Good concept, poorly executed.

A Brilliant Conflict

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

I really dont understand the judging or the editing of this show...how is it that contestant gets the better review at the end AND LOSES....RIDICULOUS. Its like a set up to fail...use to love chopped now im getting real annoyed

I'm going to step away from what everyone else has been talking about. I feel like you have no chance of winning if you don't meet their standard. It could be your style of cooking but it can also be the way you look or your race. I don't want to sound like a lot of these people don't deserve the win but you have no chance of winning if you're not white and you have no chance of winning if you're white and look ghetto. The show is meant for the classy white fans.

This show is fixed.You can tell the judges have decided beforehand which contestant they want to win. Once, they chopped a chef even though his competitor forgot to put the meat on the entree plate. Chefs with particularly troubled pasts, revealed during the bio part of the show, often seem to win the competition. The judges are predictably smug and unfriendly, oftentimes critiquing a dish by saying something really stupid, like "The dessert is too sweet." I'd like to see the judges prepare something on the clock, but they don't have the guts to do it. Every one of them knows they'd get 'chopped'.Not a real competition. A legitimate contest would be much more interesting ..... and fair.

In a world of fake reality television shows the simple idea of pairing 4 people up against each other competing for $10,000 while cooking offers more than most. Being a bit of a foodie myself I really enjoy the mystery basket approach of secret ingredients. I find this show much more "real" than say Iron Chef America. The strict time limit and need to produce all 4 plates single handedly makes for more intense buzzer beater endings to each round. The quick personal stories of each competitor in the beginning of the program set up each episode to give the viewer a sense of their expertise (or lack there of) as well as occupation. There have been teen chefs, stay at home moms, and military personnel. The recent episode of accepting suggestions from social media sites was also a fantastic idea that I enjoyed as well. My only suggestions to improve the show might be to add fan of the show to guest judge along side the professional judges from time to time. I would also like to see less "sob story" during the cooking portion of the show and focus more on the techniques and commentary from the judges. Also for those strange mystery basket ingredients I would like to hear more from the judges about what they know about it and how they might integrate the ingredient if they were competing. Overall one of my top shows to watch each and every week.