Chopped Fans Think Contestants Always Throw Away Tasting Spoons For This Reason
"Chopped" is a competition show that takes TV viewers on a fascinating ride as they watch talented cooks prepare impressive dishes while racing against time. The long-running show features distinguished culinary names like Maneet Chauhan, Amanda Freitag, Ted Allen, and Marcus Samuelsson and has been on air since 2009.
The show can get extremely competitive at times. The TV show's producers occasionally try to make things extra stressful for the participants to add more drama to "Chopped." The stakes are high, as contestants get very little time to prepare their dishes, get familiar with what's in the pantry, and tackle whatever required ingredients are waiting for them in the mystery boxes.
The formula works. Many fans love watching "Chopped," and often discuss the show on platforms like Reddit. A curious viewer, for example, put up a Reddit post asking others about how often contestants seem to discard tasting spoons on the show.
There's a logical explanation
In their original post, the Redditor wondered why participants on "Chopped' use tasting spoons and throw away them away immediately without a second thought. They wrote, "I was watching 'Chopped' and I noticed when the chefs use a spoon to taste a component while they're cooking... they just toss the spoon in the trash can." They added that this feels like an unnecessary waste, especially if the spoons being thrown away are made of metal.
A commenter clarified that this isn't the case — the spoons are not regular flatware, but are in fact small disposable tasting spoons, which "are meant to be used once and tossed for obvious reasons." They also noted that the show's fast-paced environment makes it logistically hard to wash that many tasting spoons every time. The initial Reddit poster wasn't the only "Chopped" viewer happy to learn this information. "I also thought the chefs were throwing out metal silverware as opposed to disposable spoons," another commenter wrote. "[To be honest], I just feel bad for the clean up crew after each round."