Mega Chopped Birthday Party

This is the second year we've been invited to a Chopped birthday party. This year, our dear friend was turning 40 which turned the usual laid back Chopped party into a competitive Mega Chopped celebration! 

Chopped is a cooking show. Three chefs compete to make a 3 course meal, one round at a time. The twist: at the beginning of each round, the chefs each get a basket with the same mystery ingredients inside. They have access to a full pantry with fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, grains, sauces and breads. You must use all 3 mystery ingredients in your dish and you only have 30 minutes to do so. You're judged on creativity, use of mystery items and presentation.

This was our pantry for the party:

Last year, I was an appetizer chef, but it wasn't my favorite. This year, I opted to be a dishwasher. I do much better when I'm working behind the scenes. Dan competed against two other chefs who had to make an appetizer with raw tuna. He actually won for his round!! He made a raw tuna and eggs Benedict with avocado spread on crostini drizzled with orange ginger gastrique.

Plating the appetizer round.

Chefs, sous chefs and choppers working together to make magic.

 Mmmmmm.....such great food!

Here we all relaxing after one of the courses, voting on our favs.

 The beautiful hostess, cleaning up from a round of cooking. She knows how to throw a great party!!

You definitely need to have a large-ish kitchen and a group of friends who are great cooks. The perfect way to spend a Saturday celebrating a birthday!