Tournament of Champions (2020) Season 7 Episode 1

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Transcript

00:00:01It's the event everyone has been waiting for.

00:00:06Whoa.

00:00:09The return of the greatest competition

00:00:11in the culinary universe.

00:00:13Whoa.

00:00:15Ladies and gentlemen, this is going to be epic.

00:00:19Whoo!

00:00:21Let's go!

00:00:22Come on!

00:00:23Tournament of champions keeps getting bigger and better.

00:00:26Whoo!

00:00:2732 of the nation's best chefs, including proven warriors

00:00:31and fierce new challengers.

00:00:33But nothing can prepare them for the biggest surprise ever.

00:00:37The top-seeded chefs in every division are food world icons.

00:00:42No way.

00:00:45Four of the most powerful opponents ever to compete on TOC.

00:00:50Are you kidding me?

00:00:53But their identities will remain a secret

00:00:55until the moment they enter the arena.

00:00:57Whoa!

00:00:59Whoa!

00:01:00Whoa!

00:01:01Whoa!

00:01:01Every battle is head-to-head.

00:01:04Every spin of the randomizer is the edge of your seat.

00:01:06Oh, no!

00:01:07Every dish is make or break.

00:01:10That's a lost opportunity.

00:01:11Ugh.

00:01:12It's over.

00:01:13This is a stunner.

00:01:14A masterclass in sauce.

00:01:16Who will win the title, the belt, and the $150,000?

00:01:21I can't wait!

00:01:22This is Tournament of Champions 7.

00:01:25Yeah!

00:01:28Yeah!

00:01:30Yeah!

00:01:31Yeah!

00:01:32Yeah!

00:01:33Yeah!

00:01:34Yeah!

00:01:35Yeah!

00:01:35All right, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready to experience the most exciting cooking competition

00:01:42of your life?

00:01:42Yeah!

00:01:44Good!

00:01:47Because I have an amazing group of battle-tested ballers, incredible new contenders, and gourmet

00:01:54greats.

00:01:55And they can't wait to mix it up in the TOC arena.

00:01:59Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the chefs of TOC 7!

00:02:08TOC fan favorite, the one and only, Jack Tila!

00:02:13Tournament of Champions has been the most impactful competition of my life.

00:02:18I meet thousands of people, and the number one comment I get is, you gotta win TOC.

00:02:23That's why I'm here, to finally finish this journey.

00:02:26Two winners of 24 and 24, Marcel Vignore and Jonathan Sawyer.

00:02:31TOC is the best of the best.

00:02:34Nini Nguyen, Adam Sobo!

00:02:36You have chefs that have won every cooking competition known to mankind.

00:02:40Mustache Joe Sosco!

00:02:42And Chef Kevin Lee!

00:02:44Coming here to see whose cuisine reigns supreme.

00:02:48Very special moment for me.

00:02:50One of our favorite chefs, and she is back, and she is honestly a champion in life.

00:02:55Ready to rock and roll.

00:02:57Give it up!

00:02:58Chef Shirley Charles!

00:03:02In June, 2024, I was diagnosed with stage four tongue cancer.

00:03:09So the past one and a half years, I took a break to focus on my tongue cancer treatment.

00:03:14And now I'm 11 months in relation.

00:03:17To be able to compete and be able to cook in this stage, it means so much for me.

00:03:23Carlos Anthony, Adam Greenberg, and Janet Akunewicz!

00:03:28Sarah Bradley, Britt Resigno, and Cynthia Nguyen!

00:03:33Here comes our qualifying winners. This is a gnarly group.

00:03:37Qualifiers? That was tough, but the game has just begun.

00:03:42Polina Bliss, David Yana, and Claudette Zepeda!

00:03:45No rest for the weary. It's actually go time.

00:03:48Brian Ocasio!

00:03:50The Huncho Chef Tobias Borza!

00:03:53I feel like my life has been something that only champions can survive.

00:03:58I was shot 11 times. I was told I wasn't going to be able to walk again.

00:04:02Having the chance to battle again is something I'm looking forward to.

00:04:06I'm ready to go.

00:04:07So who would like to see who's competing against you?

00:04:16First of all, I want to welcome you. You are the magnificent chefs of Tournament of Champions 7.

00:04:23Welcome!

00:04:25This, as you know, this is the Mount Everest of culinary competitions.

00:04:31You reach the top and you'll be rewarded with the glory you deserve.

00:04:35First and foremost, the most coveted title in food competition.

00:04:40The ultimate bling, of course.

00:04:43And then there's that one other thing.

00:04:46150,000 bucks!

00:04:55But you know what? You're going to have to earn it.

00:04:58You're going to have to earn it. I want you to look around you,

00:05:00because you are going to be competing head-to-head against the best chefs in the world.

00:05:06And finally, you have to conquer this one other little thing.

00:05:11The TOC bracket.

00:05:19In a bracket competition, every battle is sudden death.

00:05:24You win, you move on.

00:05:27You lose, you're gone.

00:05:32Score five victories in a row, and you win it all.

00:05:37All right.

00:05:38As always, first round matchup is determined by your ranking or your seed based on your accomplishments

00:05:44of your culinary wins, losses, and especially what you've done here in TOC.

00:05:49Let's start off with the number one-seeded chefs.

00:05:54This year, to make the tournament even more challenging,

00:05:59all of the number one seeds are...

