Three words that drive me right up the wall:  "What's for dinner?" I hear them daily, anywhere from two to six times, and often they are the first greeting I receive. We are working on that.

Perhaps that is why I have become a fan of the television show Chopped. The concept revolves around four chefs competing against each other in a three-round competition. Each one receives identical baskets of unconventional mystery ingredients, such as an unusual fish or rattlesnake, puffed rice cereal, and root beer jelly beans, which they must incorporate into a course -- appetizer, entree or dessert. One chef is eliminated -- or chopped -- after each course, leaving a winner at the end of the show.

I find it fascinating how these chefs are able to take such an offbeat assortment of ingredients and through the use of typical pantry and fridge items, develop such interesting dishes. Sometimes it inspires me for my own creations -- not that we happen to have rattlesnake meat on hand ...

On Sunday I watched the Chopped All-Stars challenge, which followed the premise of the regular show but featured some well-known celebrity chefs, including those that are regularly featured as judges on Chopped. I noticed that not only were the mystery ingredients more challenging -- rabbit kidneys, goat leg, canned haggis and dried hibiscus flowers, anyone? -- but I also saw a difference in attitude and conduct among the contestants.

On the regular show, there always seems to be "that one in the crowd" ... he or she is going to "wipe the floor" with the other competitors because he/she "clearly is the better chef and deserves to win", not only the title of Chopped Champion but the $10,000 prize.

However, on the All-Stars show, the competitors were going after a $50,000 donation to the charity of their choice; for some, the charity was deeply personal ... and the contestants could not have been nicer, both in attitude and in actions.  

These were TOUGH competitors with high standards. Meticulous in their actions, it was very clear they were well aware they were competing to represent their reputations. With such an odd variety of ingredients, they truly were reaching deep down and outside of the box in order to bring an outstanding level of creativity to the table; as one chef said, he "... did not want to go down in flames here!" However, despite such an intense level of competition, the camaraderie, courtesy and respect they felt for one another was very evident. 

For example, for one dessert round, the two top chefs coincidentally chose to make souffles. While there was some teasing over who took all of the eggs, at the very last seconds, one chef dusted his dish with powdered sugar and then casually and silently handed it over to the other chef -- his competitor -- knowing he would need to add the same detail to his dessert as well.  

Despite the competition, they worked together. It was an outstanding example of mutual respect.