Once more into the breach as we round out season 3 of "Chopped" with four new chefs, each hoping to taste culinary glory... and $10,000. Let's meet the combatants...

Bradley Boyle Byram, NJ chef/owner, Salt Gastro Pub

Hannah Hopkins Mahopac, NY chef/owner, Dish and mom

John-Michael Hamlet North Salem, NY chef/owner, John-Michael's

Marc Pavlovic New York City (orig. France) chef instructor, French Culinary Institute

You know the rules, and you know the lifelines. Let's meet the judges...

- Rockstar restauranteur Chris Santos
- Executive chef secret holder Alex Guarnaschelli
- Cookbook superscribe Scott Conant

Round 1: APPETIZER (20 minutes). Our first course must feature... raspberries, asparagus, and chicken livers

Your 20 starts now.

Bradley: Pan-Seared Liver with Apple Raspberry Compote
Hannah: Crostini with Liver Pate and Asparagus Salad
John-Michael: Poached Liver with Raspberry Salad
Marc: Seared Liver with Grilled Asparagus

Chicken livers do not take a long time to cook, but you don't want to overcook them, because they get a little chalky. The secret to victory, how to pair them with raspberry, because you can use the sweetness and acid to make the livers pop.

Hannah is taking out the grill pan at the 13 minute mark. This could be a major misstep. Marc is grilling it from a raw state at the start, which is a good move. Bradley's missing something... perhaps the fact that his livers are still sauteeing. Hannah's crostini is not getting hot enough. John-Michael's going to cut it a little fine with his bacon. Marc just hopes everything is going to be cooked on time. Hannah's done before time is called, but her bread is going to determine whether or not she makes it to the next round.

... and TIME! If it ain't on the plate, it ain't gonna get served.

Bradley added a balsamic reduction. The crunch is akin to fried chicken, but the livers are really overcooked. Aside from that, a good start.

Hannah was ambitious, but the crostini was undertoasted. There are a million ways to cook a toast.

John-Michael's raspberries are the best so far. The judges like the red wine poaching, but the livers are overcooked and the bacon is undercooked.

Marc's asparagus is very pure, very flavorful. It's not particularly creative, though. The judges are looking for a risk.

Ultimately, Marc is safe, though, because ultimately the first rounds are decided on taste. Lots of overcooked liver, and one undercooked crostini. What will the outcome reflect? The first person... to be chopped... is... JOHN-MICHAEL. The judges thought long and hard, but in the end, the choices he made were bad ones.

Round 2: ENTREE (30 minutes). Time for celebration is over. Time for arugula, pickled daikon, fresh pasta, and mackerel is nigh...

... and time starts now.

Bradley: Asian Noodle Bowl with Raw Mackerel
Hannah: Crispy Asian-Style Mackerel over Pasta
Marc: Pan-Seared Arugula and Pasta

Watching someone butcher a fish that knows how is almost zen-like in approach. The chef'testants are looking for color, except for Marc, who's looking for techniques. Hannah is taking most of the first 10 minutes butchering her fish.

The daikon has a juicy, sweet flesh.

Marc will opt for a tagliatelle, while a baguette will give the dish a nice crunch. Hannah's mackerel starts falling apart, so she reorganizes her play a little. Bradley's pasta is still in pinwheel form. Can he make it work in time? Not if he keeps looking at the clock.

... and TIME! Step off and let the dishes speak.

Hannah's flavor profile goes over well, but her noodles are stuck together. Scott has a problem with that.

Marc's noodles are also stuck together. Scott gives him the business for it. The other judges like the combination of ingredients, but where is the risk?

Bradley's pasta bowl... also stuck together... and the fish is as raw as the pasta. The vegetables are perfect and the fish is creative.

So the raw pasta evens everyone out, but whose is a greater disservice to the judges? Marc lacked soul with his dish. Hannah brought every one of her ingredients together masterfully. Bradley's fish wins the round, but the next person... to be chopped... is... HANNAH. It didn't all gel in the way that the judges had hoped.

Round 3: DESSERT (30 minutes). It's heads-up on Chopped. Marc and Bradley will have to turn Greek yogurt, sugarcane, cactus pears, and popcorn kernels into $10,000.

We're 30 from a champion... Let's go!

Bradley: Prickly Pear Napoleon with Yogurt
Marc: Toffee Popcorn with Tequila Soaked Pears

Cactus pear is very melon like, but what do you do with sugarcane? The only thing you can do is make a syrup out of it. The use of the juicer will ... complicate things. Sugarcane is not juiceable. Second shot with the juicer... and it's working.

Bradley is going to try an apple butter to counter Marc's toffee popcorn. The flesh of the cactus pear is hard to maneuver. Marc's caramel... burned. He's going to start another. Bradley adds his apple butter to his popcorn, and it's done. Just waiting for that last reduction.

Now to get it on a plate...

... and TIME! This one comes down to the last second.

Scott liked that Marc used the juicer to extract the syrup. He's not crazy about the tuile on the bottom. It was more academic than anything else.

Bradley's popcorn is strangely addictive, but the napoleon is looking for something that should pop flavorwise.

Now it's time for a $10,000 decision. Marc played it right on the line, straight and narrow, by the book. Every decision he made up to this point has been academic. On the other hand, Bradley went out of the box, especially on dessert. He did win the entree round in the eyes of the judges, but is that going to be enough to secure him the win?

The final person... to be chopped... on the final episode... of this series of Chopped... is...  BRADLEY! The overall scope of the meal set him back with the overcooked chicken livers and the undercooked pasta.

But today, by-the-book wins, as Marc goes back to his classroom $10,000 richer and a Chopped Champion.

And that will do it for season 3 of Chopped. We hope to see you with season 4 in the coming months, when four chefs will face three baskets in a shot at 10 Gs. One will rise to the occasion... the other three... will be 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.