Tournament Of Champions - General Discussion

[desertflower]

I got sucked into this show last season so I’m glad it’s back. I like seeing so many Top Chef people. And I’ve had a crush on Darnell since I first saw him a few years ago on a Thanksgiving show that Giada hosted. He just seems like a sweet guy and I’m rooting for him to go far. 

[Grizzly]

It's been a year since I've heard Tiffani referred to as "Sweet T". Haven't missed it.

[MerBearHou]

4 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

It's been a year since I've heard Tiffani referred to as "Sweet T". Haven't missed it.

Ha!  I thought the exact same thing when Guy said it!

Ugh on Giada being back as a judge.  No, Guy - just no.

I wish TOC had a Live Thread.  

Edited March 7, 2022 by MerBearHou

[GrannySmith]

Giana doesn’t put any food in her mouth, then pretends to chew. 

[Grizzly]

Ugh. Except for Amanda, all the chefs I was rooting for tonight lost. Did Madison really ask Guy to allow his greens to be judged? Would he do that on Chopped? I love Aaron May and Brian Malarky annoys the heck out of me. So that half hour was incredibly disappointing. Hate how Alex had her hair in those horns. In the show right after, the chef cut of Alex vs America, her hair is so pretty.

[Bastet]

Goddamn, Guy, shut up with the stupid nicknames.  Okay, that sentence can just stop at "Goddamn, Guy, shut up".

I didn't get home until about halfway through Tiffani vs. Bryan, so I missed whatever happened with Madison, but I'm glad Amanda won.  I'm also very glad Tiffani won her round, but now when it comes to Tiffani vs. Amanda, I'm going to again be torn, as I generally root for both.

Malarkey bugged me on Top Chef, so I was rooting for the other guy.  Alas. 

Brooke is one of my TC favorites and I don't know anything about Crista, so I was definitely rooting for Brooke, but that was a tough round thanks to the randomizer.  Once I saw Crista's pork, I knew Brooke had it in the bag.  Let her please wipe the floor with Malarkey next round.

Can they please ditch Giada as a judge?  I cannot take seriously the feedback of someone who eats about five bites of food per day.

[GaT]

2 hours ago, Bastet said:

I missed whatever happened with Madison, but I'm glad Amanda won. 

She didn't actually win, Madison was disqualified because he didn't get all the ingredients on the plate in time, so Amanda technically won the match. It's not the same as winning though IMO. I thought Guy handled it well, he made sure that Amanda wouldn't take any blame for not letting Madison put the food on the plates, & explained why he couldn't.

[cameron]

7 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Ugh. Except for Amanda, all the chefs I was rooting for tonight lost. Did Madison really ask Guy to allow his greens to be judged? Would he do that on Chopped? I love Aaron May and Brian Malarky annoys the heck out of me. So that half hour was incredibly disappointing. Hate how Alex had her hair in those horns. In the show right after, the chef cut of Alex vs America, her hair is so pretty.

Same here regarding Alex's bizarre hairstyle and she never should be photograph from the straight on angle.  Not a good look on her.

[Ellee]

Alex and Giada again?  
 

Madison didn’t even move when it was time to start ….

[roughing it]

How can Giada judge when she barely places a teensy bit of food onto her tongue?  Oh right, she just repeats what Waxman just said.  

[JTMacc99]

Just a gut feeling here, but I think Amanda's perfect cutlet was going to win over raw pork had Madison got his food on the plate. 

 

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, roughing it said:

How can Giada judge

and again, some shade thrown her way. Tiffany said "who writes 18 (or whatever) cook books?" "Oh, GIADA writes 18 cook books."

Not-- Giada writes the BEST cookbooks. Or Giada is such a tremendous cook. 

You know who *does* write really good cook books (IMHO)? Ina Garten. Though (probably like Giada- though I've never read *her* books) oriented toward a home cook who doesn't want to screw things up, but wants something nice to present. 

[Ohmo]

Giada bugs me, too.

I like Tiffani.  I don't mind at all that she won.  However, I would have liked to see Bryan win.

I've liked both Voltaggio brothers ever since they did that series where they both mentored younger chefs as they competed.

