‘Chopped’: Scott Conant Hates Onions But Is Also a ‘Boring and Useless’ Host, Fans Complain
As a judge on the Food Network competition Chopped, Scott Conant is presented with a lot of different foods to try. He’s game for that, because as a judge it’s his job, after all. But there’s one ingredient that he hates so much that it actually makes him angry.
Some fans of the show feel that his reaction to this food is somewhat childish — and that’s not even their biggest complaint about him.
Who is Scott Conant?
According to the Food Network, Conant started his career studying at the famous Culinary Institute of America. After graduation, he worked in a number of famous Italian restaurants, including il Toscanaccio and Chianti.
In 2002, he went on to open his own restaurant, L’Impero. It was named “Best New Restaurant” by the James Beard Foundation, and Conant was declared the “Best New Chef” by Food & Wine in 2004. He went on to open three more restaurants and in 2018 he created Sprezza, a line of cooking and pantry essentials.
With such a high-flying culinary career, it’s probably no surprise that Conant has found his way onto the Food Network. He’s been a judge on the popular cooking competition Chopped for over a decade, and he recently became the host of the dessert-centered spinoff, Chopped Sweets.
Scott Conant and the raw onions
With all of Conant’s cooking experience and love of food, you might expect him to have the kind of palate that enjoys a wide range of tastes. That seems to be true, but there’s one common ingredient that he just can’t stomach: raw onions.
On one episode of Chopped, two of the chefs used raw red onions in their first dishes. Conant explained to the chefs that he has an aversion to raw onions, yet one of the chefs went on to add them to his next dish as well. Conant was not pleased. He pointed out that he’d already explained he doesn’t like them, “yet they’re here, and I taste them, and it kind of makes me angry.”
Viewers weren’t impressed by Conant’s reaction to the onions, but that’s only the beginning of what bothers them about him.
People aren’t impressed
A conversation on Reddit delved into Conant’s problems with raw onions, and it then went on to discuss their problems with him. Some felt that his personal preferences shouldn’t come into the judging.
“Just because Scott doesn’t like raw red onion doesn’t mean others don’t,” one commenter said. “Let him pick them out! Why should contestants be stifled by what the judges do and don’t like? He should be judging the dishes as a whole, and not knocking them for ingredients they don’t like. Scott needs to chill out.”
Others chimed in, saying that Conant did seem arrogant. “Agreed! Scott acts like he’s the only damn judge on that show. Used to like him, can’t stand him now, especially when he hosts Chopped Sweets.”
Some seemed to believe that his attitude is a result of his fame. ” I feel as if Scott might be getting a bit affected by his celebrity position,” one said. Another agreed, saying that he “has become mighty cocky. He shouldn’t because he’s a terrible host.”
Another cut right to the point. “I find him boring and useless as a host.”
Whether fans like raw red onions or not, many of them seem to agree that they find Conant to be one of their least favorite Chopped judges. Of course, not everyone’s tastes are the same. Just ask the poor chefs who offered Conant food with raw onions.
