Chopped definitely has the initial allure that it's a fun and productive cooking competition, but after watching several seasons, the formula is surely sensed. The biggest reason I watch the show still is to be exposed to food ingredients I've never seen before and to see how they can be implemented. The rest of the show is way too scripted and at this point really annoying.
For the most part I skip the judging critiques and the overdramatic dialogs by both the contestants and the judges. Any time a contestant is being shown in the "post interview" talking about their decisions, reasoning and opinions, you can bet that its foreshadowing to setup for a dramatic twist of that explanation during the judging, for example: contestant will explain that they chose to puree something and included sesame oil, but they'll also note how they used too much and they're worried about it, then during judging, the judges mention that they either used too much like the contestant initially said, OR have a dramatic twist where they show the judges faces upset or disappointed, and will say, "I love it". It is done in EVERY round and is frankly very agitating.
You can clearly tell that the same questions are being asked during these post or pre interviews, always trying to get that "competitive sound bite" to play in front of the camera. When the contestants share a very personal story of why they are there or what they have gone through, it's very cringey. A lot of the time they try to use these sob stories to try to get the audience or judge to feel sorry for them. This is not the platform to try to gain an edge by invoking emotions into the competition. There are some instances where the contestants are all harmonious and competitive in a playful way, but it's a very rare occasion.
The camera and timing of what gets shown plays tricks on the audience to better suit the format of entertainment. When the countdown is announced by Ted, the camera switches between angles so fast to make it seem like the chefs aren't going to make it, but in reality they were shots that were edited and mixed in to make it seem theatrical.
From other reviewers and articles I've read, many have stated that the judges basically strip the contestant down of their self-esteem with questions about why they did what they did, usually making choices just for this competition and would not be doing the same in the real world. I get that, but it's a cooking competition so that's what the premise entails.
As a sidenote: how does a cook or chef not learn by now that cooking a big filet of anything is impossible in the time given? It blows my mind that people still choose to pan sear a giant steak and try to finish it in the oven. You have at most 40 minutes in special occasion rounds but usually 30 minutes is the standard.
If you can overlook all these production flaws, then yes it is really entertaining watching random food ingredients being manipulated by all walks of life.
For the most part I skip the judging critiques and the overdramatic dialogs by both the contestants and the judges. Any time a contestant is being shown in the "post interview" talking about their decisions, reasoning and opinions, you can bet that its foreshadowing to setup for a dramatic twist of that explanation during the judging, for example: contestant will explain that they chose to puree something and included sesame oil, but they'll also note how they used too much and they're worried about it, then during judging, the judges mention that they either used too much like the contestant initially said, OR have a dramatic twist where they show the judges faces upset or disappointed, and will say, "I love it". It is done in EVERY round and is frankly very agitating.
You can clearly tell that the same questions are being asked during these post or pre interviews, always trying to get that "competitive sound bite" to play in front of the camera. When the contestants share a very personal story of why they are there or what they have gone through, it's very cringey. A lot of the time they try to use these sob stories to try to get the audience or judge to feel sorry for them. This is not the platform to try to gain an edge by invoking emotions into the competition. There are some instances where the contestants are all harmonious and competitive in a playful way, but it's a very rare occasion.
The camera and timing of what gets shown plays tricks on the audience to better suit the format of entertainment. When the countdown is announced by Ted, the camera switches between angles so fast to make it seem like the chefs aren't going to make it, but in reality they were shots that were edited and mixed in to make it seem theatrical.
From other reviewers and articles I've read, many have stated that the judges basically strip the contestant down of their self-esteem with questions about why they did what they did, usually making choices just for this competition and would not be doing the same in the real world. I get that, but it's a cooking competition so that's what the premise entails.
As a sidenote: how does a cook or chef not learn by now that cooking a big filet of anything is impossible in the time given? It blows my mind that people still choose to pan sear a giant steak and try to finish it in the oven. You have at most 40 minutes in special occasion rounds but usually 30 minutes is the standard.
If you can overlook all these production flaws, then yes it is really entertaining watching random food ingredients being manipulated by all walks of life.