[candall]

1 hour ago, roughing it said:

How can Giada judge when she barely places a teensy bit of food onto her tongue?  Oh right, she just repeats what Waxman just said.  

All she does is note whether she likes it, which she invariably does.  "Ooh!  I like it!"  She has yet to make any original observation that would convey the flavor profile of the dish to viewers. 

Putting Giada next to Jonathan Waxman is a joke; please hustle her out of there before Nancy Silverton shows up.

******

I kind of hate to be snide, because Crista Luedtke is quite spunky, but knocking it out of the park on Guy's Grocery Games does not qualify you as a "champion," a "titan," or "epic."

******

I'm bored with these short first rounds.  The wheel only has 25, 30 and 35 minutes, which I hope will change when the bracket shrinks.  I want to see what top competitive chefs can do in decent-length rounds with more inspired proteins.

******

I couldn't stand Brian Malarkey's SHOUTING!!  I almost skipped his segment.  Are there people in the world who enjoy someone screaming at them?

 

I don't know why this is a whole series of complaints about a show I actually enjoy a great deal.  Next week I'll try to be more positive. : )

[Maverick]

 Malarkey is a loon.  A straight up looney tune.  He may be a good chef, but somethin ain't right there.

 Tiffani is not a fav.  I can tolerate her, generally but would have preferred a Volt win.

 Was Madison on something?   He was moving slow the whole time, Justin kept trying to speed him up, he grabbed a hot tray with bare hands, he kept plating after it was clear the clock hit zero and Guy called time and then tried to ask for a loophole out.   He just seemed very off.  

[Ohmo]

54 minutes ago, candall said:

I kind of hate to be snide, because Crista Luedtke is quite spunky, but knocking it out of the park on Guy's Grocery Games does not qualify you as a "champion," a "titan," or "epic."

I didn't mind Crista at first.  Nothing wrong with being bold and confident.  However, bold and confident quickly became cocky.  After about her third "when I win" comment, I wanted Brooke to crush her.

[mlp]

Poor Amanda.  I wanted her to win but not like that - no actual win and no bragging rights.  I've always thought that Madison is a bit smarmy but I didn't want to see anyone go down in that way.  I thought Guy handled the situation quite well.

I like both Aaron May and Brian Malarkey so I would have been happy with either winning.  Malarkey is an accomplished chef and an astute businessman so I think his manic persona is part shtick.  I don't usually like yelling and carrying on but, for some reason, he makes me laugh.  I like him.

I like Bryan Voltaggio and I can't stand Tiffani so I was really disappointed by that round.  I'm not crazy about Christa but I also can't stand Brooke so I wasn't happy after that round either although I figured Brooke would win after I saw the way each treated the pork.

Guy seems to be doing less yelling and he isn't giving everyone stupid nicknames like in previous years.  He's dressed a bit better too.  Maybe he's read some reviews or maybe he decided that the contestants deserve a little respect.

 

[roughing it]

8 minutes ago, mlp said:

I've always thought that Madison is a bit smarmy but I didn't want to see anyone go down in that way.  I thought Guy handled the situation quite well.

There's no way Guy could allow Madison a "gimme".  Guy has a lot of friends here, so he has to strictly abide by the rules to avoid any accusation of playing favorites.  If he allowed Madison any leeway, he would have to do that for everyone.  

[Mondrianyone]

47 minutes ago, mlp said:

Guy seems to be doing less yelling and he isn't giving everyone stupid nicknames like in previous years.  He's dressed a bit better too.  Maybe he's read some reviews or maybe he decided that the contestants deserve a little respect.

And he also seems to be dishing out much smaller portions of Hunter, which is good.

[Darian]

Malarkey works every nerve I have. I mean. I know Guy can be a LOT but he's never annoyed me, so that tells you where my bar for "completely obnoxious" is. Guy's below it, and Malarkey is far above it. I like Tiffani and and both Voltaggios so I would have been happy either way.

I don't think anyone felt good about how Madison went out. I feel like no matter who those present were rooting for and every chef including Amanda felt it like a gut punch. He didn't start right away but it didn't seem like he wasn't aware time had started, He was was slow to move. And he was off from how I've seen him in the past. I wonder if he wasn't feeling well or was just having a brain fog day.  

