The Best Dish Alex Guarnaschelli Ever Judged On Chopped

Both a regular judge on "Chopped" and a winner of "The Next Iron Chef: Redemption," Alex Guarnaschelli has become a very familiar face to Food Network enthusiasts. Variety estimates that Guarnaschelli has been featured on more than 600 network episodes. To add to her already busy schedule, Guarnaschelli is also the executive chef at Butter, an exclusive upscale restaurant in New York City.

Guarnaschelli "spent her childhood surrounded by food." "I honestly feel as if I learned to eat according to whatever cookbook my mother was working on at the time," she shares on her personal website. This food fanatic can also add cookbook author to her impressive resumé. Her most recent of three cookbooks was released in October 2020, titled "Cook With Me," which is filled with a range of recipes that Guarnaschelli describes as being "the evolution of me." While there are so many homey and delicious dishes to try out, she has a few that she recommends starting out with.

For someone who lives and breathes food, it's no surprise that Guarnaschelli has a reputation for being one of the toughest judges on "Chopped." Notorious for grilling chefs and dishing out harsh criticism, it's not easy to please this multitalented cook. Despite her high standards, in an interview with Food & Wine, Guarnaschelli describes a dish from "Chopped" that truly knocked her socks off.

The "Supermarket Stakeout" star is constantly peppered with questions about food — from her most memorable meal, to her guilty pleasure foods, to the dishes that she absolutely refuses to eat. When recalling her fond memories from "Chopped" for Food & Wine, Guarnaschelli shared that most people are more eager to hear about her least favorite food from the show, than her favorite. For those curious, the worst meal that Guarneschelli ever had on "Chopped" was the "blueberry scone mashed potatoes with venison." "I was in therapy for a week after that one," she added. Can we blame her?

But when pushed to open up about her favorite meal from "Chopped," Guarneschelli revealed to Food & Wine that it was "duck fat cake with pickled ginger." "It was super salty and so good. I ate the whole thing."

This cooking machine tends towards preparing meaty meals, and if she ever had to cook on "Chopped," her dream basket would include flour, "duck or ostrich eggs, a nine-pound gummy skull and chicken feet," says Food & Wine. Guarnaschelli is even partial to "meaty" vegetables, and prefers cooking with either mushrooms or eggplant.