The inaugural season of the cooking competition and survival series Chopped Castaways comes to an end on June 30. Four chefs remain, each vying for the coveted $100,000 prize. But first, they must fight through various challenges, including taking on an unfamiliar predator and battling the always unpredictable open flames of their working kitchen.
“I do a lot of slow-and-low BBQ and one of the great pleasures is the gentle wisps of fragrant smoke,” shares host Ted Allen. “But in Castaways, with so many chefs and such huge fires, the smoke often became unbearable. In Episode 4, for example, a steady island wind dealt one chef a continuous cloud of misery throughout the entire 30-minute Gauntlet. It was rough.”
The elements may be intense, but for Allen, the experience of hosting and getting to know contestants during the competition was nothing but enjoyable. “My favorite parts of Castaways were, first, learning these chefs’ personal stories,” he says. “Then to watch their relationships develop as they had to work cooperatively in teams, size up their competition and figure out what might eliminate their biggest threats. The push-pull of cooperation and competitive scheming is mind-blowing!”
The host won’t pick a favorite episode from the season, telling TV Insider that getting to watch each episode in succession was a treat. “Every step away from the team challenges toward the chefs finally expressing their ‘personal’ vision as finalists — that is when things get real,” he says. Still, you better get hyped for the finale, which Allen teases is a “a total gloves-off slugfest to a thrilling finish.”
“I can only say that the outcome was deeply satisfying, a bit poetic — you’ll see what I mean — and thoroughly, definitively earned,” he teases. Quick, start up those campfires!
Chopped Castaways, Season Finale, Tuesday, June 30, 9/8c, Food Network