The Ultimate 2026 Guide to Watching ‘Chopped Castaways’
Stream the latest culinary survival challenge! Learn how to watch ‘Chopped Castaways’ with Sling, and get season updates, survival tips, and more in our complete guide.
Ever wonder how a professional chef would survive on a desert island, cooking in a kitchen with no walls, no electricity, and a mystery basket full of island forage? Food Network’s latest series, Chopped Castaways, brings that idea to life, and it’s no fantasy island. Building on the success of its long-running hit series Chopped, this new spinoff takes the competition to a tropical island where survival skills are just as important as culinary technique. It’s Chopped meets Discovery’s Naked & Afraid, but with more clothes. With new episodes premiering on Tuesday, May 12 at 9pm ET on Food Network, here’s your guide on how to watch with Sling.
How to Watch ‘Chopped Castaways’ with Sling
New episodes of Chopped Castaways air on Food Network, which is available on Sling with a subscription to Sling Orange or Sling Blue. You can also catch episodes commercial-free by adding a subscription to discovery+ to your Sling account.
To watch new episodes of Chopped Castaways live on Food Network, and revisit classic Chopped episodes on-demand, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange!
What is ‘Chopped Castaways’ About?
According to a press release, Chopped Castaways sends “12 elite chefs on a remote island, where survival skills are just as critical as culinary talent. Battling the elements across two grueling cooking rounds each week, competitors must build a working kitchen from basic supplies, earn their signature Chopped ingredient baskets through intense physical challenges, and cook entirely over open fire.”
Desert island skills will also come into play, as “each episode opens with survival-driven physical challenges—such as archery, spearfishing, diving in the ocean and digging in the sand—to secure ingredients for round one.” Like Survivor, the eight-episode season begins as a team competition, before eliminations whittle the competition down to a handful of individuals who compete for a $100k grand prize.
Chopped host Ted Allen returns for the new series (presumably staying in much nicer digs than the competitors). Gabe Bertaccini, Maneet Chauhan and Marcus Samuelsson have been tapped as judges, “offering guidance while deciding who advances—and who is chopped.”
Who are the Chefs Appearing on ‘Chopped Castaways”?
Many of the competitors will look familiar to those who have been filling up on Food Network competition series. They are:
- Chef Aidan Barry Owens - Culinary director of Herb & Sea and Herb & Wood in San Diego. While this is Owens’ first food competition, Food Network notes that, “since he was raised on a small Australian farm to grow, raise and butcher his own food, he’s prepped and ready.”
- Chef Ara Zada - Zada is a chef and content creator who has appeared on PBS’ No Passport and Recipe Lost and Found on Magnolia Network.
- Chef Carrie Baird - Executive chef and owner of Fox and the Hen in Denver, Colorado, and former Top Chef contestant/judge, as well as one of the few to Beat Bobby Flay.
- Chef Cate Meade - A private chef from Chicago, Illinois, Meade the final four in MasterChef Season 8, and appeared on MasterChef All-Stars.
- Chef Dwight Hudgins - The self-described “Dreaded Fisherman,” this is the first food competition for the Largo, Florida native.
- Chef Hannah Flora - A private chef and columnist for Golf Kitchen, Flora finished runner-up in season 23 of Hell’s Kitchen.
- Chef James Peck - Owner of restaurants Ember and the Four Pears in Northampton, England, Peck appeared on the BBC show Chef’s Brigade.
- Chef Jean-Paul Bourgeois - This Thibodeaux, Louisiana native has experience in-front of the camera in Beat Bobby Flay and behind it as executive producer of Duck Camp Dinners on the Outdoor Channel.
- Chef Logan Sandoval - Chef and owner of Zef BBQ in Simi Valley, California, Sandoval is a Food Network regular, having appeared on BBQ Brawl, Raid the Fridge and Supermarket Stakeout.
- Chef Paulette Tejada - “A celebrity private chef in New York City, where she cooks up international cuisine in high-pressure environments,” this is Tejada’s first food competition.
- Chef Stephen Kina - “Chef Steph” owns 406 BBQ in Kalispell, Montana, which focuses on “Hawaiian and Asian fusion with a side of flames.”
- Chef Sunny Moody - Pitmaster and owner of Moodswing Barbecue and Grilled Fit in Nashville, Tennessee, Moody has appeared on BBQ Brawl and BBQ USA.
The Evolution of 'Chopped': A Journey to 2026
https://youtu.be/Yvq1pvAR-Bg?si=B-9ldQAY-pta8n-L
As an evergreen title, Chopped has seen many iterations, from Chopped: Julia Child’s Kitchen to this latest survivalist challenge. The series continues to dominate Food Network by constantly reinventing its core competition format.
Other Chopped spin-offs available with Sling include:
- Chopped After Hours - 39 episodes
- Chopped Junior - 96 episodes
- Chopped Sweets - 27 episodes
- Chopped Canada - 39 episodes
- Chopped Next Gen - 6 episodes
You can also watch more than 800 episodes of the original Chopped series on-demand with Food Network on Sling.
To watch season 1 of Chopped Castaways with Sling, use the link below to subscribe to Sling Orange!