Tournament of Champions - Season 6 Discussion Thread

[cameron]

Nancy Silverton  gets the award for most bizarre outfit last night.  She even beat out Marcus Samuelson for the honor.

[Rammchick]

It's ironic that Tobias, as a Number 1 seed, got knocked out by David, the Number 8 seed.  That's how his road to Number 1 started.

[bad things are bad]

Damn. Amanda. 

Hate Carlos 

[lgandkihei]

I loathe Carlos SO MUCH!!! 

I know he trained at the knee of Brian Malarkey, and Malarkey is mighty damned obnoxious himself, but I feel it's kind of like he (Brian) is playing a character and the over-the-top behavior is just his schtick.  In my opinion, he's sort of laughing at himself even as he does it, and underneath it, I guess I think he's basically harmless.

Carlos, on the other hand, is deadly serious and truly believes that he's God's gift to cheffery.  His egotism is completely out of control, and he gets worse all the time.  I want him off my TV forever!  Please stop carting him out to all these shows, because he's repulsive.

I like Amanda, and I'd probably be rooting for her regardless, but I was crushed when that smug little asshat won over her!  I was actually yelling at my TV, and I woke up my poor dogs!  Luckily, they both hate Carlos too, so when I explained all the noise, they forgave me and went happily back to snoozeville.

On a side note, they can keep Nancy Silverton off my TV forever, too.  To me, she's always trying way too hard to be so cool and edgy, and I'm not impressed by her at all.

 

 

[cameron]

48 minutes ago, lgandkihei said:

I loathe Carlos SO MUCH!!! 

I know he trained at the knee of Brian Malarkey, and Malarkey is mighty damned obnoxious himself, but I feel it's kind of like he (Brian) is playing a character and the over-the-top behavior is just his schtick.  In my opinion, he's sort of laughing at himself even as he does it, and underneath it, I guess I think he's basically harmless.

Carlos, on the other hand, is deadly serious and truly believes that he's God's gift to cheffery.  His egotism is completely out of control, and he gets worse all the time.  I want him off my TV forever!  Please stop carting him out to all these shows, because he's repulsive.

I like Amanda, and I'd probably be rooting for her regardless, but I was crushed when that smug little asshat won over her!  I was actually yelling at my TV, and I woke up my poor dogs!  Luckily, they both hate Carlos too, so when I explained all the noise, they forgave me and went happily back to snoozeville.

On a side note, they can keep Nancy Silverton off my TV forever, too.  To me, she's always trying way too hard to be so cool and edgy, and I'm not impressed by her at all.

 

 

Totally agree about Nancy Silverton.

[meep.meep]

But if Nancy is going to wear that strange hat, we won't be able to check out her odd arrangement of barrettes!

 

[Bastet]

Nancy Silverton is an acquaintance (we have a mutual friend) and, while our interaction is limited to chatting at a few parties over the years, I've always found her genuine; all that quirk feels natural, rather than affected.  She's also quite generous.

[Kitchen Cutie]

THIS IS THE FIRST TIME EVER I FEEL THIS IS RIGGED. I am a chef, and avid fan and lover of all food network competition shows. I love Guy & TOC, but man…. Yeah it’s cute the Randomizer “lands” on certain things they ask it not too occasionally 😉… but Britt/Chris… got all Italian? Amanda/Carlos get all Latin…? It is apparent that all the newbies have taken over the brackets this year, except fan favorites or Guy’s closest friends ( JET & ANTONIA). And by my count damn well deserve it by now! 

[dleighg]

Just watched; my thoughts. The guy who made the "turnip taco" against Sarah (can't remember his name, in any case he lost). How on earth do you make a "taco" out of a piece of turnip less than two inches wide?

Charlie Palmer is *really* tall (esp standing next to Nancy)

So Guy spins the wheels, starting at the left (protein). But the wild card ingredient (far right) always stops first (he even mentioned that in the last battle) and the protein is always last. I guess it makes sense dramatically to have the "star of the show" come up last. But they must futz with the wheels to make the last one spun come up first.

