HOLLYWOOD—I have said it before and I will said it again, “Tournament of Champions,” the reality food competition series on The Food Network, is one of the most original ideas for a concept in decades. You have a bracket style competition with some of the best chefs in the country going toe-to-toe in a competition where if you win you move on, you lose and you are out. There are no second chances; you better bring your best foot every single time you enter that kitchen.
Guy Fieri, I love him as a host, but can we please stop with them monikers for all the chefs. Not every single chef needs a nickname. The first season or two, it was fun to witness, after 7 seasons, not so much. With that said, I was more intrigued with who these TOP SEEDED ICONS would be entering the tournament for the first time, and man did the first reveal not disappoint, nor did the result. More on that later.
The one thing that “TOC” has to improve on its editing. Some of the battle rounds between some of the chefs are SO OBVIOUS, you know who is going to win before the results are even revealed. It takes the suspense out of it, and I felt that way with 3 of the 4 battles viewers witnessed during the season premiere.
First up, we had Jet Tila vs. Ashleigh Shanti. Pork tenderloin was on the table and me personally, I thought Ashleigh’s dish looked exceptional, while Jet’s dish appeared a bit too messy for my liking. Then you get the editing that just keeps harping on how Jet has come close so many seasons, but hasn’t won, and then we got the slight sob tale of him thinking maybe it’s time for him to hang it up. Jet to be honest, maybe it is indeed time for you to call it quits. The little tinge of doubt made me realize Jet was moving on and Ashleigh was going to be sent home, which is what happened.
The judging, its hit or miss, and I think that is because the same judges are used over and over again. For me, I don’t need to see former champions of “TOC” as judges. It makes things messy for me, and it gets boring seem the same esteemed chefs judge over and over again. I love Alex Guarnaschelli, but she doesn’t have to judge the competition every season. When it comes to judging, you know some faces that I would love to see, how about some Food Network staples like Giada De Laurentis, Bobby Flay, Michael Symon, Geoffrey Zakarian and you can throw in Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto.
These are faces that would be another element to judging not seen up to this point, hell you can even throw in Donatella Arpaia and Jeffrey Steingarten. These are notable names that I think would take the competition series to the next level, we haven’t seen that yet, and I question if we ever will, just an idea to Guy Fieri and other producers on the show.
With that said, the second battle of the night was between No. 3 seeded Tobias Dorzon vs. Claudette Zepeda, where flank steak was expected to be the focal point of the dish. I will admit, after seeing Claudette’s plate I thought it was stellar compared to Dorzon. However, Dorzon’s flavors had the judges in a tizzy for the right reasons.
In the end it was Claudette, who handed Dorzon a loss and sent him packing in the first round. It was bittersweet for Claudette who struggled for a victory in the previous season, so I’m eager to see her journey continue, but sad to see Tobias’ come to an end, but the judging made it apparent who was going to be victorious in that battle. Perhaps the battle that was the most exhilarating as between No. 4 seeded Jonathon Sawyer and No. 5 seeded Karen Akunowicz and lamb shoulder was the focal point, along with fingerling potatoes and the ricer.
Jonathan’s dish looked exquisite, but I thought there was a bit more finesse with Karen’s food. It felt a bit more cohesive for me. This was indeed a nailbiter, and to see her lose by a mere point was devastating. That is what you call phenomenal cooking when the scores between the chefs are a point or two away. That point is the difference from going on to the next round and going home. You know what would shake-up “TOC,” chefs who are booted getting an opportunity to jump back into the tournament. How that could be completed, I’m not quite sure yet.
However, the biggest stunner of the night was the reveal of that icon, the #1 seed that would go toe-to-toe with Aarti Sequeira. When some of the accomplishments started to be revealed, it hit me, “Oh, I know who this icon is. It is MING TSAI!” I almost feel off the couch with the reveal.
This guy is a chef of chefs. His level of technique is one-of-a-kind, and I loved watching him in the third season of “The Next Iron Chef.” I told myself there is no chance Aarti is moving forward, right? As the cooking for the protein that included salmon and utilizing a cooking style of nutty felt like a dagger in the heart to me.
It just felt impossible to do, but Tsai and Aarti found a way, and Tsai’s dish was technically flawless, his one hiccup was the nutty element. He had it in his pesto, but it wasn’t enough compared to Aarti’s flavors and her rice that had cashews riddled throughout it. In a stunner, and by a mere 2 points, Aarti took out a icon literally and is moving to round 2. Yeah, I cannot wait to see Guy reveal WHO the icon was to the other chefs and the fact that Aarti took them down. It will send shockwaves throughout the competition.
My intrigue for the season has been raised because of these icons. I know there is a woman in there, who that person is, I’m not sure, but I don’t think its Cat Cora, as she previously competed in the competition, so whoever it is, its someone I may have never expected. As for the other 2 males, one could hope for a Bobby Flay or Michael Symon. Do I think Bobby would do it? No. There feels like a tension between Guy and Bobby and I’m not sure why, but Symon I could see doing it.
Next week, another big name is revealed. New episodes of “Tournament of Champions” airs Sundays at 8 p.m. on Food Network.
