The cooking competition that's been in my friend group for a decade
Long live the mystery basket
Since 2014, a core group of my best friends has taken turns hosting “Chopped,” a very amateur, very fun, very chaotic at-home version of the popular cooking competition, though from what I understand our version has little in common with the TV show. (In fact, none of the main hosts had ever even seen an episode of the show until recently, oops.)
“Chopped” has become a beloved staple of our shared lives, withstanding fair-weather friendships, exes, and various apartment moves. It inevitably makes an appearance every few months or even years when, after a long hiatus, someone will inevitably ask, “Should we do another ‘Chopped’?” The answer is always yes.
No matter who hosts, certain things are always the same from round to round:
There are always three contestants per “Chopped”; an unofficial planning committee does our best to match up friends with similar cooking skill levels for a fair competition
The contestants are presented with a mystery basket containing three secret ingredients that they must highlight in a single dish that they have 60 minutes to create