SoBe Wine and Food Fest regular Aaron Sanchez gears up for fall

By Madeleine Marr9/17/2012

Despite the blood, sweat and tears (literally!) Food Network’s Chopped keeps churning along. One of the main judges, Latin chef Aarón Sanchez, thinks he knows why. “We have a conclusion. You’re not waiting for six weeks to see who America’s next knucklehead is,’’ he says, laughing.

“After 22 minutes [with commercials], someone’s walking out the door with $10,000. That’s instant gratification.” Despite the odd concoctions that have been laid out at the table, the New York restaurateur (Centrico) swears he has never gotten ill. "At this point, I have a stomach of steel. I eat just about everything," he says, adding: “There’s stuff we won’t touch because a cook had sweat or bled on it."

OK, onto more appetizing topics....Sanchez has teamed up with popchips, which have come out with tortilla chips, for Sunday football tailgating parties.

Think: Grilled Chicken Cemitas and Garlic-Chipotle Love with salsa tortilla popchips and Goose Island 312; Ceviche with the chili limón version and Bud Light; Crab Dip with ranch style and Stella; and All-Beef Chile Colorado with nacho cheese.

We can hear the crunching already.

For more ideas go to http://www.foodnetwork.com/aaroacuten-sanchez/recipes

Info on what other cool stuff you can do, go to www.popchips.com