Four more chefs think they have what it takes to withstand the heat of the kitchen. Time to meet'em.
 

CODY UTZMAN Brooklyn, NY chef & restauranteur, The Standard based upon his environment

MING LIU orig. China line chef, Le Cirque Classical French

LISA SCHOEN Manhattan, NY executive chef & food stylist Modern American

PEDRO DIAZ New York City sous chef, FreshDirect "can just about cook it all"

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...

- Bistro baron Marc Murphy
- Star executive chef Alex Guarnaschelli
- Latin expert Aaron Sanchez

Round 1: APPETIZER (20 minutes). First up in the boxes... red currant jam, Merguez sausage, and broccoli.

Twenty minutes... starting now.

Cody: Moroccan-style Sausage
Ming: Chive Crepes with Broccoli and Sausage
Lisa: Asian Broccoli Salad
Pedro: Mediterranean Salad with Moroccan Sausage

Meguez is 90% lamb and 10% beef, and very spicy. Ming's first crepe doesn't work, and he has five minutes to plate, AND his sausage isn't done yet. Pedro decides to tone down the flavor of the sausage with the jam. Lisa needs to compose a vinaigrette. Pedro's broccoli is overcooked. Ming plates his crepes, but it's not what he pictured in his mind.

And... TIME. Everyone's done, but only one will be done PERIOD. To the Chopping Block.

Cody ends up with a raw broccoli salad with sausage. Aaron says that the yogurt balances the flavor of the sausage.

Ming's execution... doesn't work, but the execution is there. The broccoli was cooked perfect, but it needed a sauce to integrate it all.

Lisa's salad worries Marc, but in the end, it all worked together. Alex thought the vinaigrette was too much.

Pedro's sweet & sour sausage is overcooked... and very sweet.

So two dishes manage to survive the judge's assessment, and two don't. Which will be the first person to have their dish being trashed? The first person to be chopped... is... MING. He wanted to be creative, but the dish wasn't tied together.

Round 2: ENTREE (30 minutes). It's time to build on the successes of the last round. And your building blocks... chicken breast, dandelion greens, star fruit, and cherry liqueur.

Time to create something great... NOW!

Cody: Roasted Chick in Pan Sauce with Soft Creamy Polenta and Star Fruit Chutney
Lisa: Tropical Fruit Salsa
Pedro: Seared Chicken with Star Fruit Sauce

Pedro starts with cooking a simple syrup, and the judges are scared of the sweet again. Lisa wants to pair the dandelion greens with something sweet, hence the fruit salsa. Pedro decides to cook the star fruit in the liqueur... and it flames something serious. Five minutes to go, and Cody's feeling confidence, even though the pieces of the chicken are starting to come off in the pan. Lisa's chicken is not done, and her lentils are still a little tough. With a minute to go, Lisa's first to finish. The others follow...

... and TIME. This is crazy, indeed, but it's meal time.

Lisa's pan-roasted chicken is served with al dente lentils. The chicken's cooked all the way through, and the flavors are very rustic... but Alex doesn't like the salsa at all.

Pedro's chicken with salsa is better, and the chicken is more comforting. Marc's chicken is smaller than the appetizer, while the sauce is too sweet. Again.

Cody's dish looks beautiful, and the flavors are deep.

The final round only has room for two. Will deep flavors, colorful presentation, or rustic profiles seal the deal? It's anyone's game at this point. The second person to be chopped.... is... PEDRO. The sweetness of the dish ended up being a little cloying.

Round 3: DESSERT (30 minutes). One more round, one more basket. In it... grape leaves, sesame seeds, honeydew melon, and pickled ginger.

This is for cash money. GO!

Cody: Ginger Sesame Scone
Lisa: Sesame Beignet

Lisa starts out ... stunned. But ultimately, she decides on a beignet with a different crunch level. Unfortunately, she cooks the ingredients in the wrong order. Cody is going to counter with a honey cardamom sauce. He just needs to figure out what to do with the honeydew and the grape leaves. He ends up making a dolma. Lisa on the other hand is making a fruit salad to go with her beignets. Cody thinks that it's very safe, but is he right?

And... that's TIME. Who's going home richer and who's just going home?

Cody's dessert wins raves all around. Alex thinks the dessert makes no sense, but ultimate she ate half of it. Also, if he made the scones smaller, it would've cooked better.

Lisa's dessert presentation worked. The sesame gives it character, and the brown butter taste makes it pop. The beignets could also have been cooked a little bit more.

Once again, it's going to be a close call, closer than any call in Chopped history. Lisa's dishes looked great. Cody combined ingredients in a very creative way.

But alas, there can only be one winner. Who wins the big money: The final person to be chopped... is... LISA. They've been going neck and neck all day, but it came down to details.

It was a close call all the way through, but it ends in victory for today's Chopped champ, Cody, who gets to take his dinner all the way to the bank with $10,000.

Next time, four more chefs and three more baskets. Only one can win. The others... 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.