Tiffany has to get a new catch phrase. I'm pretty sure I've heard her say "When you've got a plan I've got a pen" every freakin' week.

 

[Mondrianyone]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

So Guy spins the wheels, starting at the left (protein). But the wild card ingredient (far right) always stops first. . . .

Tiffany has to get a new catch phrase. I'm pretty sure I've heard her say "When you've got a plan I've got a pen" every freakin' week.

I've also noticed the weirdness with the wheel. Why can't they just switch the protein to the last spot if they want it to come up last?

And Tiffani needs to stop with that catchphrase. I'm liking her otherwise.

But overall this season certainly isn't generating the level of excitement and conversation we've had in the past, at least so far. Could be the changes they've made haven't worked to the show's advantage.

[ALittleShelfish]

IIRC, Justin answered the wheel question on his Instagram recently - he mentioned they're weighted differently to spin in a shorter amount of time. The first one isn't weighted as much as the wildcard, I believe.  Mostly because the first season they didn't have the wheels weighted in any form, so they spun forever and ever and it made for a long boring wait.  

I could be misremembering or misinterpreting what he said.  

[Stardancer Supreme]

On 3/23/2025 at 6:11 PM, DEL901 said:

Plus they really, really, really want a male winner this year.  And as much as I like Jet and Shota, I want Antonia (who I do love) to win and show them that even removing the previous 4 (female) winners isn’t enough to get a male winner. 

That is what I want! Most of the male chefs, barring Jet, Shota, and Tobias Durzon, are so arrogant and smarmy. I love seeing the rest of them get knocked down a few pegs. 

604:

The judges: Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton, Charlie Palmer.

I went 1 for 4 this episode. Most of these chefs are new to me and I gained a new appreciation for one of them.

Amanda Frietag vs. Carlos Anthony: Carlos wins.  I know it must frustrate Chef AF to no end to always lose by miniscule margins. I think the judges were more impressed by Carlitos doing a Mole in 30 minutes. I'm still not a fan of him, though.

Sara Bradley vs. Dale Tarde: Sara wins. How ridiculous that kimchi sauce took the "Boogeyman" out! 

Nini Nguyen vs. Claudette Zepeta: Nini wins! I was recently introduced to Claudette by way of Wild Card Kitchen, so I knew she had some chops in the kitchen. I was rooting for Nini and I wasn't disappointed. Randa does these contestants dirty and Claudette overcooked the protein; that is usually the kiss of death in cooking competitions.

Tobias Durzon vs. David Viana: David wins. I was really pulling for Tobias but I really wanted to eat David's dish through the screen.  A whole lot of upsets in this episode!

[Ancaster]

I really didn't like Carlos initially, but he's grown on me.  I even quite liked him on that show when they cooked for 24 hours straight.  Yes, he's brash and loud, but I'd take him over a few other chefs, including the young Bobby Flay.  At least we haven't seen Carlos jump on top of a cutting board.

Interesting that he beat Dawn Burrell in the qualifier - I wonder if she failed to get her food out on time 😄

Edited Saturday at 03:13 AM by Ancaster

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 3/28/2025 at 9:32 PM, Ancaster said:

I really didn't like Carlos initially, but he's grown on me.  I even quite liked him on that show when they cooked for 24 hours straight.  Yes, he's brash and loud, but I'd take him over a few other chefs, including the young Bobby Flay.  At least we haven't seen Carlos jump on top of a cutting board.

Interesting that he beat Dawn Burrell in the qualifier - I wonder if she failed to get her food out on time 😄

Unfortunately, Dawn ran out of time, and left a mandatory ingredient sitting on the plate, instead of in the finished dish. 

[DEL901]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Unfortunately, Dawn ran out of time, and left a mandatory ingredient sitting on the plate, instead of in the finished dish. 

