Chopped Junior is a reality culinary competition series that premiered on Food Network in 2015. It was a spin-off of the hit cooking show Chopped. Created by Linda Lea, Dave Noll, and Vivian Sorenson — the same team behind the parent show — it ran for eight seasons before ending with its final episode in December 2019.
Chopped Junior’s format closely resembles that of the parent show. It featured four young chefs competing in three back-to-back rounds — Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert — with each round lasting 30 minutes. At the start of every round, contestants open a mystery basket containing four surprise ingredients to incorporate into their dish.
A panel of three judges would then evaluate each plate on taste, presentation, and creativity, with one contestant eliminated — or “chopped” — at the end of each round. The last chef standing would walk away with $10,000 and a Chopped Junior chef’s coat.
While the core gameplay remained consistent, the show introduced several special tournament formats to heighten the stakes. Notable examples included the Chopped Junior: Champions tournament, which brought back sixteen former winners to compete for an increased $25,000 prize. Another unique variation was the Make Me a Judge special, in which former junior contestants sat behind the judges’ table to critique the dishes of adult chefs.
Ted Allen served as the host for the entire series, maintaining the authoritative yet encouraging tone he brought to the flagship show. The judging panel featured a rotating roster of Chopped veterans, including Maneet Chauhan, Marc Murphy, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Scott Conant.
