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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Link: Brad Smith sharpens his blade for Food Network’s ‘Chopped Canada’

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From Sean Fitzgerald of 24 Hrs:

Brad Smith sharpens his blade for Food Network’s ‘Chopped Canada’
Brad Smith likes to talk food. The ex-CFL player, who recently transformed his image from reality show personality on The Bachelor Canada to TV interviewer on Breakfast Television, has joined the Food Network’s Chopped Canada as the host for its third season. The new episodes start airing in January, but you’ll be able to watch the affable Smith before that, as he hosts the five-part special Chopped Canada Teen Tournament starting on Nov. 28. Continue reading.

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Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Chopped Canada launches Season 3 with Chopped Canada Teen Tournament

From a media release:

Food Network Canada today announced premiere dates for season three of its hit, high-stakes culinary competition series, Chopped Canada. Season three kicks off with its new host, Brad Smith, and the world premiere of Chopped Canada Teen Tournament  (5×60) on Saturday, November 28 at 9 pm ET/PT. Chopped Canada’s third season continues with all-new regular episodes premiering January 9 at 9pm ET/PT.

Chopped Canada Teen Tournament  pits 16 of Canada’s best teen chefs against each other, battling it out for a chance to win $20,000 in this five-part special. In each episode, four young chefs face the clock – and each other – putting their skill and ingenuity to the test in an attempt to turn baskets of mystery ingredients into an extraordinary three-course meal. Competitors between the ages of 13 to17 from across Canada square off against each other, with the winner of each episode advancing to the finale. Course by course, the judges decide which teen chef Chopped Canada host Brad Smith will “chop” from the competition until only one remains. The last competitor standing collects the grand prize and will be crowned the first-ever Chopped Canada Teen Grand Champion. Competitor assets available at www.ShawMedia.ca/Media.

This season, celebrity chef, author, and television personality Mark McEwan joins Lynn Crawford, John Higgins, Antonio Park, Anne Yarymowich, Eden Grinshpan, Massimo Capra, Michael Smith, Susur Lee, and Roger Mooking at the rotating judges’ table, critiquing each meal and deciding which Chopped Canada contestants will be chopped.

CHOPPED CANADA TEEN TOURNAMENT PART I: Dukkah-ing It Out (1×60)
Four young chefs pull out all the stops to impress the judges in the first ever Chopped Canada Teen Tournament as they take on the sous vide, a CO2 canister and the anti-griddle.  Tensions run high as a kitchen mishap jeopardizes one teen’s chance of making it to the finale.

CHOPPED CANADA TEEN TOURNAMENT PART II: Lunchbox Letdown (1×60)
It’s back to school in the second competition of the Teen Tournament with four teen chefs testing the classic snack favorite, “Ants on a Log”, in the appetizer round. Things quickly heat up and snap, crackle, and burn in the entrée round.

Season three of Chopped Canada continues with all-new, edge-of-your seat episodes on January 9 at 9PM ET/PT.

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Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Brad Smith new host of Chopped Canada

From a media release:

Shaw Media and Paperny Entertainment announced today that Brad Smith (The Bachelor Canada) will host the new season of Food Network Canada’s high-stakes culinary competition series, Chopped Canada. Brad Smith takes the helm as host for the third season of the wildly popular series, with production underway on 31 episodes jammed with new twists and supreme specials, including a Chopped Canada Teen Tournament, a food truck showdown, and the return of past season favourites aiming to redeem themselves in the kitchen arena. The third season of Chopped Canada will join the Food Network schedule later this year.

A seasoned CFL veteran, Smith made his move to television as the Bachelor for the opening season of The Bachelor Canada in 2012. After the show, Smith became an entertainment reporter, interviewing celebrities and keeping his finger on the fast pulse of Hollywood for viewers. Smith brings a loyal fan base to Chopped Canada with his larger-than-life personality, infectious smile, and a personal penchant for food.

Joining the judges’ table for season three is celebrity chef, author, and television personality Mark McEwan. Long considered one of Canada’s most respected chefs and restaurateurs, McEwan is no stranger to competitive culinary television, having been the Head Judge on Food Network’s Top Chef Canada for four seasons. He and returning Chopped Canada judges Lynn Crawford, John Higgins, Antonio Park, Anne Yarymowich, Eden Grinshpan, Massimo Capra, Michael Smith, Susur Lee, and Roger Mooking will judge 120 competitors from every corner of Canada.

Each episode of Chopped Canada pits four chefs against the clock – and each other – for a chance to win $10,000. Cooking off in head-to-head challenges before a rotating panel of expert judges, the competitors put their skill and ingenuity to the test in an attempt to turn baskets of mystery ingredients into an extraordinary, three-course meal within a limited amount of time. Course by course, the judges chop the chefs from the competition until only one remains.

Chopped Canada Season 3 will launch later this year.

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Chopped Canada sets dramatic Season 2 table

It may not have had the stress of competing on Chopped Canada–returning for Season 2 on Saturday–but having lunch with two of the show’s judges was still pretty daunting. Would John Higgins and Anne Yarymowich–he the director of George Brown College’s Chef School and she an instructor there–note my nervousness and trepidation surrounding the collection of forks in front of me?

The setting for our late-November sit-down was The Chef’s House, George Brown’s student-run restaurant where those enrolled in the Chef School program not only work in the kitchen preparing dishes but at the front of the house too, taking orders and passing plates to paying customers. As for how I fared in front of Higgins and Yarymowich? Passed with flying colours. Hey, I can devour food with the best of them. As we chowed down on tasty treats (I went for the country paté appetizer and braised beef main), we chatted about Season 2 of Food Network Canada’s culinary competition.

Both admitted to having many of the same reactions I do watching chefs struggle to create edible offerings out of the mystery ingredients. Their first thought is always, “What would I do with that?” followed by “What are they doing?!?!” as questionable decisions are made as time starts to tick down. The challenge for the competitors will be made even harder, I was told, though the structure remains the same: more chefs from across the country compete for $10,000 in front of Higgins, Yarymowich and fellow returning judges Susur Lee, Lynn Crawford, Michael Smith and Roger Mooking, and new panelists Massimo Capra, Antonio Park and Eden Grinshpan.

Saturday’s return finds Carol Christie of Sooke, B.C., Brian McKenna of Langley, B.C., Mario Spina of Calgary and Keith Hoare of Mississauga, Ont., challenged by a Middle Eastern ingredient in the appetizer round, monkfish in the entrée round and tofu for the dessert. The tension in the challenges have been upped to new heights, with themed episodes scattered throughout the 13 episodes, including a Viewer’s Choice competition on Feb. 7 spotlighting prairie oysters, ketchup chips, Gefilte fish and squid ink.

Higgins and Yarymowich were mum on winners, promising only that Season 2 is more dramatic than the first. I can’t wait.

Chopped Canada airs Saturdays at 9 pm. ET/PT on Food Network Canada.

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