Livin' the Dream...: Compound Chopped Championship 2016

Over Thanksgiving, 4 competitors were chosen from a pool of 7 based on best single bite in The Taste. The chefs were as follows:

1. Kevin

2. Kip

3. Andrew

4. Marion

Kevin and Kip were awarded upstairs kitchen status, while Andrew and Marion were relegated to the downstairs kitchenette. Mystery baskets were created by DOM (appetizer), Gfred (entrée), and Meg5han (dessert), composed of 4 separate unknown ingredients:

Preparations began weeks in advance, with a string of tense emails and a full day of prep by Mema and GG, including aprons and a fully stocked (and hotly debated) pantry and fridge:

Chefs were also allowed to bring two items from home (as well as any tools they would like to bring):

Kevin: chili garlic sauce and fry batter

Kip: roasted red peppers and Velveeta cheese

Andrew: maple syrup and baguette

Marion: puff pastry and Arborio rice

There was also a large studio audience:

Round 1: Appetizer

For this round, chefs were presented with mystery ingredients provided by Liz, which included: canned artichoke hearts, hazelnut liquor, ring bologna, and Thanksgiving bread fail (the item that ruined her Taste dish).

Basket reveal:

The producers of the episode were hard at work, in costume even:

Meanwhile, Meg5han….

Kip prepared Dip 3 Ways (cheesy artichoke, Velveeta-bologna, and hazelnut with crostini

Kevin prepared a BECKS sandwich (bologna, egg, cheese, kale, and salsa) with fried artichoke hearts and a chili garlic dip

Andrew made ring bologna grilled stuffing with mushroom/artichoke/sage gravy topped with crispy artichoke hearts (and a bad attitude)

Marion crafted caramelized onion, bologna, and artichoke tart with crispy kale and bread topping and hazelnut butter glaze

The judging was especially judgy, but ultimately Kip’s wildest dreams came true and he was eliminated in round 1.

Round 2: Entrée

As winner of Round 1, Marion selected cooking alone in the downstairs kitchenette, leaving Andrew and Kevin to share the upstairs kitchen. Gfred’s basket included: persimmon, pork loin, cocoa peanuts, and powder hollandaise sauce (a redemption ingredient from Gfred’s Eggs Benedict Taste).

Andrew made hollandaise honey mustard bourbon glazed pork loin over cocoa peanut pilaf topped with a grilled persimmon-jalapeno-red onion salsa with tequila

Marion created persimmon risotto topped with cocoa peanut and hollandaise encrusted pork loin in a persimmon, celery, and jalapeno slaw in a sauce reduction.

Kevin gave us cocoa peanut encrusted honey mustard pork loin topped with persimmon stuffing with roasted red pepper with a side of (burnt) potato hash topped with broccoli hollandaise.

While the judges disagreed about the winner and although he had the best pork, this round saw the end of Kevin’s Chopped 2016 run.

Round 3: Dessert

As the winner of round 2, Marion once again got to pick her cooking location and earned a spot in the upstairs kitchen alone for the first time this competition. Basket ingredients in this round, provided by Meghan, saw the redemption theme through. Chefs were presented with the exact same ingredients Meghan used in The Taste with the addition of a crunchy element: pears, red wine, mascarpone, and butter pecan cookies.

Marion created a pear cake with poached pears, mascarpone cream, cookie crumble, and a red wine sauce.

Andrew made butter pecan cookie pear gratin with a mulled wine mascarpone topping and a Basye Nog (mulled wine syrup, hazelnut liqueur, disgusting tequila, RumChata, half and half and eggs)