CHOPPED satisfies a hunger for good TV
Like most residents of New York City, we don’t have a dining room. Most of our meals are eaten in the living room right in front of the TV. It’s a constant challenge trying to find something to watch that the whole family will enjoy but also won’t distract from eating. This summer, our go-to show has been Chopped on the Food Network. I’ve written before about Chopped and how I think it’s the best produced show on television. Its formula works perfectly. There is a cliffhanger every commercial break as well as an elimination with every return from break. Not only is it dramatic, the problem solving is inspiring. I’m an absolute disaster in the kitchen, so seeing professional chefs craft a meal on their feet using secret basket ingredients is a profile in creativity and expertise. A rotating panel of judges offer constructive criticism and encouragement to each contestant. It’s simply perfect dinner time viewing. So much so that Betty asks almost every day, “Are we watching Chopped for dinner?” Our resident foodie-in-training, Kal, likes Chopped because he says it’s fun seeing the crazy ingredients and themes they try to stump the chefs with. He says, “It also keeps your mind on food instead of distracting you, like a cartoon does.” Kal really liked the “Deadly Catch” episode because it had all types of dangerous and exotic sea creatures like the Alaskan King Crab and the Water Caltrop, which if it isn’t cooked enough becomes poisonous. The special “Alton’s Maniacal Baskets” and “Playing with Fire” tournaments became appointment television for the family. Alton Brown’s fans suggested some gross ingredients and then Alton would be critical of how contestants used those ingredients, so it was the better of the two tournaments. After that tournament, Kal looked for his own can of herring but not a fully cooked lamb head. We’ll keep tuning in. —LV
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Art Department Weekly • Summer 2021
I FEEL SEEN Luis wanted to make the slathered pork recipe he’d seen. Then Madeline saw this accurate tweet.
EYE OF THE BEHOLDER Egg roll wraps sounded like a good way to use up all the ground chicken Madeline buys. She thought they were a disaster, but Luis was quite taken.
