Culinary 'All-Stars' Enter 'Chopped' Kitchen for $50k Charity Prize

NEW YORK, Feb. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A Chopped event like no other, Chopped All-Stars features unbeatable drama, a $50,000 charitable cash prize and 16 celebrated chefs familiar to Food Network fans. In this fierce five-part competition hosted by Ted Allen, premiering Sunday, March 6th at 9pm ET/PT, four chefs go head-to-head in each round with an unthinkable array of mystery basket ingredients. The champion from each round advances to the finale for a chance at taking home the prize and coveted title. From teething biscuits and rabbit kidneys to dried hibiscus flowers and cobia, these chefs must crank up the heat and get creative to avoid the chopping block. Competitors include Food Network stars like Anne Burrell and Duff Goldman, former contestants from The Next Food Network Star, recurring Chopped judges, and renowned chefs like Anita Lo and Jacques Torres. Judges for this special series include Chopped favorites Alex Guarnaschelli, Marcus Samuelsson, Marc Murphy, and Chris Santos.

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"This fierce 'All-Stars' competition will feature some of the country's top celebrity chefs along with viewer favorites from shows like The Next Food Network Star and The Next Iron Chef," said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Programming & Production, Food Network. "With the stakes so high, these chefs will do whatever it takes, and all for a good cause."

Episodes include:

Part 1 (premieres Sunday, March 6th at 9pm) – Brad Sorenson, Debbie Lee, Lisa Garza, Michael Proietti

Part 2 (premieres Sunday, March 13th at 9pm) – Anne Burrell, Claire Robinson, Duff Goldman, Robert Irvine

Part 3 (premieres Sunday, March 20th at 9pm) – Anita Lo, Beau MacMillan, Jacques Torres, Nate Appleman

Part 4 (premieres Sunday, March 27th at 9pm) – Aaron Sanchez, Amanda Freitag, Geoffrey Zakarian, Maneet Chauhan

Part 5 (premieres Sunday, April 3rd at 9pm) – Final showdown featuring one winner from each round

Chopped premiered in January 2009 and returned for its sixth season in January 2011. Hosted by Ted Allen, the fast-paced reality series challenges four chefs to turn mystery basket ingredients into an impressive three-course meal. After each course, one contestant gets "chopped" until the last chef standing claims victory. With more than 65 episodes, Chopped consistently ranks as one of Food Network's highest rated primetime series with a devoted fan following of more than 20 million viewers per month. Chopped and Chopped All-Stars are produced by Notional Entertainment.

FOOD NETWORK (www.foodnetwork.com) is a unique lifestyle network, website and magazine that connects viewers to the power and joy of food. The network strives to be viewers' best friend in food and is committed to leading by teaching, inspiring and empowering through its talent and expertise. Food Network is distributed to more than 100 million U.S. households and averages more than 9.9 million unique web users monthly. Since launching in 2009, Food Network Magazine has tripled its rate base and delivers a circulation of 1.25 million. Headquartered in New York, Food Network has a growing international presence with programming in more than 150 countries, including 24 hour networks in Great Britain, India, Asia and Africa. Scripps Networks Interactive (NYSE: SNI), which also owns and operates HGTV (www.hgtv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com) and Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), is the manager and general partner.

SOURCE Food Network