The timer is not her friend.   Ever.   After all these years, although she seems to be very talented in the kitchen, she can’t handle the clock.   She couldn’t even make it to the second round on Beat Bobby Flay.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

Grouper, Meat Slicer, Parnips, High End Lunch for Lee Anne and Jonathan

[MerBearHou]

35 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Grouper, Meat Slicer, Parnips, High End Lunch for Lee Anne and Jonathan

TV connectivity went out halfway through Jonathon and Lee Anne.  Will you tell me in a spoiler tag who won?  

[DEL901]

You can check out the results here… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Champions_(TV_series)#Season_6

What’s up with Scott Conant?  Hair too long and mussed.  No greasy kids stuff in his hair. Rumpled tie.    What happened to him? LOL

[CrazyInAlabama]

15 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

TV connectivity went out halfway through Jonathon and Lee Anne.  Will you tell me in a spoiler tag who won?  

Jonathan Sawyer and Lee Anne Wong get Meat Slicer, Grouper, Parsnips, and High End Lunch. Scored 83 and 84, winner is Lee Anne.

Next up Britt Rescigno and Michael Reed. They get Sunday Supper, English Peas, Rock Paper Scissors Re-spin, Whole Lobster, Vacuum Sealer. They do Rock Paper Scissors, respin vegetable, and nothing changes, English Peas to English Peas, not kidding. Winner is Britt.

Kaleena Bliss vs. Shota Nakajima. They get: weeknight dinner, (delicata squash) now flowering cauliflower, Cornish game hen, salamander. Winner is Kaleena Bliss

Jet Tila vs. Joe Sasto. They get: Go-to Take Out, New York Strip, French Fry Press, Chanterelle Mushrooms.I'm surprised, Joe is grinding the steak into a burger. Guy, Tiffani, and Lee Anne all say the grinding to a burger is a huge mistake. Jet is making a stir fry, where the NY Strip is still recognizable. Winner is: Joe  

Edited Monday at 04:28 PM by CrazyInAlabama

[Gramto6]

Nooooooooo! Poor Jet!! I really wanted him to win this year! 

[DEL901]

16 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

Nooooooooo! Poor Jet!! I really wanted him to win this year! 

Yeah…and he is the second #1 seed to fall.  But I have to give Joe props for 93 points for a burger and fries.  
 

 And Shota is out too.  

[Grizzly]

Happy for Joe. Sad for Jet, Jonathan and Shota. It's hard when you like both competitors.

[MerBearHou]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Happy for Joe. Sad for Jet, Jonathan and Shota. It's hard when you like both competitors.

Totally concur — I like all 4 of them very much -- so happy for Joe and so bummed that the others were knocked out.  

Edited Monday at 05:03 PM by MerBearHou

[Quilt Fairy]

1 hour ago, DEL901 said:

 But I have to give Joe props for 93 points for a burger and fries.  

Agreed.  But he lost me when he said "A burger needs ketchup."  

[ALittleShelfish]

My bracket is sad, sad, sad after tonight.  

[Ancaster]

I watched about 5 minutes but it was so obvious from Shota's voiceover that he was losing/going to lose/lost that I couldn't even watch.

It just made me sad because he has always been so bright and enthusiastic and full of life.  What happened?

I don't think it can all be put down to editing. 

Edited Monday at 08:46 AM by Ancaster

[MerBearHou]

So many of my favorites have lost and so many of my least favorites have gone through.  I know that’s going to happen, but it sure takes the pleasure out of watching for me.  

[Salacious Kitty]

3 minutes ago, Ancaster said:

I watched about 5 minutes but it was so obvious from Shota's voiceover that he was losing/going to lose/lost that I couldn't even watch.

It just made me sad because he has always been so bright and enthusiastic and full of life.  What happened?

I don't think it can all be put on editing. 

It wasn't even close. 86-79. Shota 😭

[Ancaster]

Is there no producer/editor with any culinary credibility in the show trying to edit the idiocy that leaves Guy Fieri's mouth?