 

[Guest]

I thought it was weird how, during Amanda and Madison's bout, they showed Tiffani watching and commenting from a trailer or wherever, since she might be facing the winner. But they didn't show Bryan V. (Tiffani's "future" opponent) doing the same thing, even though he theoretically could be facing the winner, too. It was almost as if the Tiffani/Bryan bout had happened before the Amanda/Madison bout, so Tiffani was already through and knew she would be facing the winner (like they did with Malarkey later).

I have no idea why they would show the bouts out of order, but it was almost telegraphing the fact that Tiffani was going to win, since Bryan wasn't shown (unless I missed him completely).

[Catfi9ht]

Not a fan of Madison. I remember there being a dust up about him on Chopped a while ago, but it broke my heart for him to go out that way. When they showed him at the end with his hands all bandaged up, I started to tear up. It looked like he burned his right hand really badly. I hope it's not that bad and he makes a full recovery.

I agree with everyone's comments about Hunter's lack of charisma, but I have sympathy for him. He seems like he has oldest kid syndrome and is trying to please his dad by working along side him. I can't imagine being a kid of a famous person and always trying to live up to that same expectation. The constant, intense scrutiny would send me to the psych ward. As a contrast, Ryder has youngest kid syndrome and is nowhere near the shows except maybe once or twice a year.

I thought last year's show was super padded. I'm glad they trimmed everything significantly this season. It might even be a tad fast, but I'd rather have slightly too fast than be a slog.

I'm glad there's some new people I haven't seen. I don't watch Top Chef and watch Chopped rarely. I think there's a good mix of people I know and people I don't.

On a silly note, I thought Simon looked like Mr. Banks from Mary Poppins when he was wearing the brown suit. 😂

[susannot]

5 hours ago, candall said:

I

Malarkey has not changed one bit since his very first appearance on Top Chef.  Delays everyone by selecting 1000 ingredients. Check.  Tries to put them all on the plate.  Check.  Runs around manically shouting.  Check.  Plays to the audience like PT Barnum. Check.  I was surprised that this time, he actually won.

 

I knew that Brooke's opponent would lose when she put that tough pork in the pressure cooker whole.

[Ohmo]

3 hours ago, Darian said:

He was was slow to move.

Also, Tiffani was watching on the monitor and talked about how big the piece of meat was that Madison was trying to cook.  I like watching cooking competition shows, but I can't cook.  That piece of meat looked large to me, and then she said it.  He seemed off not only in speed, but also in the decisions that he made.

[Maverick]

 Christa was not pleasant to watch.   I'm not a Brooke fan (was mostly indifferent to her on Top Chef, find her annoying now) so I was hoping she'd lose but then Crista decided she was the shit and I was kinda glad she lost.  Overreacting to positive comments you receive is one thing, but practically fistpumping because your opponent is getting dinged is tacky.   

[susannot]

Yes, Christa was a very poor sport, Did not like her at all, Guy.

 

I apologize for saying Malarkey selected 1000 ingredients and held everyone else up.  Actually, he did exactly that on ANOTHER cooking show I had on in the background today, Guy's Tournament of All Star Champions or whatever.  All the other chefs complained when they got held up in line behind Malarkey because they had a time deadline.  These shows tend to run together in my mind.

[kirklandia]

During that sneak peek - the brief glimpse of judges spiffing up before they reported for duty - I was sure I saw  someone spraying herself with perfume.  Who immerses themselves in scent before stepping out to taste - and judge - food?
(One of my pet peeves. I can't even stand it when another restaurant patron does it.) 
Hmm, maybe they already knew that the judges would not actually be needed for the first competition…

Edited March 8, 2022 by kirklandia

[Maverick]

9 minutes ago, kirklandia said:

During that sneak peek - the brief glimpse of judges spiffing up before they reported for duty - I was sure I saw  someone spraying herself with perfume.  Who immerses themselves in scent before stepping out to taste - and judge - food?

 Giada.

[roseslg]

I feel like the producer asks questions and asks the cheftestants to play up the rivalry a bit or to trash talk. Through every battle they talk about taking the other chef out/revenge/they are the best etc.  It's annoying, but I think the show itself hypes it up.

 

Also, what was Giada's hands in her pocket? I mean, she would take a taste and then put her hands in her pocket when giving commentary.

