CHOPPED! In the Classroom
As the end of the semester is approaching it's almost time for finals! My Foods 1 class does a classroom version of the Food Network tv show, CHOPPED!.
If you've never seen CHOPPED! before here's a quick run through of how the show works. (I've attached a video of the show in case you're interested.) 4 chefs compete in a culinary battle. The kicker is that each chef gets a surprise basket of ingredients. The baskets are the same for all 4 contestants but until they open the basket they don't know what's inside. The contestants have a time limit to complete a culinary dish using the surprise ingredients. After each round a set of judges "chops" one contestant until all four rounds are complete and there is only a winner left.
- Students can use any ingredients in the allotted cupboards, fridge, and freezer.
- All surprise ingredients must be used in some manner in their final dish.
- 3 judges (2 other teachers and myself) Will be judging their dishes to determine the winner.
- Students must use Myplate guidelines.
- Plating is a part of the rubric.
My students love to use creativity to come up with their own ideas in order to create their final. I prefer this project to any written final because the students get use all of the lab knowledge they've gained through out the semester to create something that is their own.
I've included some results from previous years of giving this final. I hope you enjoy testing this project with your own students. I'm looking forward to doing it again in a few weeks!
If you've never seen CHOPPED! before here's a quick run through of how the show works. (I've attached a video of the show in case you're interested.) 4 chefs compete in a culinary battle. The kicker is that each chef gets a surprise basket of ingredients. The baskets are the same for all 4 contestants but until they open the basket they don't know what's inside. The contestants have a time limit to complete a culinary dish using the surprise ingredients. After each round a set of judges "chops" one contestant until all four rounds are complete and there is only a winner left.
I always purchase a full episode off of Youtube to show my students before their final to ensure that every student understands the concept of the final.
I also show them a slideshow that covers the rules of their final.
- No cellphones
- All cooking and cleaning must be completely finished during the time allotted.
- Once each group gives me an idea of what they plan to do they may use a computer to look up things such as temperature, time to cook, etc.
- Each group member must take part in the preparation of their final product.- Students can use any ingredients in the allotted cupboards, fridge, and freezer.
- All surprise ingredients must be used in some manner in their final dish.
- 3 judges (2 other teachers and myself) Will be judging their dishes to determine the winner.
- Students must use Myplate guidelines.
- Plating is a part of the rubric.
My students love to use creativity to come up with their own ideas in order to create their final. I prefer this project to any written final because the students get use all of the lab knowledge they've gained through out the semester to create something that is their own.
I've included some results from previous years of giving this final. I hope you enjoy testing this project with your own students. I'm looking forward to doing it again in a few weeks!
I LOVE CHOPPED! It's so awesome to see that you've used a television show to inspire your students' creativity. I also love that you have them use the MyPlate guidelines to encourage healthy eating. Your class seems so cool! I teach at a charter school so we don't have the resources for cooking class, but I think it's something that every kiddo should learn. I am looking forward to hearing more about your classroom in the next few days!
ReplyDeleteChopped is such a good show! I love how you used it in your class. It's good that you show students real life applications in your classroom. Our family and consumer science teacher shows her classes Chopped episodes too, and also uses the MyPlate guidelines. Looking at those pictures though is starting to make me hungry!
ReplyDeleteMy parents love this show! They watch it all the time. I think it's really neat how you incorporated this into your class. What you described sounds like a really cool project for the kids. Every kid should know how to cook! It is very sensible that this is a final project. Music is the same way, the performance to me matters more than what they can show in a written test. We sing and play more than we write! What types of surprise foods have you done in the past?
ReplyDeleteAs I get ready to start this again I've been trying to remember and I'm having a hard time! I remember using canned apples and pork chops along with two other ingredients once. I think I've done ribs and soda with another two ingredients once. This will be the 20th time in 5 years I'm giving this final.
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