* AdoredByTheNetwork: If you were to turn on Food Network right now, chances are you will be watching this show. Not only has it come to dominate Food Network's prime time schedule, but it's spawned a number of spiritual spin-offs including ''Series/CutthroatKitchen'' and even ''Chopped: Canada''. Even Guy Fieri, who dominates most of whatever evening airtime isn't taken up by ''Chopped'' with ''Series/DinersDriveInsAndDives'', now has his own ''Chopped''-style show, ''Series/GuysGroceryGames''.
* FollowTheLeader:
** If one of the chefs begins to cry or otherwise has an emotional moment, you can be sure that one of the other chefs will dig for some reason to do the same in the next round (or even the same one, if they have a chance).
** In a meta sense, many Food Network competition shows follow the four chefs, three round format, with variability of theme ingredients. Unlike ''Chopped'', most of the other shows have the judges strictly judge what happened in the round and not judge the overall performance over the course of the show. See ''Series/CupcakeWars'', ''Series/SweetGenius'', and ''Series/CutthroatKitchen''.
* [[HeyItsThatSound Hey It's That Music]]:
** When the chefs are standing around the Chopping Block, the show sometimes plays background music from ''[[VideoGame/SpaceEmpires Space Empires V]]''.
** Some of the music used in ''Chopped'' seems to appear in ''Series/ManVFood''. Possibly justified since both Food Network and Travel Channel are owned by the same company.
** One of its musical clips is also used in ''Videogame/SaintsRowTheThird'' (specifically the music played when in a clothes shop).
* InMemoriam: At the end of "Chopped Star Power: Screen Sensations!" there is a title card that said "Alan Thicke 1947-2016" (it was his final television appearance before his 2016 death [[spoiler: and sadly, he got cut in the first round]].)
* SpiritualSequel: To ''Series/IronChef''
* StarMakingRole:
** Ted Allen was a food and wine expert, but hosting this show gave viewers brand name recognition.
** The vast majority of the judging panel (especially Alex Guarnaschelli and Geoffrey Zakarian) are well respected chefs in their own right, but the show's popularity essentially put them on the map.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Ted Allen humorously remarked that ''Chopped'' was originally going to take place in an [[EccentricMillionaire eccentric millionaire's]] mansion, with the millionaire's butler serving as the host and the losing dishes being fed to the millionaire's pet chihuahua. Naturally, the Creator/FoodNetwork found this "too weird," but wanted to keep the general premise of the show and put it in a more straightforward competition format.
* YouMightRememberMeFrom: The show has become one of the channel's most well known and prestigious cooking competitions--to the point of where it's not uncommon for chefs being profiled to mention that they were on the show, whether as a contestant or even as a judge (or even both, because some former contestants, like Anne Burrell, have been brought on as judges).