Four cooks are surprised by a Cinco de Mayo theme, and in the first basket, they must grapple with a green pie and a big fish fillet. The fiesta continues in round two when the chefs must work with a cheese blend and a Mexican barbecue specialty, then black beans and chocolate are part of the dessert challenge.

There's romance in the air in the Chopped Kitchen as eight cooking singles are paired up on blind dates! In the first round, the couples get to know each other and the ingredients, which include scallops in the shell and a strange citrus. The six competitors left for round two all decide to grind the protein in the entree basket, and the minimal use of one of the ingredients gives the judges something to discuss. Then, the creme anglaise in the dessert basket seems like a gift for the final two pairs, but neither team makes a dash for the ice cream machine.