"It's either the dish's umami and fish sauce or the fish sauce in umami that wins."

 

[Ancaster]

9 hours ago, DEL901 said:

The timer is not her friend.   Ever.   After all these years, although she seems to be very talented in the kitchen, she can’t handle the clock.   She couldn’t even make it to the second round on Beat Bobby Flay.  

I don't know whether she's a masochist or just clueless or just banging her head against a brick wall. There are other ways to compete or show her skills.  God only knows how she made it to an Olympic long jump final, where you're disqualified if you don't jump within the time limit.

Edited Monday at 09:17 AM by Ancaster

[cameron]

10 hours ago, DEL901 said:

You can check out the results here… https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tournament_of_Champions_(TV_series)#Season_6

What’s up with Scott Conant?  Hair too long and mussed.  No greasy kids stuff in his hair. Rumpled tie.    What happened to him? LOL

Right up there with that ridiculous hat that Nancy Silverton  is sporting.

 

 

Edited Monday at 11:06 AM by cameron

[Rammchick]

I don't think Shota's flavors and techniques always translate to these kinds of competitions.  Yes he has won some of them, but it seems like the judges don't get him at times.

I really feel like not watching the rest of this now that Shota and Jet are out 😞 

Edited Monday at 07:15 PM by Rammchick

[DEL901]

I feel so bad for Jet.  This was supposed to be his year.  He just got a tough match up.  He scored 91 which would have beaten any other dish this whole season.  Who’d have thought that he would be up against a guy who made a hamburger and fries and scores 93.    I really, really, really want to try that burger.   And Joe needs to ad it to his menu if it isn’t already there. 

As for Shota, I love him, but he is having troubles beyond Tournament of Champions.   Guy mentioned all the restaurants he has opened. What he didn’t mention was that they all closed.  Shota’s comment about his food not working in the competition…maybe it is more than that if all his restaurants closed?

[potatoradio]

Starting to think they should just rename this show: "Watch who the food teevee world really wants to make happen." 

Why they want some of these people to happen so badly is beyond my power of understanding, but, show, you can try to convince me that they pull off STUNNING upsets and deliver aren't they amazeballs vomit-inducing tongue baths every week and I still won't stan any of them, k? 

Yuck, yuck and yuck to three of the four contests from last night. I'll say this....having so few people to actually root for in this "competition" actually makes this far easier to watch. I don't have too many "hmmm....boy, tough match up...both so talented and likable...I don't know who to root for..." moments. 

Eye rolls are easier on the blood pressure anyway.

 

[lavenderblue]

I don't know what it was, but even before the episode I had a weird feeling that Joe could deliver an upset to Jet. His history on TOC is inconsistent, but he's one of the few in it this year to have beaten Antonia, and Jet brings out the best in his competitors. All the asides about "oh noes, he's grinding the New York strip! judges will hate it!" turned out, alas, to be a misdirect since not one judge even addressed it as a thing that happened. 

I don't really actively dislike anyone still in it -- I don't love Carlos, but mind him less than some others here do -- but I also don't have any favorites remaining. Guess I'll take the match-ups as they come. 

[dleighg]

I was disappointed that Jet lost (I was not enamored of that messy, greasy, burger). I guess I should have seen it coming, with Tiffany and Guy talking about how Joe was going to get dinged for grinding that steak, and them showing in the teaser Joe stomping away from the TV "it's over, I'm outta here." Classic misdirection that I should have caught on to. I also thought it looked like Joe was using A LOT of salt (and I like salt). I guess it was SOME BURGER.

[jackjill89]

Last night was disappointing. Jet is so likable and I love Shota. I also really like Michael Reed. I would have been happy with either Lee Ann or Jonathan winning their battle 1/4, very disappointing night.

That burger must have been all sorts of amazing. Lots of pickles on it though. I love pickles, but that was a lot. 