00:06:07culinary icons.

00:06:13Chefs whose award-winning restaurants, decades of experience in pioneering achievements,

00:06:19have made a lasting impact on the food world.

00:06:22In fact, they are so iconic that I'm not going to even reveal who they are

00:06:26until the moment they enter the arena to do battle.

00:06:31No!

00:06:33It does now!

00:06:34No way!

00:06:35Oh, my God.

00:06:37That's vicious.

00:06:39I thought I was going to come in and be seed one.

00:06:41Looking around at the best chefs in the world on TOC,

00:06:43what do you have to do to be an icon in this arena?

00:06:47These four icons have done it all, except they've never competed in TOC.

00:06:54If you're able to out-cook any one of them, your victory will be iconic.

00:06:59So, now that we're past that,

00:07:03let's see who's lucky enough to be competing against our first icon.

00:07:08In Division A, our top-seeded A Division icon

00:07:12will compete against this year's first qualifying winner,

00:07:16Chef Artie Sequeira!

00:07:19Of course.

00:07:21It would be me that's going up against the icon.

00:07:25Of course it would.

00:07:26But can I tell you, honestly, I'm really excited.

00:07:29Because why not?

00:07:31Why not take down the biggest, baddest giant first?

00:07:35Then we have the number two seed, the Jetster.

00:07:38Chef Jet Tila will be taking on number seven seed,

00:07:40the qualifying winner, Chef Ashley Shanti.

00:07:44Next, the number three seed, the Huncho Chef Tobias Dorzon.

00:07:49Going up against the number six seed, Chef Claudette Cicada.

00:07:53And rounding out the A Division, number four seed, 24-24's newest winner, Chef Jonathan Sawyer.

00:08:01Going to face off against the number five seed, Karen Akunowicz.

00:08:05Last season, I went out in the first round to Jonathan Sawyer, and that was a really hard loss.

00:08:11I'm ready to get that L off my boards, and I'm ready to come back with a W.

00:08:16The number one seed, our Division B icon.

00:08:19We'll take on the number eight seed, qualifying winner, Katsuchi Tanabe!

00:08:24Yeah!

00:08:25Number two seed, four-time TOC semi-finalist, the one and only Britt Rossigno!

00:08:33First is the number seven seed, Chef Giuseppe Tentori.

00:08:38Battle Italy.

00:08:39I came in to tournament champions, a number eight seed.

00:08:43I've hit the final four three years in a row.

00:08:46I'm here to win it this year.

00:08:48Then we have the number three seed, Chef Kevin Lee.

00:08:52Going against number six seed, Chop Grand Champion, Chef Adam Greenberg.

00:08:57Oh!

00:08:58Oh!

00:08:59Finally, the number four seed, Martini Nini, Chef Nini win!

00:09:05Against number five, Mustache Joe Sosco!

00:09:09There you go! There you go!

00:09:11Let's move on to C.

00:09:13Our C Division icon, they're going up against the number eight seed, the qualifying winner, Chef Fiat!

00:09:20The number two seed, TOC 6 runner-up, Chef Sarah Bradley!

00:09:27First is the number seven seed, Chef Dan Jacobs!

00:09:33Number three seed, the man who won TOC All-Star Christmas, Chef Brian Bottaggio!

00:09:39My brother and I, we've recently won TOC All-Star Christmas.

00:09:43It was a team competition.

00:09:44I've never really taken a major win on my own.

00:09:48I want that belt. I want that cash.

00:09:49I want the title of Tournament Champion 7, Chef.

00:09:52Going up against the number six seed, the Chef Carlos Anthony.

00:09:57The number four seed, TOC All-Star Christmas semi-finalist, the one and only Chef Dale Talday!

00:10:05Versus the number five seed, Chef Shirley Charles!

00:10:12Finally, the D Division, the number one seed, our final culinary icon, will be going up against the number eight

00:10:20seed, Qualifying Winner, Chef Kenny Gilbert!

00:10:23That's great!

00:10:25Number two seed, Chef Lee Edwin!

00:10:27Going up against the GOAT, Iron Chef Stephanie Izard!

00:10:34Number three seed, 24-24's first winner, Chef Marcel Vigneron!

00:10:41Who are you going against?

00:10:43The number six seed, Chef David Vianna!

00:10:48And lastly, but definitely not least, Chef Kalina Bliss!

00:10:53Against the number five seed, Chef Adam Sobel!

00:10:58Let's kick things into high gear, and let's give the fans at home and here in the arena what they

00:11:05want.

00:11:06Let's give them the battle between Chef Chet Tila and Chef Ashley Shanti!

00:11:15Chef Chet, secure that door!

00:11:16Chef Chet Tila, secure that door!

00:11:21And the rest of you, we'll see you soon!

00:11:27It's early in the game, so got some adrenaline pumping.

00:11:31Got a one round under my belt from the qualifiers, feels good, I'm ready to go.

00:11:35We don't get to watch the play-ins, I have zero information.

00:11:39But she won to be here, and she cooked recently, so she's fresh and ready to go.

00:11:45He's gone so far in this competition, and not only that, he's got something to prove.

00:11:49In my mind, Chef Chet is a winner, so I've got to show him that I am too.

00:11:54It's my seventh year here, and I don't think in the history of Food Network has someone been so close

00:11:59so many times to something.

