History YMMV / Chopped

* RetroactiveRecognition: Several ''Series/HellsKitchen'' competitors have competed here before appearing on the latter show, such as Nick, Jon, Hassan, Robyn, Christine, Roshni, and Andy.

*** For those of you who don't know, [[spoiler:durians are enormous, thorny fruits from south Asia that, by the competitors' and judges' descriptions, have the smell and consistency of rotting garbage. The taste can actually be quite pleasant, similar to cheesecake, but the smell can overwhelm the taste if it's not treated properly.]].

*** For those of you who don't know, [[spoiler:durians are enormous, thorny fruits from south Asia that, by the competitors' and judges' descriptions, have the taste, smell, and consistency of rotting garbage]].

* TrueArtIsIncomprehensible: Some chefs pull a variation of this trope when asked why they cooked their dish a certain way or why it was plated that way. They will say something like "I thought this flavor with this flavor would work" or "This dish should be plated this way because X." When those artistic reasons do not work, the chefs look pretentious, even if the judges don't say it outright.
** One example: Chef Nate Appleman proceeds to do a pappardelle ''soup'' flavored with ''water'' [[note]]He used fresh pasta (required ingredient) and pureed it with water, adding no flavor to it.[[/note]]. When asked why he used water to make the soup, he responded "I like the taste of water." The judges proceed to criticize him saying that the pappardelle soup does not have flavor and it's way too starchy.
** One chef literally pulls this card straight when she leaves gooseberries ''unopened'' on the judges' plates. Her justification?
--->"I want you to experience the feeling of opening the gooseberries. The feeling of touching the leaves and opening it. It is an art."
*** The judges did not take too kindly to this. Heck, Scott Conant gave her an epic tongue-lashing and outright called that chef "pretentious." Needless to say, she got chopped because of it.
** Geoffrey Zakarian declared one contestant's food to be "too intellectual", which is ironic considering how people viewed him on both ''Chopped'' and ''Next Iron Chef''.
** The judges are not above this either. One chef used a pair of tongs to hold a fish filet steady while she butchered it, which apparently is a no-no in the culinary world because it can break the filet. The only reason the chef used the tongs was because she had cut herself and was afraid of contaminating the fish; nevertheless, the judges berate and scold her for "disrespecting the food", and cast doubt if she could be considered a "real chef" since she has only been working with food for four years. [[note]]It should be noted that the filet tasted fine by the judges' account.[[/note]]

** Of the judges, Alex Guarnaschelli is traditionally (and consistently) seen this way by a lot of people who view her as being kind of snobbish sometimes. {{Subverted}} like crazy on ''Chopped Junior,'' however, as the child contestants (especially the girls) view her as a role model. Frequently Scott Conant ''was'' this in the earlier seasons with his overly harsh criticisms, but he got better on the later seasons when he laid off some of the harshness. Contrast Conant with Aarón Sanchez who becomes ''more'' of a SmugSnake in the later seasons as well as being seen as a hypocrite when the subject is on Mexican food and spice.

* RetroactiveRecognition: Several former Series/HellsKitchen competitors have competed on the show, such as Nick, Jon, and Hassan. Interestingly enough, the weaker chefs from that show have often ended up winning their episodes or came close, such as Robyn, Christine, Roshni, and Andy.