Four chefs stretch their imaginations as they craft towering architectural desserts; they face awfully challenging duck offal in the round one basket and play with chocolate, strawberry and peanut flavors in round two.

A birthday-themed competition; the chefs use popcorn and insect flour.

The competitors are challenged to make mashup masterpieces; a nutty version of a doughnut in the round one basket, and a hyped-up hybrid meat appears in round two.

Scott greets four chefs who are excited to make extraordinary desserts using expensive ingredients.

Scott Conant welcomes four chefs to a doughnut-themed competition, and they must make sense of what's in the baskets before they can create sugary, deep-fried masterpieces.

Four chefs have to create breakfast themed desserts and the baskets are filled with reminders of the most important meal of the day, including a coffee drink, a cleverly designed candy and waffle dough.

A Chinese delicacy is a sign that only the strong will survive; a vanilla desserts must have a dried fruit and a cooked protein; a decadent finding in the last basket puts the competitors in a chocolatey state of mind.

It's a crazy ride as Scott dares four chefs to make colorful, carnival-themed desserts for the judges while also bringing their personalities to the table.

Scott gives four chefs a challenge to make frosty desserts and as the clock ticks down on the first round, it's unclear if all the chefs will finish in time.

In this all-chocolate challenge, four pastry artists whip up decadent, chocolaty creations that are as beautiful as they are craveable.

Scott greets four chefs to a battle of turning bargain items into amazing priceless treats.

Miniature sweets make a large impression as Scott Conant challenges four chefs to prove they can make adorable tiny treats that are delectable little works of art.

Scott Conant challenges the chefs to turn adult beverages into pastry perfection.

The humble cookie takes the spotlight as Scott Conant challenges four pastry artists to make an imaginative twist on popular cookies.

In round one, time is a challenge and the chefs have to adapt quickly; chefs uncover a huge ingredient in the second basket; round three has the two finalists wondering what is so great about super worms.

Four extraordinary, sugar-savvy chefs compete in a festive competition; they find a startling surprise in the first basket; stressful setbacks in the second round and goody, goody gumdrops in the final basket; only one can be Chopped Sweets Champion.

The fear factor is off the charts when the competing chefs must work with some dangerously delicious ingredients, such as scary, hairy creepy-crawlies in the first basket; from moldy to super stinky, the second basket delivers on the deadly theme.

The competitors get a tropical theme; an island cocktail and a Hawaiian dish.

The competing chefs endeavor to make bright and bold fruit-themed desserts. A tropical drink and a chewy snack keep the chefs' minds spinning in round one. Punch and pavlova make for an alluring, alliterative pair in the second round.

An all-American, all-desserts competition; a flag cake in the first basket.

America's top bakers gather to put their baking brilliance to the test.

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.

Sunny Anderson challenges four bakers to push the limits of Thanksgiving pie-making for the chance to win a $10,000 shopping spree.

Four chefs call on their culinary skills as they face off against one another to prepare a spectacular three-course meal consisting of an appetizer, entree and dessert. The catch? In each round, they have to use all the ingredients the show provides them, however unlikely they might be (Gummi Bears, anyone?). At the end of each course, a panel of three guest judges "chops" one chef who fails to measure up in terms of taste, presentation and creativity. The last chef standing takes home bragging rights and a cool $10,000. Ted Allen hosts.