[schnauzergirl]

I fell in love with Madison when he first appeared on Chopped, but over the years that changed and I'm not sure why.  He seemed to become -- in the words of a saying I don't hear often now -- full of himself.  Something beyond self-confidence.  I know this isn't the clearest explanation, but there it is.  On Sunday it seemed he thought, until the last couple of minutes, that he was master of the clock.  I certainly wish him well and he clearly injured his hands.  Felt bad for Amanda and was impressed by the way Guy handled the situation.  Aaron is a favorite so I wasn't happy he lost to Brian.  As for Brooke, for all her formidable cooking chops, to me she comes across as entitled.  

[Harry24]

42 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

I fell in love with Madison when he first appeared on Chopped, but over the years that changed and I'm not sure why.  He seemed to become -- in the words of a saying I don't hear often now -- full of himself.  

I had the same experience.  A poster upthread used the word “smarmy,” and I think that’s at least part of it.  Also ... where the hell does he cook?  He isn’t at a restaurant for all I can find, and I’m not sure he ever was.  Unless he does other competitions that I don’t watch, this seems like his one time doing public cooking all year!  No wonder he crashed and burned.

[Ellee]

I must be the only one. I thought this was planned. All of it. 

[Guest]

I cringed when, right after getting eliminated by default, Guy shook Madison's hand. They weren't bandaged yet, so Guy probably didn't realize they had gotten burned, but still. Ouch! Hopefully the adrenaline and shock were still going strong so Madison didn't feel anything.

[Ohmo]

3 hours ago, roseslg said:

I feel like the producer asks questions and asks the cheftestants to play up the rivalry a bit or to trash talk.

I understand that, but Christa went beyond that, in my opinion.  It was cocky, not confident.  She was taking about Brooke who has won TOC AND been runner-up last year) as though Christa was going to wipe the floor with Brooke.  As the saying goes, Christa was running her mouth with checks her cooking couldn't cash.

[Rammchick]

7 hours ago, Harry24 said:

I had the same experience.  A poster upthread used the word “smarmy,” and I think that’s at least part of it.  Also ... where the hell does he cook?  He isn’t at a restaurant for all I can find, and I’m not sure he ever was.  Unless he does other competitions that I don’t watch, this seems like his one time doing public cooking all year!  No wonder he crashed and burned.

And here I thought I was the only one.  I watched Madison on another show where he was an absolute ass, and it totally changed how I felt about him.  I did notice, however, how many of the chefs appear to like him, so maybe it's just the way he's coming across on TV.  In any event, I'm sorry he burned himself, but if Guy had allowed him to plate those greens, I would have turned this show off for good.

[Ohmo]

8 hours ago, Ellee said:

I must be the only one. I thought this was planned. All of it.

I don't think that.  Food Network and HGTV do take licenses to be sure, but for all of that to be staged would be deception.  That goes too far beyond license.  That would mean that Madison either didn't burn his hands, or they allowed him to burn his hands.  I don't see either happening.

Amping up or embellishing the drama, absolutely!  Completely creating an entirely false scenario would not be good for the network if that ever came out.

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, Ohmo said:

I understand that, but Christa went beyond that, in my opinion.  It was cocky, not confident.  She was taking about Brooke who has won TOC AND been runner-up last year) as though Christa was going to wipe the floor with Brooke.  As the saying goes, Christa was running her mouth with checks her cooking couldn't cash.

Yeah, I thought it was excessive.  Brooke has been on Top Chef twice, winning once and coming in second once, and on this show twice, winning once and coming in second once.  So not only is she very successful as a chef, she is very successful as a competitor on cooking shows against other very accomplished chefs.  Anyone acting like they were going to waltz in and leave her standing in the dust would be ridiculous.  And I think Crista continued the I'm gonna go all the way boasting after significantly fucking up her pork.  At some point, you're just embarrassing yourself.

[anniebird]

Did anyone ever explain why Liz Faulkner had to compete to come back in season 2 and none of the other season 1 chefs did?

[roughing it]

15 hours ago, anniebird said:

Did anyone ever explain why Liz Faulkner had to compete to come back in season 2 and none of the other season 1 chefs did?

