Cooking competition shows are extremely popular and have taken the TV airwaves by storm. A large extent of the programming on Food Network Canada is a great reflection of this reality movement in viewing entertainment. The program Chopped Canada is no exception, and now you will have the opportunity to watch me, Chef Dez, go head-to-head on this show, competing against three other chefs for $10,000.
The show's premise is to have four professional chefs from different parts of Canada compete in three rounds (appetizer, entrée and dessert) to win $10,000 by being the best –and last one standing – in all three categories.
However, the biggest challenges are the time limits and mystery baskets of ingredients for each of three rounds. A selection of four unknown, and more than likely strange, ingredients are unveiled to the chefs at the beginning of each of the three rounds. With no time to plan or prepare, the clock starts ticking. There are only 20 minutes for the appetizer round and 30 minutes for each the entrée round and dessert round, while making four plates of each dish (one for each of the three celebrity chef judges, and one for camera display).
Judged on taste, presentation, and creativity all while showcasing the four mystery basket ingredients in the dishes, one chef is "chopped" (eliminated) from the appetizer round, leaving three chefs to compete in the entrée round. The same protocol happens in the entrée round which leaves only two chefs to compete for the final dessert round, and for the final prize of $10,000.
Sound intense? Yes, very, and makes for incredible TV. You may be wondering how I got involved with this program in its second season. I know a chef that competed in the first season, and she advised me that they were looking for chefs for the second season (which started airing at the beginning of 2015). At the time of my conversation with her, there was no way I was going to apply. I had watched Chopped Canada many times and the level of intensity that the chefs were put through was more than I preferred to endure myself.
A short time later I was in getting my hair cut by my friend Keith, relaying to him how I was insistent on not applying. He asked me, "Are you scared to be on Chopped Canada?" to which I replied, "I'm not scared, I'm terrified!" He then said, "That's why you should do it." I was confused until he went on to explain to me that what an incredible opportunity this would be to teach my four children that when you're scared to do something, you do it anyway because it is the right thing to do – it's called integrity.
This is all my heart strings needed to hear to be tugged in the right direction. That same afternoon I went home, turned on my computer, and officially applied to be on Chopped Canada. To make a long story short, the producers of the show eventually contacted me through that application, and I was formally selected to compete.
If you are interested in seeing how I fair against two chefs from Ontario and one from Alberta, my episode is coming up. Tune into Chopped Canada on Food Network Canada on Saturday, March 28 at 9 p.m. EST, 6 p.m. PST.
Chef Dez is a Food Columnist, Culinary Instructor & Cookbook Author. Visit him at www.chefdez.com. Write to him at [email protected] or P.O. Box 2674, Abbotsford, B.C. V2T 6R4