00:12:00I'm the new kid in the arena, but I want Jeff to know that I've got accolades to brag about.

00:12:06I'm a James Beard Award winner.

00:12:08I've beat some giants, like Chef Michael Voltaggio and Chef Brooke Williamson.

00:12:13He is the one to beat, and to do that I think would earn me a reputation amongst these other

00:12:19chefs.

00:12:20Not to straddle the line between enough mental confidence to win, but not so much to get overconfident.

00:12:27Now it's time for Chef Chet to get cooked.

00:12:32All right, let's go.

00:12:37Are you ready for the first battle?

00:12:41Good, because here's something I've been waiting all year to say.

00:12:45Let's light it up!

00:12:49Chef is a 2025 James Beard Award-winning author for her cookbook showcasing Southern Black Cookies.

00:12:59In 2024, the New York Times named her Appalachian-inspired Good Hot Fish, one of America's best restaurants.

00:13:08She made Time Magazine's 2025 Time 100 Next List and defeated Next Level Chef winner Gabby Chappelle in the qualifiers

00:13:19to earn her spot in the tournament.

00:13:21Put your hands together for the Appalachian assassin, Chef Ashley Shanti!

00:13:38You're finally here, and you're going up against one of the most highly regarded TOC competitors.

00:13:44It's nerve-wracking, but this is what I'm here for. I'm ready to go.

00:13:47Let's meet your opponent.

00:13:50He went from a tireless worker in his family's pioneering Thai market and restaurant to a celebrated chef named Culinary

00:13:58Ambassador of Thai Cuisine by the Royal Thai Council General.

00:14:03He's opened over 20 restaurant concepts nationwide, and his series Ready, Jet, Cook has been nominated for three Emmys and

00:14:13a James Beard Award.

00:14:16Give it up for the Jetster, Chef Jet Tilo!

00:14:31You are a humble, generous, giving. You're a man of the people, but you are also the most winningest TOC

00:14:39chef that does not have a belt.

00:14:42Why do you keep coming back?

00:14:44Oh, God.

00:14:49You know what, guy?

00:14:51That's why I keep coming back. I get stopped on the streets. I get thousands of emails.

00:14:55It's for Team Tila, and it's to show my kids you can get beat down, but you can always come

00:15:01back and try your best.

00:15:02And that's all that matters.

00:15:05Because of you guys.

00:15:07Time to take it to the randomizer. Let's go, Chefs.

00:15:10Let's go to work. Let's go to work.

00:15:12How you feeling, Chef?

00:15:13I think it's great.

00:15:15For everybody at home, the randomizer is going to determine the mandatory details of your dish.

00:15:21The protein, the produce, the equipment, the style.

00:15:23And finally, the wild card category, which this year in the first round, it's the wild card re-spin.

00:15:30Which you would both have to agree on what would happen.

00:15:33Let's get this going, folks. Here we go. Protein.

00:15:36Ah, here we go. Here we go. Let's go.

00:15:40Skirt, pork, chicken, skirt, pork, pork loin.

00:15:46Bell peppers, ricer, chard, and move one up.

00:15:50Now, you have to move one up.

00:15:53Wow.

00:15:54So you'd either move up to skirt steak, to broccoli rabe, to handheld grill basket, move up to pickled.

00:16:00You cannot move up to move one down.

00:16:03Darn.

00:16:04I would be fine with any of the first three. What would you want, Chef?

00:16:09I'm not loving the equipment.

00:16:11I would take grill basket over ricer, personally.

00:16:14Great. Let's do it.

00:16:15Are you down with that?

00:16:15Yes, absolutely.

00:16:16The final offer?

00:16:17Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:16:18Ladies and gentlemen, handheld grill basket.

00:16:20Wow.

00:16:23You have 30 minutes to shop. Prepare this and plate this.

00:16:27This is the kickoff of TOC 7.

00:16:29And your time starts now. Go.

00:16:38Welcome to TOC 7.

00:16:40Who's pumped?

00:16:43I think it's a good randomizer.

00:16:45Pork loin.

00:16:45This is one of the most versatile parts of pork.

00:16:47Bell peppers.

00:16:48We're giving them green, orange, red, which are all the same bell pepper, by the way.

00:16:52And handheld grill baskets are awesome because you can do all the grilling that you want.

00:16:57Easy to turn, easy to clip, and it doesn't fall through the grates of the grill.

00:17:00Charred.

00:17:01They're really going to have to play into this.

00:17:02The judges have been hitting this style so hard.

00:17:05They'll just have to dominate the randomizer.

00:17:07Do not overthink it.

00:17:09Just make delicious food.

00:17:11TOC is at any given Sunday.

00:17:13Any chef can win if they just cook the best dish.

00:17:16My pressure comes from the ghosts of six seasons of losing.

00:17:21On top of that, battling a qualifier is always scary.

00:17:24They're here because they have a phenomenal repertoire.

00:17:27Losing TOC round one could be a measure of maybe it's time to quit.

00:17:32The randomizer has actually given us things that are fairly simple, but we're not in the qualifiers anymore.

00:17:39These judges want to see a dish that is elevated, that wows them.

00:17:44You know, I don't have much of a reputation in the TOC kitchen.

00:17:48I'm the noob.

00:17:49That's cool because this will allow me to shake things up in the main bracket.

00:17:54I'm joined once again by my two incredible culinary commentators, noted food authority and Michelin-recommended wildcard, Chef Justin Warner.

