Every week, four chefs enter a kitchen of fire, and every week, three leave broken and humiliated. Who will the mystery baskets have designs on this week? Let's meet the players...
 

TYLER ANDERSON Essex, CT chef, Copper Beech Inn "a pretty unique style"

PAUL VIGGIANO Sparta, NJ chef de cuisine, Doc's Steakhouse French Country Peasant

CHRISTOPHER NGUYEN York, PA mixed martial artist & chef consultant, Keo Eurasian

BARBARA SIBLEY orig. Mexico City chef/owner, La Palata Cocina Mexicana Mexican

Three rounds, each one has its own box of mysterious ingredients. Be it a little or a lot, each one must be used. After each course, the plate will be judged on creativity, presentation, and taste. The lowest rung on the pole each round gets chopped. These are timed rounds; strategy is involved. The last chef standing wins $10,000 cash money.

Tonight's judges...

- Chef & restaurateur Geoffrey Zakarian
- Star executive chef Alex Guarnaschelli
- Rock'n'roll trendsetter Chris Santos

Round 1: APPETIZER (20 minutes). First up in the boxes... Ground turkey, piquillo peppers, and gooseberries.

Twenty minutes on the clock... GO!

Tyler: Albondigas with Piquillo Puree
Paul: Turkey Meatballs with Piquillo Sauce
Chris: Turkey Galette with Braised Peppers
Barbara: Turkey Torta with Gooseberry Salsa

Gooseberries should be treated as underripen tomatoes. Cooked a little, but not too much. Meanwhile, Paul... is at the wrong station. Woops. That's a first. Halfway through, and no turkey has been cooked yet. Barbara has turkey all over her hands. Paul doesn't know how to use the gooseberreies. Tyler's bacon isn't crisping. We could theoretically have a case of four dishes not finished on time.

One minute... and Chris' turkey is still in the oven. We're speed-plating...

... and TIME. We have finished plates! I don't believe it.

Let's go to the Chopping Block.

Tyler's dish really pops with almonds, but the bacon to the turkey doesn't work unless it's cooked through. Tyler doesn't really like turkey, and he voice his opinion. Something Alex really didn't want to hear.

Paul believes Darwin lives in the studio with his dish. Geoffrey loves the appetizer's flavor and simplicity. Alex wanted to see the gooseberry integrated better. Chris S. thought the turkey was dry and uninteresting.

Chris's dish is no galette. It's a turkey burger. There's flavor, but there's also salt.

Barbara's dish sounds a lot better than it is, but she's the only one who integrated the gooseberries.

So we have two dishes that sound like more than what they are, even though they were acceptable. Of the other two, one of them was disliked by its own creator. Who'll get the cleaver first? The first person to be chopped... is... BARBARA. The appetizer didn't work as much as the others. The turkey was far too dry.

Round 2: ENTREE (30 minutes). New course, new ingredients. Today, we have... Top round of lamb, coconut flakes, snap peas, and quick grits.

Half an hour to greatness... GO!

Tyler: Roasted Lamp with Pea Yogurt Sauce
Paul: Indian Stir-Fry with Coconut Grits
Chris: Lamb Kalbi

Top round of lamb is a lot tougher than your average critter, but it absorbs a lot of flavor, so you have to really prepare it well enough. Paul is sauteeing a lot of vegetables... and the texture does not work. Tyler doesn't like the grits, because it's an inferior product. His pea sauce, though, is not as pronounced as he'd like, so he makes a pea salad. Chris's grits aren't kissed as well as he had hoped.

Tyler doesn't have his lamb cooked as well as he had hoped. Chris isn't happy with his grits. Paul thinks he's cooked everything perfectly. Only the judges will know for sure.

... and TIME. What's on the plate is what's on the menu.

Paul's stir-fry looks like a real entree. It's full of color and flavor. There's a lot of love that goes into it, but there's a lot of love lost for the peas, the overcooked lamb, and the coconut grits rubber ball.

Chris's dish isn't appetizing looking. He also didn't clean the snap peas. The flavor of the lamb, though, wins raves.

Tyler's dish is not homogeneous throughout the panel. It tastes nice and homey, but it looks thrown together. Thought process is an A-plus, but execution is not as good... Better, but not as good.

Problems and raves with all three dishes. It's going to be a matter of who grew more. It's going to be Tyler, but who will join him? The second person... to be chopped... is... CHRIS. The lamb was really delicious, but the rest of the ingredients were very poorly prepared.

Round 3: DESSERT (30 minutes). Who's going to take home 100 Benjamins? That'll be decided on... celery... blood oranges... frozen pie crust... and jaggery.

Thirty minutes to a winner. Time... stars... NOW!

Jaggery is a type of unrefined cane palm sugar. The correct way to play this is to make the heart of the celery central.

Tyler: Chocolate Mousse Napoleon
Paul: Sauteed Celery with Orange Panna Cotta

Tyler uses the jaggery on the mousse... Big mistake. Paul... can't find cornstarch. He seems frazzled, but the corn starch is there. He has to switch gears to a creme anglaise. Paul is going to make the celery the star of the dish, adding brandy sabayon. Everyone's made a failed sabayon at one time.

Both Paul and Tyler are throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. Paul's losing time looking at the clock, and Tyler's just hoping his dessert will fly.

... and TIME. Let's see whose swan song will have the judges singing along. 

Paul's sabayon was never made, but the molasses and jaggery work well together. Alex wanted more blood orange and less celery, though. His dishes have been really beautiful, but this isn't much of a dessert.

Tyler's mousse is creamy and delicious. The piecrust is salty and the entire dish doesn't appeal to the eyes. As for the celery... it seemed like Tyler phoned it in.

No one was impressed with any dessert, though Paul's dessert was more of an artform. Tyler took a step backwards in the dessert course after taking two bold steps forwards.

Major disconnects between mind and plate, but there has to be one big winner today... Who is it?

The final person... to be chopped... is... PAUL. The judges love his art and his artistry, but the ingredients misfired. He panicked and it showed on his plate.

Which means that even through all of that, Tyler Anderson is the Chopped Champion, winning $10,000. What's he going to do with it? He's taking his son to Disney World! Have a great time.

And as we cleanse our palates, we look forward to next week, with three more courses and one person out of four avoiding that gristly fate... being... CHOPPED.

To see this episode in its entirety, or to apply to be a contestant on "Chopped", visit the official website at www.foodnetwork.com/chopped.