The 1 Ingredient Laila Ali Felt Challenged by While Competing on Chopped (Exclusive)

Laila Ali is a multi-title-holding champion, but there were a couple of moments during her seasons on Chopped that had the champ almost throwing in the towel.

During an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, the TV personality and retired professional boxer spoke about the new cooking competition show, Chef Grudge Match, that she’ll be hosting.

During each episode, two rival chefs are pitted against each other in head-to-head battles for a $10,000 cash prize, the losing chef’s most coveted knife and lifelong bragging rights.

Reflecting on her own time in the kitchen — having appeared on Chopped in two seasons and Beat Bobby Flay — Ali admits some challenges even had her momentarily stumped. “There have definitely been some [challenges where] I was just like, ‘Man, I wouldn’t want to have to work with that,’ ” she admits. 

Calling Chopped “one of the hardest things I’ve ever done,” the Laila Ali Lifestyle founder recalls the two occasions where she had to work with a whole pig’s head and two full–bodied baby lambs. 

“They gave us a smoked pig’s head, the whole head. I opened that basket, and there was a smoked pig’s head in the basket,” she says. “I don’t even eat pork like that…So I’m like, ‘What am I supposed to do with this?’ ” 

She adds, “They gave me two baby lambs that needed to be butchered. I was stunned for like three minutes before I could even figure out what to do. I just looked to my left, because at that point, I was competing against a Chopped judge, an Iron Chef [Scott Conant]. I was totally out of my weight class.”

Of course, like the “true competitor” she is, she says she saw the professional chef butchering, so she began to do the same.  “There’s always something, but there’s a way to overcome. Just got to stay focused,” says Ali. 

Despite the struggles, Ali ultimately won her seasons of Chopped, being crowned a champion once again. 

Will she competitively get in the kitchen again any time soon? “Yeah, no, I’m good,” says Ali with a laugh. “I think I’m done competing. I’m done competing in the kitchen. I’m going to take my wins and go home.”

Chef Grudge Match will premiere on Aug. 12 at 9 p.m. ET on Food Network and streams next day on HBO Max.