00:18:04An award-winning restaurateur and TOC3 champ, Chef Tiffany Faison.

00:18:10Now, Justin and Tiffany will closely follow the preparation of the dishes so they can accurately present them to the

00:18:16judges during the blind tasting.

00:18:17We're also joined by the culinary scholar, Simon Majundar, who will be talking to the judges about their thoughts on

00:18:24all the dishes.

00:18:25Chef, when you have a plan, let me know.

00:18:27We are going to do a pork and bell pepper waterfall salad.

00:18:32Got it.

00:18:33Char, pork, bell peppers.

00:18:35There's only one direction I'm going in.

00:18:37Waterfall, or what we call numptok salad in northern Thailand.

00:18:40It's a very common protein dish where you char the protein and you make a really delicious dressing with roasted

00:18:48rice, which I'm going to char.

00:18:50The hunger to win TOC only increases every year.

00:18:54This is my seventh go.

00:18:56I've been here for almost a decade chasing this belt.

00:18:59Every round is its own universe.

00:19:01Every battle is its own thing.

00:19:02Winning the first round is huge.

00:19:06When you have a plan, I have a pen, take your time.

00:19:09My goal is to char most everything.

00:19:11I am going to make a blackened pork loin with charred bell pepper sauce.

00:19:18That grill basket allows them to kind of set it and forget it on the grill and get nice char.

00:19:21My style of cuisine, I explore the micro regions of the south.

00:19:25For my pork loin, I'm going to do traditional blackened pork.

00:19:29We want to add the fat to not the pan, but the actual protein.

00:19:33I've got one shot.

00:19:35I know it's either Jet going home or myself.

00:19:40I've got to make sure that my flavors are there and that I just wow the judges today.

00:19:46Halfway point, 15 minutes, 15 to go.

00:19:54What's this?

00:19:54I'm making the dressing now.

00:19:56So it's going to be on the brighter side.

00:19:57It's going to be all the yum flavors, but I'm going to char everything.

00:20:00Char the bell peppers in here as well, so.

00:20:02At this level of cooking in TOC, I'm not just putting bell peppers and pork on a plate.

00:20:06I'm taking the bell peppers and I'm weaving it through the dressing.

00:20:09Smart Boobs by Chef Thiele here.

00:20:11He's rubbing off some of the char just to get the exact amount of char that he wants.

00:20:17Now our judges are currently waiting in their trailers, so they have no idea what the chefs

00:20:21are cooking or who is even in the competition.

00:20:24They'll be scoring the dishes based on taste, use of the items on the randomizer, and presentation.

00:20:28The chef with the highest score, well, we'll head on to the next round.

00:20:32The other chef, they'll be heading home.

00:20:34This is an incredibly simple dish.

00:20:36I need to make sure this sauce knocks the judges' socks off.

00:20:40Add a little lime juice, charred red, orange, green bell peppers.

00:20:47Winning TOC would be so fulfilling.

00:20:50I've never won a competition before.

00:20:52I live in a small, small town.

00:20:55Asheville has experienced such trauma and devastation in the past year.

00:20:59And I've had this incredible, supportive community that I want to give back to.

00:21:03I want to bring home the bell.

00:21:05That's bell pepper.

00:21:07The first round has five minutes, five minutes left!

00:21:13Right now in the Wayfair screening room, Chef Tobias and Chef Claudette are anxiously spectating this battle.

00:21:19The winner of their battle will face the winner of this battle in the bracket.

00:21:24I check the porks. They're great. I let them rest.

00:21:26I take jasmine rice. I put some chilies in there.

00:21:29I want to char about 60 to 70 percent of that rice.

00:21:34When you say charred rice, Tila, you mean charred rice.

00:21:37It brings texture to this dish, and it's a very creative use.

00:21:41With three components on the plate, I have the pork, bell pepper sauce.

00:21:47In addition to that, I'm gonna make a simple charred bell pepper medley.

00:21:51I am just feeding off of the crowd, watching the clock, and making sure that this dish is what I

00:21:58want it to be.

00:21:59I'm in the zone. I'm completely focused.

00:22:02Two minutes! Let's go. Let's go. Let's take it home.

00:22:04First, I plate the bell peppers and herbs as a base.

00:22:08I cut up the pork, apply that onto the vegetables.

00:22:12It is a privilege to compete on TOC.

00:22:14There's literally one more level that I've never experienced in this kitchen.

00:22:19That's why I belong here.

00:22:2190 seconds, Chef. 90 to go.

00:22:23Come on, guys. Fight me up!

00:22:25I take my sauce, I put it in the bottom, and then I get the best slices of pork and

00:22:32shingle them onto the plate as well, and add that bell pepper medley.

00:22:36I may be seen as the underdog of this competition, but I made a plate that I'm really proud of.

00:22:42Five, four, three, two, one!

00:22:47We're done! First round of TOC 7 is done!

00:22:51That was great, Chef.

00:22:54Thank you. Well done.

00:22:58The judges are gonna have a tough one on this.

00:23:01Whoo!

00:23:01It's nice to get one under my belt in a way where I'm proud of the dish.

00:23:08Our TOC judges have been patiently waiting in their trailers for the first blind tasting in the evening.

00:23:14Now, they don't know what went down in this arena, but boy, do they know food. Let's meet them.

