Any Chopped fan will tell you the most nerve-wracking moment in each challenge has to be the mystery basket reveal. Once it's out there, there are a million other stresses the competitors must face, but the reveal sets it all up. And on Food Network's new show, Chopped: Sweets Showdown, the mystery ingredient is even harder to work with than usual.
As the name suggests, the challenges in this five-episode competition all fall into the dessert category. Per Food Network's announcement, "In each episode four chefs have a sweet-themed ingredient in their mystery baskets that they must use through three rounds to create different dessert iterations with a limited amount of time."
Lest you think they're pulling a page straight from The Great British Bake-Off's handbook, it won't be straightforward as you might think. The announcement hinted at savory dishes being thrown in there too, with ingredients like spicy booze and stinky cheese on the table. Courtney White, the network's president, said this:
When thinking of decadent items such as cake, chocolate, doughnuts and ice cream, an enjoyable and indulgent dessert comes to mind, but having these items added into each rounds’ mystery baskets that the competitors must seamlessly incorporate into their dishes makes for an epic showdown that pushes the chefs outside their comfort zones to solve this sweet-themed culinary puzzle.
Another change from the original Chopped: contestants will have their own ice cream maker to use for things like milkshakes, sundaes, and ice cream sandwiches.
The first episode, which will feature chocolate as the main sweet ingredient in each round, airs Tuesday, October 1 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Special guest judges include Valerie Bertinelli, Alex Guarnaschelli, Martha Stewart (!!), and Zac Young.
