Morristown Chef Makes It Far On Chopped's 'Maniacal' Finale

MORRISTOWN, NJ — As if the pressure weren't high enough, Alton Brown turned up the heat on the "Chopped: Alton's Maniacal Baskets" finale by increasing the grand prize from $25,000 to $50,000. South+pine owner Leia Gaccione fell short in a "dead heat" in the final dessert round, but she proved plenty to herself in front of a national audience.

"This proves that I can beat out the craziest of challenges and hold my own," she said, after conquering the challenges in the previous five rounds in two episodes of "Chopped."

Gaccione already set a high standard for Morristown chefs on "Chopped" by winning the preliminary episode, which aired a few weeks ago. Stirling Tavern chef Brandon Campney will carry the torch for Morristown when he competes in an episode airing at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Read more: Dog To Judge Morristown Chef's Food On 'Chopped'

Gaccione made it all the way to the final dessert round in the finals of "Chopped: Alton's Maniacal Baskets." She had survived elimination in the five previous rounds of unconventional ingredients.

In the final round, she and competitor Christina Coupet had to make a dessert out of snack cake wedding cake, durian, kale candy cane and vegan ham.

"Chef Leia, she’s giving me a run for my money," Coupet said. "So I have to up my game in this round and prove to the judges I’m here to win."

Both impressed the judges with their desserts. And the competitors made it through two rounds of challenging ingredients. The competitors needed to make an appetizer out of pickled pig lips, rainbow carrots, gooseneck barnacles and dried yogurt. Then they had to make entrees out of a chocolate-covered onion, capon, fava beans and a roasted lamb head.

The episode is available on Discovery+ and can also be viewed on YouTube for a fee.

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