00:23:19Who do we have?

00:23:20First, renowned executive chef and a world-class culinary competitor, Iron Chef, Alex Guarnaschali!

00:23:31Whoo!

00:23:32Alex, legend.

00:23:35I don't know what Alex likes. I have no idea.

00:23:39Thank you for being here.

00:23:40Next, celebrated chef, Michelin-recommended restaurateur, and winner of Tournament of Champion Six, Chef Antonio La Faso!

00:23:54No way.

00:23:56Is that what we're doing this season?

00:23:58I'm gonna say she knows her stuff.

00:24:00Must be nice, Antonio, being on that side of it.

00:24:02And last, and definitely not least, James Beard award-winning restaurateur and the only female chef in the U.S.

00:24:08to receive three Michelin stars.

00:24:12Dominique Crenn?

00:24:13Chef Dominique Crenn!

00:24:17Wow!

00:24:20I know her standards are very high.

00:24:24This is the Tournament Champion's level, like, charge panel.

00:24:26The randomizer tonight, I think, was pretty generous.

00:24:29The protein was pork loin.

00:24:30The produce was bell peppers.

00:24:32The equipment was a handheld grill basket.

00:24:35The style was charred.

00:24:37And here to present Chef Tiffany Faison.

00:24:39I present to you Cajun charred pork loin with a sauce of charred bell peppers and charred ginger.

00:24:44Condiment of charred bell peppers, red onion, and charred jalapeno.

00:24:48All of these components met the blender and a little bit of olive oil, lime juice, and Cajun seasoning.

00:24:53The pork loin was fabricated, put into a bag with a little bit of butter and Cajun seasoning in the

00:24:59traditional style of blackening.

00:25:01Don't be too hard on me now.

00:25:03Pork loin, bell peppers, simple, straightforward ingredients that actually can take on so much flavor.

00:25:10The sauce does it for me tenfold over.

00:25:12Thank you, Chef.

00:25:13I love, love, love that this chef went in a bell pepper sauce direction.

00:25:18That's good.

00:25:20Sauce, fantastic, and lime.

00:25:23What a restrained choice, right?

00:25:26You could have gone vinegar, fish sauce, goju.

00:25:28I mean, what could you not have put?

00:25:29And this chef was like, squeeze the lime, see you later.

00:25:32And it is paying off in spades.

00:25:35I agree.

00:25:36I love the char, therefore I understand the use of the grill basket.

00:25:40Then I tasted the pork.

00:25:42I love the spice rub on this.

00:25:44It is literally divine.

00:25:46I think Ashley hit the randomizer, great.

00:25:48That said, this is not TOC level presentation.

00:25:51What?

00:25:52This is not enough.

00:25:53It's too simple.

00:25:54I'm the new kid, sorry.

00:25:56I mean, I'm agreeing with them.

00:25:57It should be more elevated.

00:25:59Yes.

00:26:00So they're gonna ding me big on plating.

00:26:02Also, it is missing some flour or some herb or vicious kind of taste to it.

00:26:08But, you know, overall, I think if I go to a restaurant, a bistro, I would love to have that

00:26:13dish.

00:26:13All right, your score cards are in front of you.

00:26:1450 points available in the taste.

00:26:1740 points in the use of the randomizer.

00:26:20And 10 for presentation.

00:26:22Like, I nailed it with that randomizer.

00:26:24And there was not a whole lot of mention on that.

00:26:29All right, judges, here we are to present the second chef's dish.

00:26:31Wild card Justin Warner!

00:26:37I am bracing myself.

00:26:39Judges, this is a waterfall salad of pork loin and bell pepper.

00:26:44The pork loin was marinated in a mixture of shallot, fish sauce, sugar, chili, and a little dashi.

00:26:50Then it was done in the grill basket.

00:26:53The bell pepper was done in the grill basket.

00:26:55It then found its way into the salad.

00:26:57From there, in the dressing, you'll find charred chilies, charred garlic, and charred shallot.

00:27:03First of all, this dish is incredible.

00:27:06Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:27:08Different technique, different texture.

00:27:11This is a balance of everything they've been asked.

00:27:15I'll tell you what it is for me.

00:27:16It's the juiciness of the lettuce and the herbs and the onions that add further juiciness to the peppers that

00:27:23they lose when they're charred.

00:27:26That is the complexity of having a series of ingredients that are threaded together into a composed plate.

00:27:33Okay.

00:27:35Oh, yes!

00:27:36I almost feel like the pork becomes, like, the backseat driver in the dish, which is really interesting.

00:27:41I'm, like, enjoying the vegetation more in there than I am the pork.

00:27:45I actually, the ratio for me is off a little bit.

00:27:48There's actually less pork.

00:27:50There just seems to be more vegetable than there is pork.

00:27:52I love the herbs through it, but really, it's the char on that rice that I think tied this whole

00:27:57dish together that I think is brilliant.

00:27:59Oh!

00:28:01He knows how to cook.

00:28:02Great, judges.

00:28:03Thank you so much.

00:28:04It would mean so much to win.

00:28:07Affirmation, validation.

00:28:08I don't have a reputation, so, obviously, I want a good one.

00:28:12Ashley is a great cook, but I need to know that this first round is, like, one and done.

00:28:16I need to move on.

00:28:17Ladies and gentlemen, we've tallied the judges' score.

