The big gamble: `Chopped: Casino Royale XL' concludes this week
Even if you associate the words with the first James Bond film of the Daniel Craig era, or the first James Bond novel by Ian Fleming (or even the 1967 parody film), the words “Casino Royale” are synonymous with a high-stakes gamble — and that’s what the latest “Chopped” tournament is all about.
Since Jan. 3, the “Chopped” crew — host Ted Allen with judges Maneet Chauhan, Tiffani Faison and Chris Santos — has been hosting the weekly “Casino Royale” tournament on Food Network. It has been dubbed “Casino Royale XL,” as in supersized/extra-large, as opposed to “40” in Roman numerals or in the Super Bowl tradition, since this is technically the second “Casino Royale” event in the show’s history. And the big tournament finale is set to air this Tuesday, Jan. 31.
To the uninitiated, “Casino Royale XL” allows — nay, encourages — the 16 bold chefs to bet big in hopes of winning big. They don’t have to keep the basket they’ve been dealt; with the spin of the roulette wheel, or by playing the slots, the chefs can gamble on getting a replacement ingredient that is a lot easier to work with. Or it could end up being worse than the original ingredient — that’s the risk you take when you’re a competitor in “Chopped: Casino Royale XL.”
The four winners of the preliminary rounds that aired Jan. 3, 10, 17 and 24 will step back into the “Chopped” casino this week for the final round and, once again, they don’t have to settle on basket ingredients, such as the one featured in the finale’s appetizer basket. (Food Network dropped a hint that they’ll come “eye-toeye” with it upon opening up the hamper.)
The entree round might be a little more tame, since two out of three chefs decide to keep the basket as is; then again, this is “Chopped,” and the mystery baskets have never been designed to make things easy on competitors.
What’s at stake in the finale? A jackpot that starts at $25,000 but could go much higher depending on the grand champion’s luck (and strategy).
Tune in to “Chopped” and the “Casino Royale XL: Grand Finale,” airing Tuesday, Jan. 31, to see which risks and gambles ultimately pay off.