[Catgyrl68]

5 hours ago, Rammchick said:

I don't think Shota's flavors and techniques always translate to these kinds of competitions.  Yes he has won but it seems like the judges don't get him at times.

I really feel like not watching the rest of this now that Shota and Jet are out 😞 

OMG, same here! I came here to see the results (like peeking through my fingers), and am SO sad for Jet, Shota and Jonathan. I guess I'm rooting for Antonia to take it all, but if she gets the boot, I'm done with this season.

 

[Mondrianyone]

Nobody's entitled to win anything. Except by, you know, actually winning it. Jet seems like a very lovely person--I enjoyed his own show a lot, even though I've never cooked Asian food--but the last few years he's been kind of a whiny bitch about not winning and feeling he should have. And if that clip of Antonia in the coming attractions saying tearfully "I really want to win" wasn't taken wildly out of context--I mean, who's competing that doesn't want to win?--then I'd say she should take a seat as well.

Someday I'd like to taste that burger.

[woofy]

I've never understood the Jet adoration.  I find him to be arrogant and entitled.  I was thrilled that he lost.  Would love to try Joe's burger.

[mlp]

I was sorry to see Jet lose but not as sorry as I would have been if he'd lost to someone I don't like.  I was conflicted about that match up because I like Joe Sasto quite a lot.  He was a favorite of mine during his season on TC.  After that season, I read an interview with one of the other chefs (can't recall who) who said that Joe was a really nice guy and that he got up early every day and made breakfast for everyone.  I'm happy for him and I hope he beats his next opponent.

I didn't really care who won the first round but I was pulling for Michael Reed and Shota so this was not my favorite week.

I'm always happy to see Simon Majumdar and I'm glad they found a place for him if his usual job was too stressful but that bit is so brief that it really doesn't add much to the show.  I'd like to hear more from the judges about how they made their decisions.

[SHERMDOG]

19 hours ago, Ancaster said:

I watched about 5 minutes but it was so obvious from Shota's voiceover that he was losing/going to lose/lost that I couldn't even watch.

It just made me sad because he has always been so bright and enthusiastic and full of life.  What happened?

I don't think it can all be put down to editing. 

I love him. I'm seriously considering not watching hing anymore. Jet lost as well. Ugh. The last 2 episodes 90 % of my pucks have lost!! LOL. 

[susannot]

So the big names are gone, except Antonia and Rocco.  Good.  I want to see up and coming chefs.  Mark my words, Sara Bradley is the dark horse in this competition.

Edited Yest. at 12:52 AM by susannot

[Harry24]

13 hours ago, susannot said:

Mark my words, Sara Bradley is the dark horse in this competition.

I’m thinking the guy named David who beat Tobias is a sleeper powerhouse too.

[DEL901]

1 hour ago, Harry24 said:

I’m thinking the guy named David who beat Tobias is a sleeper powerhouse too.

He’s up against Sara in D division, which is the one where ALL the under dogs won last round.  In A division, it is Antonia vs Rocco.  The other match up there is Adam Vs Kevin.  The other match in Division D is Carlos vs Nini….go Nini!

[Bastet]

Wow, that Jet vs. Mustache Joe round!  Everyone thought Jet had it in the bag after the judges' comments, and then Joe's feedback was also nothing but high praise.  I love a good cheeseburger, so for that to get the tournament's highest score, I really wanted to taste that burger.  I was salivating over Jet's dish, too.  I can't decide if Tiffani's reaction upon Joe winning was just shock or if she was also a bit pissed.  Joe was "her" chef, but he's a bit annoying and maybe she's one of those who wanted this to finally be Jet's year.  

I don't know, I found the shock from both her and Guy a little irritating; sure, it seemed like Jet had it in the bag since the judges fell all over themselves praising his dish -- but that was before they ate Joe's and did the very same thing.  By the time everyone was standing there waiting for the big reveal, it was clear it could have been either name.  While I like Jet (and don't particularly care for Mustache Joe), I'm really over the idea that now that all the previous winners are out of the race, it's his to lose this year.  If Guy believes he's assembling the best of the best, then he ought to believe that in any given match-up, it could go either way.  I wound up being happy Joe won.

