This normal episode of chopped had four chefs from Georgia competing to win $10,000 and the title of “Chopped Champion.”
The Contestants
The chefs competing this episode were Chef Joe Rego, Chef Alex Friedman, Chef Brigeth Brookins, and Chef Willie Box.
The Judges
The judges for this episode were Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Geoffrey Zakarian.
The Appetizer Round
The secret ingredients for this round were pink grapefruit, seafood sausage, wasabi peas, and cream of coconut. Chef Alex Friedman prepared a sausage and pepper dish. Unfortunately the sausage was not fully cooked and Alex was chopped.
The Entree Round
The secret ingredients for this round were clove liqueur, bistec norteno, butternut squash, and orzo. Bistec norteno is a cut of beef from the heel of the steer. It is very lean but has a lot of flavor. It is best to cook is on a hot grill very quickly.
Chef Brigeth Brookins had trouble with the time and under cooked the orzo pasta. She also was unable to plate all the ingredients as one was missing the orzo. She had the best meat out of all the chefs, but had to be chopped for the missing pasta.
The Dessert Round
The secret ingredients for this round were red jalapenos, shortbread cookies, sharon fruit, and cream cheese frosting. Sharon fruit is also known as a persimmon. It is a sweet and sour tropical fruit and is very healthy.
Chef Joe Rego prepared a jalapeno roulade with a brittle. The judges thought the flavors were fairly balanced but it was too sweet.
Chef Willie Box made a shortbread layered napoleon with a raspberry and sharon fruit compote. The judges loved the dessert and thought it was beautifully tropical.
The judges looked at all the rounds and named Joe Rego as the winner. Chef Willie Box was eliminated this round. Congratulations to Chef Joe Rego, winner of this Chopped episode.
