Ted Allen - Courtesy of Food Network/Janet Rhodes

Emmy Award-winning Ted Allen, the longtime host for American-based Chopped television show, speaks about the most recent season of the show.

Allen, who has been hosting the show since 2009, says that viewers will get to see some interesting ingredients in the mystery baskets.

'€œAlong with fun new shows, including grandmothers facing off against each other and our four-part stunt '€˜Tournament of Stars'€™,'€ Allen told The Jakarta Post through an email.

Chopped is a culinary competition show where four talented chefs compete against one another over three rounds, making an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert.

Each contestant must create a unique and delectable dish in a limited amount of time, utilizing any combination of the mystery ingredients provided in each round.

The show'€™s panel of judges, who include some of the most prestigious chefs in the US, must decide who will move on and who will be '€œchopped'€. The winner receive a US$10,000 grand prize.

What makes Chopped stand out among other cooking shows, says Allen, is on the variety of competitors, their individual stories '€” as well as the mystery basket ingredients.

'€œTo viewers at home, it seems impossible to create a meal out of these ingredients, but it is always amazing to see what these talented chefs can come up with, all while working against the clock, which is often the most difficult part of any challenge,'€ added Alle.

In the latest season'€™s first episode, titled '€œThere Will Be Bloody Marys'€, the chefs open up the first basket to find a fancy cake and a Bloody Mary.

In the entrée round, the three chefs try to create excellent dishes from ground chicken and seafood paella. And an ice cream machine blunder causes problems for one of the finalists.

In another episode, '€œGrandma vs. Grandma'€, four determined grannies square off against each other in the Chopped Kitchen.

In the kitchen: Ted Allen (right) and Keith Lucas on Chopped. Courtesy of Food Network/Janet Rhodes

In the appetizer basket, they find a favorite grandma leftover: a coffee can of bacon grease. The three feisty chefs who made it to the entrée round had to then make a meatloaf mix work with the cocktail '€” and the judges could not wait to get some grandmotherly love served up with their oatmeal desserts.

The show also features three episodes of '€œTournament of Stars'€, which puts athletes, cooking-competition veterans and comedians to the test the show'€™s kitchen.

In '€œTournament of Stars: Sport Stars'€, athletes Brandi Chastain, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Greg Louganis and Charles Oakley found a scary ingredient: an alligator.

In the entrée round, the celebrities had to cook with strange eggs and tiny limes. The two sports stars that made it to the dessert round put their athleticism and enthusiasm into making great final dishes that included crystallized ginger and wafer cookies.

In '€œTournament of Stars: Comedians'€ episode, four comics '€” Sinbad, Tommy Davidson, Robert Wuhl and Gillian Vigman, opened the first mystery basket to find a pork delicacy and gummy candy.

In the entrée round, the three remaining comedians had to make jalapeno poppers palatable with beer-can chicken. With vanilla cupcakes in the final basket, transforming the ingredient becames the key for the two finalists.

In 2012, Chopped was awarded James Beard Award for best in-studio program. For hosting the show, Allen also received a Beard award.

Allen says that he was honored to earn such achievement.

'€œThe James Beard Award in the US is the most prestigious award in the food industry,'€ says Allen, the author of The Food You Want to Eat: 100 Smart, Simple Recipes and In My Kitchen: 100 Recipes and Discoveries for Passionate Cooks.

'€œNot only do I consider myself lucky to work with some of the most esteemed chefs in the world, but we are all friends.

'€œAt the end of the day, when work is also fun, there is nothing better,'€ adds Allen, who loves to make bruschetta with prosciutto, ricotta and arugula during weekends.

Chopped airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on the Food Network.