Culinary Stars Return For New Season Of Chopped All-Stars

NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- 

**FOR ELECTRONIC VERSION OF THE RELEASE PLUS PHOTOS AND MORE, CLICK LINK BELOW**
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/58429-food-network-chopped-all-stars/

Season 3 of Food Network's top-rated series Chopped All-Stars returns Sunday, April 7^th at 9pm ET/PT, as sixteen culinary competitors battle it out for the title of All-Star champion and a $50,000 prize for the winner's charity. The five-part competition series, hosted by Ted Allen, includes four chefs going head-to-head each week in themed episodes featuring Food Network chefs vs. Cooking Channel chefs, an all-out battle of the Mega Chefs, the much anticipated battle of the Chopped judges, and a can't miss culinary showdown as four celebrities with a shared love of cooking compete against each other in the Chopped kitchen. Judged by a rotating roster of Chopped regulars who decide who gets "chopped" each week, including Maneet Chauhan, Marcus Samuelsson, Aaron Sanchez, Chris Santos and Geoffrey Zakarian, the competitors are challenged to create delectable courses in a limited amount of time from the ingredients in the renowned Chopped mystery basket. The winner of each episode will compete for the grand prize on Sunday, May 5^th at 9pm ET/PT.

To view the multimedia content associated with this release, please click: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/58429-food-network-chopped-all-stars/

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130226/MM63362 )

"Chopped All-Stars raises the stakes of our popular franchise by pitting fiercely competitive food stars, and for the first time, celebrities, against each other," said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President Programming, Food Network. "These stars use their culinary prowess to battle it out for their charities and bragging rights for winning this all-star competition."

Episodes include:

Part 1: "Food Network vs. Cooking Channel" Premieres Sunday, April 7^th at 9pm ET/PT
Competitors: Nadia G., Jeff Mauro, Gabriele Corcos, Sunny Anderson
Judges: Chris Santos, Geoffrey Zakarian, Maneet Chauhan

Part 2: "Mega Chefs" Premieres Sunday, April 14^th at 9pm ET/PT
Competitors: Elizabeth Falkner, Chuck Hughes, Gavin Kaysen, Richard Blais
Judges: Chris Santos, Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan

Part 3: "Chopped Judges" Premieres Sunday, April 21^st at 9pm ET/PT
Competitors: Alex Guarnaschelli, Amanda Freitag, Scott Conant, Marc Murphy
Judges: Aaron Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian, Marcus Samuelsson

Part 4: "Celebrities" Premieres Sunday, April 28^th at 9pm ET/PT
Competitors: Johnny Weir, Joey Fatone, Laila Ali, Judy Gold
Judges: Maneet Chauhan, Geoffrey Zakarian, Marcus Samuelsson

Part 5: "Finale" Premieres Sunday, May 5^th at 9pm ET/PT
Judges: Aaron Sanchez, Geoffrey Zakarian, Marcus Samuelsson

Beginning April 7th, Food Network will offer The Chopped All-Stars TV Sync Experience. Partnering with Yahoo!'s second-screen mobile application, IntoNow, Food Network is creating a custom experience that will bring fans into the world of Chopped like never before.  This unique two screen offering will allow viewers access to exclusive content including commentary, photos, behind the scenes details, culinary tips, polls and trivia. Fans can also use the IntoNow app to create their own memorable captioned stills from the episodes, and keep up with the Chopped judges on Twitter. Viewers can download IntoNow from the iTunes App Store or Google Play, then sync the app with the broadcast. The experience will also work when synced with encores and when watching the episode on DVR, VOD or online streaming.

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 1.5 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 Cooking Channel (www.cookingchanneltv.com), DIY Network (www.diynetwork.com), Great American Country (www.gactv.com), HGTV (www.hgtv.com), and Travel Channel (www.travelchannel.com), is the manager and general partner.

SOURCE Food Network