Chopped

- Season 23

(2015)

Mystery baskets are filled with ingredients suggested by fans via social media. Among the foods the competing chefs have to work with are a frightfully difficult protein, boxed macaroni and cheese, a giant egg and some mushy fruit.

Bizarre surprises fill the baskets, when Andrew Zimmern is on hand to judge the competition. Ingredients include an offbeat ice cream flavor, unusual meat, a pink veggie, odd eggs and a peculiar Turkish treat.

Four losing chefs seek redemption. Among the ingredients they have to work with are skate, pomegranate molasses, boozy ice cream, a British pudding and a German tart.

A battle with a cheese theme. Blue cheese and goats cheese in the appetizer round; French cheeses, chicken thighs and garlic scapes in the entrée basket.

Every mystery basket contains chocolate. Other ingredients include pork chops, beef and graham crackers.

Reality stars Renee Graziano, Travis Lofland, Amy Roloff and Kathy Wakile compete for charity. Among the ingredients they cook with are biscuit dough, vegetable cream cheese and cherry pie filling.

The chefs compete to make the best late-night dishes. Among the ingredients they work with are a carb-heavy Canadian snack and an Italian sausage for the first course. Also: they must transform tiny burgers for entrées.

Eight chefs have been invited to the Chopped Kitchen to compete in pairs. In the first round, the duos learn to navigate the space together as they make appetizers that include date vinegar and chili garlic coated peas.

Deep-fried food must be served during every round. Ingredients include hot dogs; taro root; cookies; cube steak; an ooey, gooey cake; and salted caramel.

Home cooks compete. Ingredients include a vegan roast, a small bird, a sugary breakfast item, sweet and savory candies, and a special spice blend.

Breakfast, lunch and dinner make up the three rounds. The first basket includes tiny eggs and fancy coffee; midday meals are prepared using peanut butter and jelly; and while fixing supper, one chef frantically searches for a missing ingredient.

The basket ingredients are in disguise in this battle, which features fake chicken wings in the first round baskets, fake cake in the second round baskets and tomato soup in the dessert baskets.

Home cooks compete to transform ingredients, including spinach vinaigrette, chicken truffle sausage and wild boar roast into prize-winning dishes; and interesting techniques are utilized, when marshmallow chocolate cookies turn up in the dessert round.

Police officers and paramedics compete. Included: hummus chips and ground bison as appetizer ingredients; fiery jawbreakers and rotisserie chicken in the entrée baskets; and desserts made with angel food cake.

Bakers compete. Included: a rich fish and rice pudding come into play, when making focaccia appetizers; the entrée round feels like a trap; and an alarming candied ingredient shows up in the dessert baskets.

Four judges (Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Marc Murphy and Aarón Sánchez) compete to make delicious dishes using leftovers, including tuna-noodle casserole, rice left in a pan, soup and cake. Judges: Chris Santos, Maneet Chauhan and Geoffrey Zakarian.

A barbecue battle features baskets filled with a regional BBQ sauce, jumbo shrimp, pork spare ribs, bananas and coconuts.

Grilling is a requirement in each round. Included: watermelon and wine coolers are appetizer ingredients; a beautiful cut of beef and tedious-to-prep beans are used to make entrées; and desserts are created with a cone of sugar and pitcher of lemonade.

Ice cream appears in each of the baskets, which poses a challenge when the chefs prepare dishes featuring halibut and premium cuts of beef in the appetizer and entrée rounds.