It's a Top Chef knockoff but unlike existing shows, on Chopped, there are four new chefs that compete on each episode. The one that wins that episode receives $10,000. After each course, the one with the worst food is "chopped."

Michelin found this and pointed it out to me. It's from Ted Allen's blog, where he insults Top Chef.

"There also is a culinary straightforwardness about this show that I find really satisfying, and particularly appropriate for a company called Food Network. There is no sleep deprivation, no “Big Brother” house full of bunk beds and cameras, no booze-fueled personal drama (as much as we all love the brainwashing and catfights on that certain show I used to judge). There are no team or catering challenges. Best of all, there is no product placement, so you never see passionate lovers of good food being forced to use packaged convenience junk thanks to Kraft/Altria/Exxon’s sponsorship. (In fairness, we do occasionally throw in a jokey ingredient, like, say, gummy bears, just for laughs. But we don’t take sponsor dollars from Gummy Inc. to plug their product.)"

http://www.tedallen.net/Blog/Entries/2008/12/29_Why_America_needs_anothe...

I know there are some other foodies out there. Gonna watch?