Chopped: Volume 1

Instead of appetizer, entree and dessert, the usual competition rounds are replaced by breakfast, lunch and dinner. The competing chefs create meals with ingredients ranging from fish to coffee cake and cream-filled chocolate eggs.

There are mixed reactions from the chefs when they learn that they will be competing with three baskets of leftovers. And who knew there was such thing as leftover bacon, one of the ingredients in the dessert round?

Every ingredient basket in this competition has a bit of an Australian slant to it. But will the competitors think this theme makes for a g'day in the kitchen?

The judges compare shrimp and chickpea appetizers. In the entree round, baklava may cause the chefs to stumble as they try to find wise ways to use salt pearls in their dishes before it's booze and cashews for their desserts.

The chefs open up the first baskets to find falafel mix and date paste. Then in the entree round, they must work with a fish that's new to them. The chefs get cookies in the dessert round that they're hesitant to transform.

The chefs must turn sweetbreads into a delicious dish in 20 minutes. Then in the entree round, it's "a little or a lot" when they must work with a strong spice blend. Finally, two chefs make chocolatey, salty, fruity desserts.

The chefs find fishy ingredients in the first basket and try to hook the judges. Then their entrees must use spiny leaves and beef kidneys. As the finalists rush to make fig and lemon verbena desserts, a collision causes a stir.

Four chefs from America's baseball stadiums, hoping to be big hitters in the Chopped kitchen, strike it lucky with baskets that include typical game-day fare like Italian sausage.

The chefs must use ramen creatively in their appetizers. An offal surprise in the entree baskets is a source of judges' jokes and chefs' stress. And a treat in the dessert basket might make the final two shout for joy.

It's banana blossoms in the first basket, but the three female chefs who make it to the entree round face a notoriously stinky ingredient. And will a colorful ingredient in the last basket inspire a little fun in the desserts?

The chefs open the appetizer basket to find vegan franks and three other meatless ingredients. In the entree round, the judges wonder if a chef's decision about what to throw into the blender will be a blunder or a sweet success.

The chefs open the first basket to find frog legs and some fine fungi. In the entree round, little beans and big pork chops are a challenge, and one finalist decides to use cheese in an ice cream for the dessert round.

The chefs work magic using pesto sauce and chicken in appetizers. In the entree round, a basket of beautiful ingredients challenges their creativity. And a treat from Kazakhstan is the most interesting find in the final basket.