Here's How Food Network Chooses Its Mystery Chopped Baskets

The "Chopped" mystery baskets have been challenging the country's top chefs for nearly two decades now. The entire premise of the fan-favorite show is built around the baskets, which are filled with a variety of interesting, and often obscure, ingredients that need to be transformed into top-tier dishes by the chefs competing on-screen. We've seen a lot of impressive results over the years, as well as some crazy basket inclusions, like reindeer pate, bull testicles, and pickled pig lips. Yet little is actually known about how the baskets come together.

While it's not really spoken about on the show, there has been a small bit of information revealed online about the people who assemble the baskets. It turns out that the ingredients are chosen by the culinary producer of the show and the executive chef of the Food Network, who was Ginevra Iverson at the time of writing.

According to the Food Network, the pair come up with ingredient ideas and then sit down together to figure out some possible combinations, all while checking a list of everything that's been used on the show previously to avoid repetition. There aren't really any rules, but the team does test how long it takes them to come up with a solution to the proposed basket. If it's longer than 15 seconds, they toss the idea out, as the chefs only have 20 to 30 minutes to cook dishes like key lime lamb chops, oat risotto, and broccoli cheddar soup with rabe and beer.

There are three rounds on "Chopped" and the contestants are given one basket for each, typically to create an appetizer, main, and dessert. Each basket has four items that all need to be used. One substantial ingredient, like a starch or protein, is usually included for the main course, and there always has to be one ingredient that's slightly left field, like the pig lips.

The creators test their solutions and usually have an idea of what the end product will be, but the contestants are so creative that there is always a variety of results — especially since they have no time to really think. Judge Alex Guarnaschelli‏ said in a since-deleted tweet that there are "no extra points" for guessing what dishes the testers came up with, adding, "It's really about taste, presentation and creativity interpreted by each chef."

The judges don't have any say on what goes into the baskets, unless it's allergy-related, but they do get to see them in advance and there are often things they don't like inside, for example this ingredient Michael Symon hated. There have also been instances where they've raised concerns about a specific item and asked if it can be replaced. But the chefs truly go in blend, with host Ted Allen telling Insider that the network has to oblige by the laws surrounding game shows with cash prizes. We also had a "Chopped" champion spill his secrets and attest to that.