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E xpect tempers to flare, tears to be shed and trash to be talked when Food Network's newest four-part tournament of "Chopped" begins Thursday, Oct. 22. "Chopped: Impossible" brings back 12 "Chopped" champions to compete against one another in a four-part tournament that features the show's traditional ingredient baskets. The three chefs that emerge victorious from the first trio of episodes advance to the finale, where one will win $15,000 and the chance to go up against chef Robert Irvine, one of the series' judges, in a wild-card round and possible earn another $25,000. On the panel of judges with Irvine are Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant, Amanda Freitag, Alex Guarnaschelli, Aaron Sanchez, Chris Santos and Geoffrey Zakarian. Ted Allen is the host. "I don't have to be nice," Irvine says of his role as competitor. "It's a competition to go against me. I smack talk a lot with the people in a very professional manner, critique the way I would critique any restaurant or any chef and expect the same back. You know, it's not a one-way street. So it's the voice of a chef going against the voice of a chef and everybody has an opinion, so the pressure, I can tell you, is literally like a pressure cooker and I mean that. I wouldn't be surprised if you saw some tears, you saw some frustration or some anger." The degree of difficulty is also ramped up here, as the infamous baskets contain even more bizarre and incongruous ingredients. In the premiere episode, that means whipped topping, offal and something called "stinky cookies." "They have the toughest baskets that I've ever seen," Irvine says, "and rightly so because these guys are professional chefs, they're all champions and the like. But it's just a very intense competition from day one. "And it's interesting," he continues, "any competition, everybody's nice and friendly at the beginning and they all laugh and joke and talk and kiss and talk and, you know, make up. And then you see as the competition goes on and it gets tougher, they're not so nice because they all want to win. This is a big prize. It's $40,000 total if you win against me and bragging rights till you beat me." What book are you currently reading? "I'm reading 'Fit Fuel,' my new book that I wrote. It just launched. ... It's a chef 's guide to being healthy but a contract with yourself." What did you have for dinner last night? "I had roast chicken and mashed potatoes in (Washington), D.C., at the Wardman Park hotel. I was actually cooking a dinner. I had chicken, they had steak." What is your next project? "I have a food line that's in the military. I have a food line that's in retail and I'm just about to launch a clothing line, an athletic clothing line, to retail and all the proceeds go into my 501C3 charity that I work with Gary Sinise on to build homes for our wounded warriors, our veterans." When was the last vacation you took, where and why? "My last vacation was in Aruba last year with my wife at Christmas for 11 days. It was amazing. I stayed at the Radisson there and, oh my goodness, what an amazing place. Amazing people. It's great. Love it." Irvine ramps up the pressure on Food Network's 'Chopped: Impossible' BY GEORGE DICKIE Page 8 October 19 - 25, 2015 Look to Monday's Food Section for all your grocery shopping needs. Nobody Covers Your Hometown Better! • Carpet • Vinyl • Ceramic Mon.-Fri. 8-5 • Sat. 9-1 65669 US 33 East • Goshen 642-4770 TOLL FREE 1-877-642-4770 Area's Largest Selection of Remnants Large Inventory of Carpet, Laminate, Vinyl, and Luxury Vinyl Tiles! On or Off-Site Catering All Occasions Dine under the glow of gas lanterns Breakfast and Lunch Meals also available Open Tuesday through Saturday OEC Super Buffet 4024 Elkhart Rd Goshen IN 46526 Tel: 574-875-1298 Elk Lunch Monday-Friday 11am-3pm Adult $7.25 Children 2 years old $1.99 3-6 years old $3.50 7-10 years old $5.00 *Saturday Lunch $7.75 Dinner Monday-Friday 3pm-9:30 pm Adult $10.75 Children 2 years old $2.99 3-6 years old $4.50 7-10 years old $6.00 *Sunday Dinner Price ALL DAY $10.75 SENIOR DISCOUNT 10% PRICE Ladies Night out Oct. 29, 2015 Greencroft Goshen Community Center

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