00:28:20I have the results, and let's bring our chefs back in.

00:28:24Chef Ashley!

00:28:25Chef Jeff!

00:28:29All right.

00:28:30Let's see how they do.

00:28:30Let's get into this.

00:28:31Good scores.

00:28:32One chef scored a 40 out of 50 in taste.

00:28:35Wow.

00:28:3533 out of 40 in the randomizer, a 7 out of 10 in presentation for 80.

00:28:4280 points.

00:28:43The other chef scored a 46 out of 50 in taste, a 34 out of 40 in the randomizer, and

00:28:51an 8 out of 10 in presentation for an 88!

00:28:54Wow.

00:28:56The winner of our premiere TOC battle between Chef Jet Tila and Chef Ashley Shanti is...

00:29:08Chef Jet Tila!

00:29:16Chef Ashley!

00:29:17Going up against one of the most feared and regarded chefs is not an easy task, but I think you

00:29:22held your own in an 80s.

00:29:24A great score.

00:29:25Yeah.

00:29:25This is awesome.

00:29:26Chef Ashley Shanti!

00:29:27Great job!

00:29:30Well, my time here is done.

00:29:33I am so proud of what I put out.

00:29:36I'm gonna take the judges' commentary

00:29:38and do better next time.

00:29:40That is the Jet Tila that can win TOC7.

00:29:46Let's see where we're going, buddy.

00:29:48Coming up next will be a shot between Tobias Dorzon

00:29:51or Claudette Cepeda.

00:29:53Damn.

00:29:54The Jetster.

00:29:55Winner in the first round of TOC7,

00:29:57Chef Jet Tila.

00:30:04You did say that you thought it was a little bit simple.

00:30:07I felt like it was incomplete.

00:30:09We saw both protein and the produce

00:30:11and an incredible sauce,

00:30:13but I felt like there needed to be something

00:30:14that brought everything together.

00:30:15I just think this chef maybe needs more experience.

00:30:19Are you ready to meet our next two contenders?

00:30:23We have Chef Claudette Cepeda,

00:30:26who has won her share of competitions and accolades,

00:30:29but she has dropped to a number six seed

00:30:31after losing in the first round of TOC6.

00:30:35I had a better seat last year, so I have to earn my spot.

00:30:38I need to be able to get through today

00:30:41to prove that I deserve to be here.

00:30:43Now her opponent, the number three seed, Chef Tobias Dorzon,

00:30:47whose five TOC victories pale in comparison

00:30:51to the incredible comeback he's made after a life-threatening incident.

00:30:56I was shot 11 times.

00:30:58I was told I wasn't going to be able to walk again.

00:31:00Just, you know, being able to rehab my way back into walking and moving

00:31:04was something that I wanted to make sure I could do.

00:31:07I'm back. I went home first round, TOC6.

00:31:10After being the number one seed, I got something to prove.

00:31:13Let's go.

00:31:16Are you ready to meet the contenders?

00:31:19Let's light it up!

00:31:23Her bold approach to regional Mexican cuisine

00:31:25has twice earned her a spot on Esquire's Best New Restaurant list.

00:31:32She was named Chef of the Year by Eater San Diego

00:31:36and was a James Beard semifinalist for Best Chef West.

00:31:40Put your hands together for the chef, restaurateur,

00:31:43and culinary anthropologist, Chef!

00:31:47Claudette Zepeda!

00:31:54Let's go!

00:32:03Culinary anthropologist.

00:32:05Big nerd.

00:32:06I love it!

00:32:07Her opponent.

00:32:08He grew up in Maryland working in his dad's West African eatery.

00:32:14And became acclaimed restaurateur named 2024 Chef of the Year

00:32:19by the Restaurant Association of Maryland.

00:32:23A former pro athlete.

00:32:25And his very first season on TOC, he went all the way to the final four.

00:32:31Give it up for the unstoppable honcho chef, Tobias Dorso!

00:32:43Let's go!

00:32:50Still having a lot of difficulty walking, going to physical therapy.

00:32:54But when we asked you if you wanted to compete, there wasn't even a hesitation.

00:32:59But it just brings us to the moment of the evening, which is?

00:33:02The randomizer.

00:33:02Chefs.

00:33:03Let's take it to the randomizer.

00:33:05Right this way!

00:33:11Everybody ready?

00:33:12Let it rip.

00:33:13Let's get it!

00:33:14Let's get after it.

00:33:14Going for the proteins!

00:33:15Yeah!

00:33:27Skirt steak.

00:33:29The produce will be broccoli rabe, the toaster oven, pickled, and chef's re-spin.

00:33:41Chefs, which one of the wheels would you like to re-spin?

00:33:44Let's do style.

00:33:45I'll do style.

00:33:46Style.

00:33:48Style!

00:33:49Let's spin it up.

00:33:50Here we go!

00:33:58The randomizer giveth.

00:34:01Skirt steak, broccoli rabe, toaster oven, pickled.

00:34:05Chefs, you have 30 minutes.

00:34:07Good luck.

00:34:12Skirt steak.

00:34:12I love Skirt steak.

00:34:13Huge fan.

00:34:15Super flavorful.

00:34:16Broccoli rabe, a little more bitter than regular broccoli.

00:34:19Toaster ovens today are like next level.

00:34:22And pickled.

00:34:23You're gonna see some really creative food coming out of tonight's competition.

