Chopped

- Season 37

(2018)

It's fiesta time and the chefs are taking on tacos and tequila-themed baskets.

The competitors are called upon to rescue foods that would normally be thrown out in a special leftovers competition. Some unfinished Chinese takeout and something remaining from a meal at an Italian restaurant make for some fusion cooking in round one. Half of a sandwich and a bottle of sweet liquid are two of the leftover surprises in the second basket. Then the chefs face a confounding culinary puzzle when they find coffee and grapes in the dessert basket.

The chefs have the good fortune of getting treats from Ireland in every basket from an iconic stout and an Irish delicacy to a favorite Irish ice cream treat.

The chefs take part in a Bavarian bash, starting with an appetizer basket that also includes potato chips.

Hush puppies and black-eyed peas, y'all! Southern classics are in the first basket, while something fried and something sweet meet in basket two. And fruity, creamy, doughy desserts are the result of a busy final round.

The competitors are in for some wild times after they learn they'll be working with game meat in every round, starting with wild boar in the first basket. Two wild proteins then make for a crowded entrée basket. Finally, Black Forest cake is the sweetest of the woodsy treasures that the two remaining chefs are up against in the dessert round.

The chefs get revved up for a sensational sandwich battle that begins with a mound of meat and some colorful potatoes in round one. Everyone's favorite hybrid bird makes an appearance in the second basket. And sandwiches for dessert? You bet! The final two chefs take on a salty-and-sweet basket in the last round.

Four chefs open the first basket to find a strange, modern food: donut-shaped sushi. Will they know how to make it work with a crunchy snack in their appetizers? The judges are happy to see frog legs in the second basket, but they aren't quick to leap to any conclusions about how the entrees will turn out. And some challenging textures in the dessert basket jeopardize the last two chefs' chances for perfect final plates.

The competitors must stay steady and focused as they take on three chicken-themed rounds in this special competition.

The chefs are asked to make a special-occasion meal, starting with appetizers that include a rare prized crustacean. In the entree basket, the competitors encounter more exquisite ingredients from land and sea -- as well as a sweet curveball. And the final two chefs open the dessert basket to find a playful take on the theme that proves to be quite difficult.

Will the chefs know how to turn Rocky Mountain oysters into a tasty appetizer? A soda shop treat is a sweet hurdle for the entree-round competitors, and the finalists find a jackfruit in the Round Three dessert box.

The chefs set out to prove that ice cream can work well in savory courses. A unique flavor of ice cream is at the center of an unusual dish in the second basket, and the judges have high hopes for the ice cream dessert round.

Four chefs with personal connections to Cuba cook with a variety of Cuban foods. Butchering a whole fish gives one chef a lot of trouble in round one, and a jarred version of a favorite Cuban sauce appears in the entree basket.