We’ve all seen a cooking show or 10. They’re mindless and a good way to spend an afternoon and waste time, but they don’t really have any substance, right? Very wrong. There’s one that stands far, far ahead of the rest: Food Network’s "Chopped."

The premise is simple: four chefs are whittled down to one winner through three rounds: the appetizer, the entree and the dessert. The only catch is that the contestants must incorporate the four mystery ingredients provided to them each round. Each round is timed and judged by three well-known and professional chefs who critique the contestants’ ability to utilize the mystery items to creatively present a delicious meal each round. Each episode is self-contained, meaning that you can just hop in on any episode because the contestants are always different. You know that no matter what, there’s always going to be a winner at the end, unlike other cooking shows where the winner isn’t announced until the end of the season.

It really doesn’t get any better than "Chopped." This isn’t mindless stuff, this is quality television. They even have a "Chopped" Canada. There seems to be an endless amount of episodes and a plethora of strange food items that even the contestants are unfamiliar with. It’s fascinating. Not to mention, lessons are learned. The cocky contestants always end up being overly confident which leads to a loss, the insecure contestant always ends up not being risky enough which leads to a loss, and the modest chef who adds just the right amount of pizzaz to each dish ends up being the one who takes the grand prize of $10,000. That’s not to say there isn’t the occasional twist, though. I always end up being surprised with every round. I refuse to believe there’s a single person that wouldn’t love Chopped.

Forget "Grey’s Anatomy," forget "The Office," and may "Chopped" reign forever and ever.