Chopped

By Jaclyn Hutchins

Television in the summer often feels like that apple your mom would tell you to have if you were hungry before dinner. It’s not that you don’t like apples, but they are not a real meal. Summer television usually satiates nothing and always leaves me hungrier for the fall lineup or a movie that doesn’t involve an impossibly fit man running away from an even more impossible explosion. I say usually about summer television because I’m pretty sure the Gods invented the Food Network to keep me entertained year round. I can’t claim to be a food aficionado, but I am obsessed with Food Network's Chopped. The beautiful thing about the show is that it plays multiple times a week, so my DVR saves these tidbits to tide me over until Grey’s Anatomy returns. So if you’re hungry for a little bit more than what your current television shows are offering, here’s why you should tune in:

Four chefs battling through three rounds (appetizer, dinner, dessert) making fantastically complex and beautiful dishes in a matter of minutes

Three judges, who are accomplished chefs and restaurateurs, mastering the subtle insult alongside a hard won compliment

Mystery basket ingredients - each round includes four ingredients that the chefs must use and highlight. Who knew cotton candy could do such amazing things or that people eat lamb testicles and call them lamb fries (slightly awkward, but borderline hilarious to watch them described as rare delicacies)

I can’t say Chopped will replace your beloved show (or shows) of choice, but you’ll a little bit less hungry and ironically, a little bit more excited to make your dinner tonight.
Jaclyn Hutchins lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and teaches high school English. She is asked if her teacher knows where she is least once a month despite being perilously close to 30. Jaclyn’s latest rule for herself is that she cannot watch TV until she has completed her run for the day. She runs her first half-marathon in October.