Tournament of Champions, Food Network’s best competition, is back for its fifth season. The core competition did not change in any material way—and that’s a good call, because it works—though it has been affected by what’s preceded it and followed it.
While the show officially debuted last night, it actually began with a two-episode, pre-season special, Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers. It was an excellent addition, finding four winners who became the #8 seeds.
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That gives each of the #8 seeds—who will each face a #1 seed, i.e. TOC’s four winners—at least two rounds of cooking experience in the arena, making the battle a little more even and an upset more likely.
One advantage winners and other returning chefs have, besides being outstanding chefs, is that they’ve competed so many times, and the familiarity with the kitchen and the process is definitely a bonus.
The production made the qualifiers distinct from the main show in several ways. It was slightly more muted in its spectacle, and intentionally more crowded.
In the first round, four randomly selected chefs cooked at the same time, which meant it was a little more chaotic and a little less focused on individuals. The two highest scorers then competed against each other for the final spot.
Some chefs who’d previously made the main bracket were in the qualifiers, including Leah Cohen, Justin Sutherland, and Aaron May, giving it some additional stakes—would they make it, or be left out?—in addition to those who were just desperate to get into the competition.
The best part of the qualifiers was its panel of judges: TOC’s four winners, Maneet Chauhan, Tiffani Faison, Mei Lin, and Brooke Williamson.
Three of them judged the selection of the fourth’s eventual opponent, a clever twist; the fourth looked on, giving them some insight into their opponent’s technique, though really that doesn’t matter in actual competition.
The judging was blind, as usual, though neither Simon Majumdar nor Justin Warner were in the qualifiers to narrate; they’re main-event only.
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Subbing in for them was Hunter Fieri, and somehow there was food for the judges to taste despite the black hole of charisma standing nearby. He seems like a nice guy, but someone really needs to just say: This isn’t working. And we’ve been trying. For years.
There was one other pre-TOC V show, the “Road to TOC Special,” in which Guy Fieri, Simon, and Justin reviewed all the match-ups, introducing each chef.
However, they completely skipped over the East B division’s number four and five seeds. That’s because #4 Amanda Freitag is up against #5 Darnell Ferguson. (Some cable companies’ on-demand versions of the episode have the full cut.)
That was a preview for how TOC V seems to be dealing with the charges against Darnell Ferguson: ignoring him and his competitor.
Will their match-up also be edited out completely? That’d certainly be unfair to Amanda, who was shown in clips cooking and watching the judging from her trailer. Darnell himself was visible in group shots—and shown walking into the arena—though the actual TOC V premiere did a better job of cutting him out entirely.
Considering that TOC’s two-hour episodes each have four battles, cutting one leaves a big gap.
TOC V’s premiere
At the start of Tournament of Champions season five, its four winners each received a championship ring, and then banners with their faces dropped from the walls of the arena.
It’s a fitting way to up the spectacle and also recognize them for their achievement.
The chefs learned the prize is now $150,000, and now sponsored by State Farm. Plus, the highest-scoring chef each episode receives $5,000 to give to a local restaurant of their choosing.
Guy Fieri unveiled the brackets and seeds, and when he got to East B, he again skipped the $4 seed Amanda Freitag and #5 Darnell Ferguson, though their names were visible on the big board.
With all first-round battles now at 30 minutes, the wild card wheel became a wild card ingredient.
TOC V’s first four battles
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Judging the first episode’s four battles were Susan Feniger, Geoffrey Zakarian, and Carla Hall, who’s making her first appearance as judge. (If you haven’t watched Carla’s new show yet, I highly recommend it!)
The season began with Jet Tila versus Brian Malarkey, who told us, “My kids make fun of me when I lose. I have to live with these little monsters who tell me, Hey Dad, how’d you lose, why’d you lose that one?” he said. “I can’t take that any more. This is the year I start taking ’em down.”
Who knew Malarkey was capable of producing such smart offspring? And they’re probably roasting him today, because he did not take down even one opponent.
The score was 82 to 84—surprisingly close—in favor of Jet Tila, who seems to be many people’s pick to win it all. Even Jet said that: “I know everyone expects me to go far.”
Next up was Mark Murphy versus Jose Garces, who scored 85 to 82, with Marc Murphy winning—his first time in three seasons that he was not eliminated in the first round.
The Chopped judge also ended up with the highest score of the night, giving him the $5,000 bonus.
Hunter, having been cast off to the backstage area, was ready with some insight: “Brother. Congratulations, man. Third time’s the charm.”
Britt Rescigno competed against her friend Jonathan Sawyer in the third round, and bested him 78 to 74.
Those surprisingly low scores continued into the final round, which was #1 seed—and reigning champion—Mei Ling versus #8 Michael Reed, who was one of the four chefs who won their way in through the qualifiers.
The final score was 76 to 79—close, and again, some surprisingly low scores. (Are the judges are less impressed than they used to be? Holding the dishes to much higher standards?)
Mei Lin took the win, staying in the running to be the first repeat winner. Will we see one of the four winners win again? Or will a new face be added to the wall? I can’t wait to find out!
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