I was happy with all the results, although I wouldn't have been angry had any of them gone the other way.  Kaleena really beat the stuffing out of Shota, outscoring him on every single element for a seven-point win.  That was an impressive victory.  All four of Britt's winning points came on taste, so clearly they didn't much care about all that parmesan.  I thought both her and Michael turned in just okay dishes compared to what they've done in the past, so she better get back to form next time if she's going to keep going (but since she's going against Kaleena next, I'm not sure who I'll root for).

Edited 2 hours ago by Bastet

[Stardancer Supreme]

While I am sad that Jet and Shota got knocked out, I will still be happy if another woman chef is added to the Winner's Circle.  

605:

Judges: Nancy Silverton, Marcus Samuelsson, Scott Conant.  I was proud of myself for figuring out who the judges were in their intro clips!

Lee Ann Wong vs. Jonathon Sawyer: Lee Ann wins!  I liked her dish better. Jonathon's dish seemed more like an appetizer than a high end lunch. I even got a chuckle when Scott noted that this was a dish that he would get at Marcus' restaurant with Lee Ann stating that this was something she would cook when working for Marcus.  The chef world is small!

Michael Reed vs. Britt Rescigno: Britt wins!  I knew Michael was toast when he decided to do a risotto. That's not the type of dish that you can do well in 35 minutes.

Kaleena Bliss vs. Shota Nakajima: Kaleena wins!  I was fully rooting for Shota until he decided to do a cornish hen noodle soup. Sir! In order for a soup to be successful in TOC, the broth had to be a flavor bomb. Clearly he wasn't successful in that with this dish.

Jet Tila vs. Joe Sasto: the mustache wins. Joe can be the nicest person ever, but he comes off so smarmy on television.  He needs to lay off the mustache twirling villian shtick so maybe I could like him better. This is the match where I wanted to eat both dishes! Randa made me chuckle as she told the audience that she wanted To-Go Takeout, dammit!  I wonder if Joe heard Guy and Tiffany discuss the folly of turning New York Strip into a hamburger... I also want to taste what made Scott almost curse that it was so good. I laughed while Scott was raving about Jet's food at Nancy just shoveling the rice into her face. 

That leads me to a different TOC question: Who gets the food that the chefs make? I saw Joe make 5 burgers this round.  So there is one for filming, three for the judges; does Guy get the fifth one?  I think I also saw Jet prepare 5 rice boxes, yet made a show about feeding Guy a small portion during the plating. Does the audience get anything? I would be so hungry after watching all that great food being made.

[DEL901]

I don’t know if they do it here, but a guy who regularly judges Beat Bobby Flay said that one dish is sent back stage to the judges to share so they can taste it while it is hot.  While waiting for the judging, the flavour can change as it cools and this could impact one chef more than the other.  

[meep.meep]

On 3/31/2025 at 3:55 AM, cameron said:

Right up there with that ridiculous hat that Nancy Silverton  is sporting.

Between Nancy and Marcus, it seems that Scott did not get the hat memo.

I really wanted to taste that burger!  Too bad the show is not structured to show the judges talking with Simon about the final bout.  Would have loved to hear them talking about Jet's dish vs. Joe's dish.

[MerBearHou]

Jet did an Instagram Live yesterday and was so genuine and gracious.  He said he'd received hundreds of DMs from people saying they were so upset by his loss and weren't going to watch TOC anymore.  He said please, please continue to watch and was highly complimentary of the show and the judging and the community of chefs that this show creates.  He said he's still hurt by the loss and stands by his take-out dish and said he would return to TOC whenever asked because he loves the aforementioned community of chefs and what Guy brings together in this concept.  He also applauded Joe Sasto on his win.  

Edited 3 hours ago by MerBearHou