00:34:28I am very happy with my randomizer, but the person I'm going up against is someone that I not only

00:34:34care about, but respect tremendously.

00:34:36And to see him today without a cane, walking, he's a hero. Like, that's insane.

00:34:42I mean, I'm definitely the underdog between Tobias and myself. This is his house. He's competed. He knows his kitchen.

00:34:49It's gonna get messy, but I'm so ready.

00:34:52So, overall, the randomizer's good. I cook Skirt steak, so I know how to handle it. I know Chef Claudette,

00:34:57you know, we're good friends. And so, you know, I already know what to expect. Big flavors.

00:35:01I'm a totally different person from TOC 6. I thought I wasn't even gonna be able to cook again. So

00:35:07now I take these opportunities as, you know, it may never happen again. I go into them with a different

00:35:11mindset.

00:35:17Last year, Chef Zepeda had a little bit of a rocky start in her premiere battle in the TOC kitchens.

00:35:23But she's coming in with a new attitude. And I'm excited to see how this pans out.

00:35:28Come on, guys. You gotta be a little energy.

00:35:31I am making grilled pickled outside skirt steak, roasted broccoli raw pickle concoction, and a pipian escabeche.

00:35:42First thing I want to do is brine my skirt steak. I grab a jar of cornichons. It has white

00:35:46distilled vinegar, onions, and mustard seeds, coriander.

00:35:50Brush that over to the vacuum seal machine. While that is vacuuming, I start with my sauce.

00:35:56I'm just trying to get this going. It's a riff off of pipian.

00:35:59A pipian sauce is a fresh, chile, pumpkin seed-based sauce. Today I'm making a pipian with a dried chile,

00:36:07and I think the broccoli raw will get the flavor.

00:36:11I'm putting a couple chunks of pretano maduro. It's not only going to give me a little bit of sugar

00:36:15to counterbalance the spicy morita, but it's also going to give me texture when I blend it.

00:36:20I am a product of my grandmother and the matriarchs of Mexico, the keepers of the secret recipes of Mexico

00:36:27throughout the seven regions, which also kind of makes me one of the dangerous ones.

00:36:32Come on, Corbin!

00:36:33Yeah!

00:36:36Not your first skirt steak, chef.

00:36:38You know it.

00:36:39My main plan is to make pickled, nice tender skirt steak, and broccoli raw, pickled onions, and some Asian pears.

00:36:46I'm going to go Asian brine on the skirt steak. I've studied Asian for a long time. My restaurant is

00:36:52Asian and West African fusion. Big, bold flavors. The salt and the vinegar and the tamarind will give a steak

00:36:58a slight pickle.

00:36:59I'm going to win this year because of the confidence that I have in myself. I mean, the pain that

00:37:04I push through every day, I wouldn't wish on no one. But even though circumstances happen, you've got to be

00:37:10the best that you can be and make comebacks that no one can expect you to make. I want the

00:37:15title so bad, I've got to get back there.

00:37:20Tobias, Claudette, you are at the halfway point. 15 minutes to go. 15.

00:37:29The judges are really looking for multiple uses of the protein, multiple uses of the produce, and they definitely want

00:37:36to see the style as much as they can.

00:37:40In putting these randomizer things together, I want to do at least two of them in more than one style.

00:37:47The broccoli rabe has different complexities in its bitterness and its flavor. I know it's one bitter-ass green. The

00:37:55leaves are the most tender and less bitter. So I'm ripping the leaves off and I'm going to put them

00:38:01in the toaster oven with just a little bit of olive oil and salt.

00:38:04A little bit of this and a little bit of that.

00:38:09What's the plan for the second pan?

00:38:11The brine for the stems.

00:38:14So I'm going to bring it all together to make a small little salad of all my broccoli rabe and

00:38:19its different iterations.

00:38:20Broccoli rabe is in the turnip family, so it's a cruciferous vegetable, just like broccoli, but it is not broccoli

00:38:26and can stand up to some pretty heavy cooking.

00:38:32Just at ten minutes, Chef.

00:38:33Yep.

00:38:34Any other applications for the toaster oven?

00:38:37I'm going to roast these broccoli rabe.

00:38:40The marinade that used to the steak has a good twang and sweetness to it, so I wanted to actually

00:38:45add some of that to the broccoli rabe.

00:38:46Yep.

00:38:47Throw that back into the toaster oven so it can get a little bit more color and get a little

00:38:52bit of char.

00:38:56Eight minutes, Chefs. We have eight minutes to go.

00:38:59Woo!

00:39:02For those of you who don't know me, I am born and raised between Tijuana and San Diego.

00:39:08So what I have ingrained in me is not only a love for food, but it is understanding what meat

00:39:14needs what.

00:39:15And a skirt steak needs a grill.

00:39:18I want a perfectly mid-rare skirt steak.

00:39:21To win Tournament of Champions is like sick bragging rights.

00:39:26As a WWE kid and a Lucha Libre kid, I want that belt.

00:39:31Like, I just want the hardware.

00:39:36What's the plan for the pear, Chef?

00:39:37I'm pickling them.

00:39:38Pickling, okay.

00:39:39Pickled onion and broccoli rabe salad on top.

00:39:42This Asian pear, I wanted to pickle it and give a little bit of fruitiness to the little salad I

00:39:47was going to throw on top.

00:39:48All-Star Christmas was my first test.

