concerned about how to include bacon in their desserts. The cruel clock, on the other hand, gives them plenty to worry about

Tasting the love in every bite is a given when four chefs battle to cook the best soul food meal in the Chopped kitchen! In the appetizer round, a classic mismatched pair is a nice -- already cooked! -- surprise in the basket. Something crunchy and something cheesy are two of the mandatory entrée basket ingredients, and the judges are suitably eager to savor soul food desserts made with fruit and cornbread

Four chefs are eager to impress as they race to make appetizers with mizuna and a weird pizza, but first round jitters are a real problem. A deep-fried oddity is part of the challenge for the competitors in the second round. In the dessert round, both chefs get a little bit frazzled attempting to make marvelous last plates that include a breakfast indulgence

When the chefs get alligator in the first baskets, they rush to come up with smart ways to utilize it, but they soon learn their gator plans might be difficult to execute. One chef must pivot in the middle of the entrée round to avoid having to sheepishly present undercooked lamb to the judges. In the dessert round, an ice cream machine fiasco spells trouble for one of the competitors

This battle is all about indulging wholeheartedly in late-night cravings, with no worries and no regrets. In the first round, tacos and ramen in the basket force fusion plates. A very hot pepper and a beloved potato product are two of the mandatory entrée round ingredients. A risky move in the dessert round makes a baking blunder a distinct possibility

Peaches and pancetta in the appetizer basket make for an alliterative and creative first round. An unusual pork product in the entrée basket is a little bit gory and more than a little bit difficult to make shine on the plate. Can the chefs figure out the best use for it? Then, big setbacks in the last round make plating a huge challenge for one of the finalists

The baskets always find a way to shake things up as the chefs get down to business in the Chopped kitchen! The pivotal question for round one: Will anyone have a clue what to do with emu? A savory cake in the entrée basket is just as unfamiliar, but potentially much easier to deal with. Finally, a really weird soda -- and an ice cream machine battle! -- make for an enthralling dessert round