I never heard an explanation.  However I've not seen Liz ever win a competition in TOC, Next Iron Chef or in Guy's Grocery Games (the only other places I've seen her) unless I missed it, so maybe those losses caused her ranking to drop lower. 

Edited March 9, 2022 by roughing it

[anniebird]

What was up with all the snootiness about toaster ovens? If you have a good toaster oven on your counter you literally have an extra oven in your kitchen - one that preheats in 90 seconds. 

And Giada is hilarious - her comments are all, "That looks so pretty!", and "That smells so good!" because she never actually eats anything. She's a waste of space as a judge.  

[Maverick]

 I forgot about the toaster oven thing.  That was mainly Brooke being snotty about it.  I mean it's not a microwave (which while not usually good for cooking still have their value) so I don't understand why she was so uppity about it.  It was like those " I don't even have a TV much less watch it" types.  The only time I like Christa the whole challenge was when she was all "a toaster oven is no big deal, I have one". 

[roughing it]

2 hours ago, Maverick said:

 I forgot about the toaster oven thing.  That was mainly Brooke being snotty about it. 

It was one of the previous seasons where they had to use a hand mixer.  And I *think* it was Brooke that said she didn't even know what a hand mixer was!!  Oh the lauded life of a chef!!  Can't use the utensils of the lowly home cooks!  Snob.

[anniebird]

2 hours ago, Maverick said:

 I forgot about the toaster oven thing.  That was mainly Brooke being snotty about it.  I mean it's not a microwave (which while not usually good for cooking still have their value) so I don't understand why she was so uppity about it.  It was like those " I don't even have a TV much less watch it" types.  The only time I like Christa the whole challenge was when she was all "a toaster oven is no big deal, I have one". 

Guy kept saying it too.

I had a friend who was so proud of not owning a TV and everyone knew it except she saw every single movie and TV show on some other device. 

[xaxat]

Guy is not doing Hunter any favors allowing him to have continued screen time. The producers don't trust him to say much more than a single sentence any time he appears (that was true of his Chance of a Lifetime show as well). If Guy wants him in the family business, he might be better off becoming an executive at Guy's corporation.

I know too many of these chefs. I watch too much competition cooking shows.

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by xaxat

[MyMaui]

I wanted Christa to win but after seeing her and how she acted I am fine with how it ended, even though I wanted Brooke to lose. Darn it May, you should have beaten that loud mouth (I refuse to say his name because he is just so annoying).

Bryan V I was hoping he would win but seeing how much Tiffany is on Food Network now I knew he wouldn't. Her and Food Network Winner Christian they are all over Chopped (and him on GGG) now so I bet they go far.

I'm just jaded and think some go ahead on their appearances with some of these. 

[Stardancer Supreme]

I really like Bryan Voltaggio, but he is not suited for competition cooking.  It's cute that he wanted to go against his brother, but Michael is a serious cutthroat when it comes to competition style cooking. Bryan might be better off being a judge.

I wonder what happened to Madison Cowan. It was a shame to see him going out like that.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Stardancer Supreme

[dleighg]

44 minutes ago, Stardancer Supreme said:

I really like Bryan Voltaggio, but he is not suited for competition cooking.

I really like him too- but I think it's more correct to say he's not suited to Quickfire/short time cooking. He came in second on Top Chef AND Top Chef Masters AND Top Chef All Stars after all. I think he does much better when he has hours and hours to plan and cook.

[Rammchick]

17 minutes ago, dleighg said:

I really like him too- but I think it's more correct to say he's not suited to Quickfire/short time cooking. He came in second on Top Chef AND Top Chef Masters AND Top Chef All Stars after all. I think he does much better when he has hours and hours to plan and cook.

Poor Bryan.  Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.

[roseslg]

I also think Volt East is a bit traditional. The judges tend to want different and exciting and that's more Volt West.

[Ohmo]

Bryan's a great mentor.  Michael too.  That's why I dug Battle of the Brothers.  They both really tried to instruct and help those chefs grow.  I'm sure there was some TV magic, but their efforts felt genuine.  That series completely changed my opinion of Michael.  I thought he was an arrogant ass on TOC II.

I hate the Voice, but if Food Network ever did a competition show with mentoring, call Bryan and Michael.