9-25-12 "You;ve Been Chopped!"

I have long been a fan of the Food Network Show "Chopped". In every episode 4 chefs compete by creating an appetizer, entree, and dessert from a basked of "mystery ingredients", along with access to the Chopped Pantry and fridge.  The mystery ingredients are always challenging, but the time constraints bring an element of high pressure also....20 minutes to prepare an appetizer, 30 minutes for entree, and I believe, 30 minutes to prepare a dessert.  With every round, three judges eliminate one chef.  The host of the show is Ted Allen.

I first was introduced to Ted on a Bravo show called "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy."  Ted was the foodie, Carson Cressly was the fashion expert, and Tom Felicia was home decor consultant.  I can't recall the 4th guy.  This show was short lived, only a couple of seasons. Ted moved on very successfully to this Food Network show.  (All men take note of their personal grooming advice...groom your eyebrows!  Noone should have eyebrows like Andy Rooney did.   Hair coming out of your ears and nose is also unsightly!)

Some of the regular judges on the show (although they rotate and there are others) are Alex Guarnaschelli, executive chef of Butter in NYC.(My person favorite of all time...also has a wonderful home cooking called "Alex's day off, in which she shows what she cooks at home for her family.)

Geoffrey Zackarian, a well know (evidently, never heard of him outside this show!) restaurateur...

and another favorite of mine, Aaron Sanchez, Latin cuisine expert, whose passion for food and love of people is so abundant in his critiques of other chefs.

Last night, in this new season, there was a special episode of Chopped in which the chefs were 4 "school lunch ladies." Chopped had a "lunch lady" episode last year also. Honestly, sometimes my favorite chefs are those that are self taught or learned through the school of experience, rather than culinary schools. The stories these women shared about their schools, and their role not only as the preparers and servers of food to students, but also motivators and "teachers of healthy lifestyles" were so inspirational.  Please catch a rerun of the lunch lady episode of Chopped on the food network.  What interested me about all these women, were that  their school food programs were cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients, sometimes even from the school's own garden. Literally, as these women were talking about the importance of their roles, I was crying, and even Alex Guarnaschelli was wiping away tears!  These are real people with a mission to make the world better.  They are of little means, ordinary people, who make a true difference.

The guest judge for this episode was executive chef of the White House, Sam Kass.  He was wonderful in his own right! As a surprise at the end, these four women, and the "lunch ladies" from last season's episode, were invited to the White House as the personal guests of Sam Kass and the Obamas.

He gave them a tour of the White House gardens, and then they cooked together.  This surprise was beyond the wildest dreams of these contestants, and it was sheer fun to have a glimpse of their delight in the whole experience.

At my former school, Longfellow, I believe the ideal situation existed, where the everyone in the building were considered important to the students...custodians, food service workers, paraeducators, librarian, and teaching staff all worked seamlessly to give the students the best possible experience.  Key to student success. It was great to see the show "chopped" honoring the work that these women do daily. All too often, school lunch programs feed our children frozen or overly processed foods that are simply reheated.  Often students are served foods they don't need silverware to eat.  I am hopeful that Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution will continue to spread throughout our schools in America.  We are what we eat!