‘Chopped’: It Takes 14 Hours and Over 140 People to Film Each Episode
Chopped is one of the most fast-paced and innovative shows on the Food Network. The series has inspired countless other culinary competition shows. Hosted by Ted Allen, it premiered on the network in 2009. And it’s been going strong ever since, with hundreds of professional chefs and culinary professionals competing for the chance to win a fabulous $10,000 prize. Over the years, a few contestants have opened up about what it takes to film an episode of Chopped. And one former contestant dished on how many hands it actually takes to make the episodes look so seamless.
What did Josh Lewis reveal about the production of ‘Chopped’?
Many high-profile chefs have competed on Chopped, including Josh Lewis, who appeared on the series in late 2014. While Lewis didn’t ultimately win the competition, he came away with some valuable experiences. In a 2015 interview with The AV Club, Lewis orevealed what goes into the production of an episode of Chopped.
“We didn’t learn that we’d be doing sandwiches until right before the first round of the competition started, just like it appeared on TV, so I didn’t have a lot of time to be disappointed,” Lewis said, revealing that contestants weren’t informed ahead of time about what each episode’s theme would be.
But according to Delish, contestants are given an inside advantage. They tour the pantry ahead of time so that they know what ingredients are available to them.
There are close to 140 people behind the scenes of each ‘Chopped’ episode
It might look as though the only people involved in each episode are the contestants, judges, and host. But making Chopped is a production that requires the assistance of a lot of individual hands. Reportedly, there can be up to 50 or 60 people on set at any one time during the making of each episode. Often there can be up to 140 people, including producers and crew members.
Additionally, while contestants are given creative freedom, Chopped lore holds that there is one specific dish that judges hate: bread pudding. Lewis told The AV Club, “Apparently everyone does that and the judges are sick of it. They want you to be more creative.”
Lewis also revealed that while contestants are required to stick to the required time limit, the ovens are preheated before each round starts. So contestants don’t have to wait too long for the ovens to get hot enough to use.
Josh Lewis went on to work with ‘Chopped’ judge Amanda Freitag
Lewis ultimately didn’t win his episode of Chopped. Although as he told The AV Club, he was content with the “fair fight.” He revealed that he had plans for his $10,000 prize. But there’s another chance for him to score. He told producers that he would be willing to come back and film a future episode if requested. In the end, things worked out just fine for Lewis.
“One of the judges on my show was Amanda Freitag, who was very supportive of me in all three of my rounds,” he shared. “About a month after I was on the show, she emailed me and asked if I was interested in a job.”
Lewis noted, “I was, so now I work for her at Empire Diner. In fact, she added a tomatillo salsa to the menu that is basically the one I made on the show.”
