An ingredient basket containing squab kicks off an action-packed first round; chefs must break down a large fish and figure out what to do with a sweet beverage in the entree round; a variety of cookie mix may cause trouble in the dessert round.

Fermented milk drink kefir in the appetizer round; a strange blue drink; a can ingredient for the dessert basket.

The chefs get some surprises in the ingredient baskets like a gefilte fish with something sweet and salty, pork in the entree round and strange ingredients to work with for dessert.

The appetizer round features peppers and pork; the entree round leaves the chefs wrestling with a heart-stopping protein; the dessert basket contains super sweet ingredients.

Fruit and root in the first basket; cut of meat in the entree; cheesy dessert.

The four chefs must cut jumbo-sized ribs down to appetizer-appropriate portions; a premium steak and a second-rate grocery store meal meet in a puzzling entree basket, and creativity is on display in the dessert round.

The chefs get some gorgeous crustaceans and a fancy pasta in the first basket; making the most of an expensive mushroom in round two; one of the last two chefs runs into trouble while trying to make an apple dessert.

Nose-to-tail cannot fail! The competing chefs are elated to get a pork theme; gorgeous cuts of premium meat; a Bloody Mary with a special surprise; something fizzy and something offal-ly difficult to incorporate in a dessert.

The competing chefs are challenged to make a scrumptious soup-and-sandwich duo for every round; in the appetizer round, they set out to make dunkable, slurpable creations while utilizing an unusual egg in the basket.

The chefs take on a melted cheese theme, including a decadent first basket, a fondue in the second basket and strange, colorful cheese snacks in the dessert basket.

The chefs take part in a Bavarian bash, starting with an appetizer basket that contains potato chips; the entree basket contains pie and beer; the dessert basket contains beer and brats.

Four chefs have to sort out what to do with the odd pie in the appetizer round; an egg-flavored snack in the second basket brings some novel ideas for the entree plates and there's hardly time to stop and smell the rose latte in a fast dessert round.

The competitors must stay steady and focused as they take on three chicken-themed rounds in this special competition; the chicken in the first basket looks strikingly strange.

Mock meat and an odd green powder set the level of difficulty high in round one and an Italian-Japanese mashup ingredient in the entree round threatens to screw up the chefs' plans.

If the tri-tip in the first basket doesn't trip them up, the edible bird's nest just might; Stinging nettles threaten to hurt the competitors' chances for success in round two, and the two finalists must make good use of a dairy delicacy.

A giant circle of dough with a long history and veggies that look like tiny watermelons in the first basket; chewy candy and sweet cheese for the entree; green leaves and blueberries for dessert.

Four chefs set out to make low-cost items taste like a million bucks in three dollar-dish challenges; the appetizer round has a box of frozen finger foods; the entree round has a chef's biggest fear; the dessert basket contains leftover wine.

The baskets are packed with healthy ingredients; in the first round, lean, mean fish dishes; some heat in the entree round basket helps the chefs add flavor without adding fat; the dessert basket features green smoothies and rice crackers.

In the first round, the competitors work with hot dogs and taro root; the entree round features cookies and cube steak; an ooey, gooey cake and salted caramel make for some sweet creations in the final round.

In the first round, the chefs must make creative use of blue cheese and goats cheese in their appetizer plates; in the entree round, two French cheeses must be used with chicken thighs and garlic scapes.

Fan turn to social media to pick the basket ingredients; in the first basket, a curious canned product; in the entree round, some weird candy and a slimy surprise.

Coming up with ideas for dishes using the mystery ingredients provided on "Chopped" can be difficult for adult chefs with years of experience, so imagine how difficult it is for young chefs on "Chopped Junior." In this version of the long-running franchise, children are tasked with making something out of mystery-basket ingredients that don't seem to go together. The usual "Chopped" judges are joined by celebrity guest judges to determine which kids advance after each round. The winning cook earns the same $10,000 prize that adults win on the main show. If things get a little too intense for the youngsters, host Ted Allen is there to comfort them and encourage them to keep going.

Bobby Flay is no stranger to culinary competitions, whether he's hosting ("Bobby's Dinner Battle") or competing ("Throwdown With Bobby Flay"). In this program he does both. Each half-hour episode begins with two chefs competing to create a dish using an ingredient chosen by Flay. The winner of that challenge -- as determined by a special guest judge -- goes to the second round, in which he or she does battle against chef Flay. To make things a little more fair, the challenger has an advantage by being able to prepare a signature dish that is unknown to Bobby until the start of the round. Once he learns what the dish is, Flay must immediately come up with his own version. A panel determines the winner of the second round through a blind taste test. Food Network regulars Sunny Anderson, Anne Burrell and Giada De Laurentiis are among the judges appearing on the show.

The judges have it easy on "Chopped" -- the contestants have to come up with creative uses of unusual or incompatible ingredients, then the judges get to eat and critique the dishes. On "Chopped After Hours," the judges are tasked with creating dishes out of baskets filled with the same ingredients that were given to the show's contestants. It's not a competition, though, as it's a laid-back demonstration of what the judges can create. The judges taste one another's dishes when they're done.

American favorite "Chopped" heads north of the border to Canada with a familiar format and new host, actor and Toronto native Dean McDermott, perhaps best known as co-star of the "Tori & Dean" reality TV franchise. Each episode of "Chopped Canada" challenges four professional chefs to turn boxes of mystery ingredients into a three-course meal in a race against the clock. Each course serves as its own round in the competition, and the chef with the least-successful dish -- as determined by a panel of judges -- is eliminated after each round. The chef who comes out on top following the dessert round wins $10,000 and the title of "Chopped Canada" champion.

Chefs mentor amateur cooks in an attempt to transform them from kitchen zeros to kitchen heroes.

Sixteen of the country's best amateur cooks compete for the title of America's Best Cook.

Based upon the format of the original Japanese version of "Iron Chef," the series features a Kitchen Stadium filled with culinary equipment. At the beginning of the episode, an outside challenger chooses one of Kitchen Stadium's resident chefs to compete against. Then the host unveils a "secret ingredient," which the competing chefs must incorporate into each dish they create.

Aspiring chefs compete for their shot at culinary stardom.

"Cutthroat Kitchen" isn't a typical cooking competition. A player, in addition to being a good chef, must be able to outwit and, at times, sabotage opponents to win. Each episode features four people vying in three rounds to win up to $25,000 cash. At the beginning, $100,000 is split evenly among the players to spend however they wish during the game. The chefs spend the money at auctions to get things that could help them -- like buying exclusive use of salt -- or hinder their opponents -- like prohibiting them from tasting a recipe in progress. Each round eliminates one chef, until there is a winner. Although the competitors want to make purchases at auction to improve the chances of winning, they don't want to spend too much; the amount remaining in the winner's bank determines the ultimate prize. Some special tournaments -- usually seasonally themed -- stretch across multiple episodes and offer higher amounts of money. Alton Brown hosts.

Expert bakers go toe-to-toe to see whose cake creations will earn them the grand prize.