Village Gamer

Shaw Media has announced that the popular competitive culinary format, Chopped, will be developed into a Canadian series exclusively for Food Network Canada. Having inked a deal with Knoxville-based Scripps Networks Interactive, the network is partnering with Vancouver’s award-winning Paperny Entertainment on production of the series currently slated to premiere in winter 2014 on Food Network. The national casting call for Chopped Canada begins today, with information available online. (At press time, I checked this link to see where the series is shooting, no info was available for Chopped Canada – hopefully that will change very soon.)

The original Chopped series has consistently been a top performing series on Food Network in Canada since premiering in 2009, continually ranking as a top 10 program on the schedule. The Canadian edition promises to follow a similar formula to the original series, featuring four chefs per episode who must beat the clock to create a dish using a basket full of mystery ingredients. The competition consists of three rounds, challenging competitors to create an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. A panel of judges critique each chef’s offering based on presentation, taste and creativity, sending one chef home at the end of each round until one is named victorious.

“Since its premiere, Chopped has firmly established its position on the Food Network schedule as one of the channel’s most-watched series,” said Barb Williams, SVP Content, Shaw Media. “We’re delighted to bring this popular format to Canada and give it its own local flavour.”

“We are thrilled to produce the Canadian version of the hit series Chopped in collaboration with Shaw Media and Food Network,” says Cal Shumiatcher, Paperny Entertainment. “We’re dedicated to finding Canada’s best chefs to go head-to-head in what will no doubt be a very compelling series.”

Chopped Canada is looking for Canadian professional chefs with a competitive edge. Chopped currently airs Tuesdays at 9pm ET/6pm PT on Food Network Canada.