Chopped

Four chefs bid in an auction before each round to determine their fourth ingredient, resulting in an unpredictable competition.

The chefs must bid on their fourth ingredients in an auction; in the entrée round, a bidding war breaks out over a premium item.

The chefs get only three items in each basket and must bid in a live auction for a fourth ingredient. The entrée round auction includes an unusual protein that gets big bids from more than one chef.

Four competitors are given baskets with just three items, and a live auction determines what each chef scores as their fourth ingredient. One chef raises expectations by spending a ton of money to secure a favourite ingredient for his appetiser dish.

In the tournament finale, the chefs are given a larger sum of money to bid on their fourth ingredient. In a fierce first round, all the items that the chefs win at auction seem challenging in their own way, and the judges' expectations are sky-high.

Four chefs cook Thai-inspired meals, starting with chicken feet in the first basket. A colourful entrée basket includes some pretty purple dumplings. Then, in the dessert round, a competitor must juggle two simultaneous snafus.

Four carnivorous chefs take on a bold breakfast sandwich and Berkshire bacon in the appetiser basket. Then, the final two chefs are not concerned about how to include bacon in their desserts, but the cruel clock gives them plenty to worry about.

Four chefs are eager to impress as they race to make appetisers with mizuna and a weird pizza, but first round jitters are a real problem. A deep-fried oddity is part of the challenge for the competitors in the second round.

The chefs rush to come up with smart ways to utilise the alligator in the first basket, but they soon learn their gator plans might be difficult to execute. In the dessert round, an ice cream machine fiasco spells trouble for one of the competitors.

This battle is all about indulging wholeheartedly in late-night cravings; in the first round, tacos and ramen in the basket force the chefs to make fusion plates; the entrée basket includes a very hot pepper and a beloved potato product.