Food Network has announced Chopped, a new reality competition series hosted by former Queer Eye food and wine expert Ted Allen, will premiere Tuesday, January 13 at 10PM ET/PT.

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Each Chopped episode will challenge four up-and-coming chefs to turn a selection of everyday ingredients into a three-course meal.  After each course, one of the contestants will be eliminated until the last one standing wins the episode's $10,000 prize.

Chopped will also feature a weekly rotating panel of judges that includes Alex Guarnaschelli, Aaron Sanchez, and Geoffrey Zakarian.

Allen served as Queer Eye's food and wine expert beginning when the show premiered in July 2003 to when it aired it's final episode last fall. He became a regular on Top Chef's judging panel for the Bravo reality show's Summer 2007 third season and reprised that role for the show's fourth season earlier this year.

This summer, Allen began serving as the host of Food Detectives -- a new Mythbusters-like Food Network series that attempts to debunk food myths.

While a Bravo spokesperson had told Reality TV World last month that Allen hadn't been able to participate in Top Chef's currently airing fifth season due to the show's time commitments, lead judge Tom Colicchio subsequently told reporters during a conference call that Food Network actually disallowed Allen's Top Chef participation.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio
Christopher Rocchio is an entertainment reporter for Reality TV World and has covered the reality TV genre for several years.