00:39:50You know, actually my first competition since my injury.

00:39:54It helped give me confidence.

00:39:55Cooking skills is definitely back even better than they were before.

00:39:59So it is that time.

00:40:00Chefs, this is your final five minutes.

00:40:03Five minutes to be plated.

00:40:07So I'm getting my plate all set up.

00:40:09The sauce, I want it to be more refined.

00:40:13And I don't want the portion of meat to be larger than the broccoli rabe.

00:40:17I want them to be equally balanced on the dish.

00:40:20This is a one and done cook.

00:40:22That last plate is all that matters.

00:40:24I hope it's enough to get me the win.

00:40:27Three minutes.

00:40:30So now that I have my broccoli rabe,

00:40:32now I want to plate that first.

00:40:35So that's the bottom component.

00:40:36Then I want to slice my steaks on the bias,

00:40:39lay those over top.

00:40:40A couple of good medium rare pieces on top of that.

00:40:43And then I want to finish it off with the pickle salad that I have,

00:40:46with the broccoli rabe, the pickled red onions,

00:40:49and the pickled pears.

00:40:50Since my injury came so far,

00:40:53I'm just blessed to be here.

00:40:54So it's important, you know, just to build my legacy and get this win.

00:40:59Five, four, three, two, one.

00:41:02That's it.

00:41:05Two amazing chefs, one amazing battle.

00:41:08Good luck with the judging.

00:41:10We'll see you in a bit.

00:41:11Let's go.

00:41:11Chef Bonnet.

00:41:12Chef Bonnet.

00:41:13Let's bring those judges in.

00:41:15Ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome back our judges,

00:41:17Iron Chef Alex Bordeschelli,

00:41:19reigning TOC champ Antonio Lofaso,

00:41:22and three-star Michelin Chef Chris Chateau, Dominique Crenn.

00:41:27Oh, God.

00:41:28Man, they got some heavy hitters out here tonight.

00:41:31Judges, the randomizer served up for protein, the skirt steak.

00:41:35Produce was broccoli rabe.

00:41:37Equipment was a toaster oven in the style of pickle.

00:41:41And the chefs had to re-spin.

00:41:43They didn't want pickle, so they got pickled again.

00:41:46Here to present the first dish is the wild card himself, Justin Warner.

00:41:52Judges, this is bistec en escabeche con pipian de broccoli rabe.

00:41:57Ooh, nice.

00:41:58So that skirt steak received a little bit of a pickling treatment itself

00:42:01with white vinegar and mustard seed.

00:42:03From there, it was grilled.

00:42:04In terms of the broccoli rabe, you have it in that pipian.

00:42:07The broccoli rabe leaves that you will find in the salad were done in the toaster oven.

00:42:12And then you will also notice pickled broccoli rabe components in that salad as well.

00:42:16As always, judges, if you have any questions, I have the answers.

00:42:20The drama.

00:42:22This is incredible.

00:42:23I think it's very balanced.

00:42:25There is a little bit of sweetness to it.

00:42:27There is a lot of acidity.

00:42:28There is a little bit of fat.

00:42:30There is spiciness.

00:42:31This is a really, really complex dish.

00:42:34I'm gonna cry.

00:42:36I'm trying to hold it in.

00:42:37There's like a finesse here.

00:42:39There's an elegance.

00:42:40There's a je ne sais quoi.

00:42:45I think this sauce, I feel like having it all in one big dollop, and me having to dose

00:42:51it to myself with the rest of the components, I ate too much of it.

00:42:56That's the opposite of what I meant.

00:42:58Like, when you have a puddle, then it touches everything.

00:43:00This dish is spectacular.

00:43:02You know, there's a couple of slices of skirt steak, medium rare, and it is so tender.

00:43:08It melts in your mouth.

00:43:09But the star of the plate is the broccoli rabe.

00:43:12There's that crunch and dryness to them that are so wonderful.

00:43:15There's the char that goes throughout, the pickling.

00:43:18Talking sweet about me, so the reaction is I'm gonna cry.

00:43:21There's so much finesse here.

00:43:23But I would say there's plenty of pickle here.

00:43:26I would argue there's almost too much vinegar here.

00:43:29There's almost too much pickle.

00:43:31Mmm.

00:43:34Fantastic.

00:43:34Judges, scorecards in front of you.

00:43:3650 points in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer, and 10 points for the presentation.

00:43:41This one right here, you know, it's gonna be a close one.

00:43:45I left it all there.

00:43:46We'll see what they say about Tobias, and may the best chef win.

00:43:50Judges here to explain the second dish is Chef Tiffany Faison, champ.

00:43:58Chefs, in front of you, you have tamarind roasted skirt steak with roasted and pickled brine dressed broccoli rabe.

00:44:04A slaw of pickled broccoli rabe, Asian pear, and red onion.

00:44:08Let's stop skirting around this and let's talk steak.

00:44:11This chef created a brine and then continued to cook the skirt steak on the grill.

00:44:15The brine was then used to dress a little bit of the broccoli rabe that was roasted all the way

00:44:20in the toaster oven.

00:44:21Finally, you have a slaw of broccoli rabe florets that were picked and pickled with Asian pear, red onion on

00:44:26top.

00:44:27Yes, ma'am.

00:44:29I am obsessed with the tamarind marinade on the outside.

00:44:33I think that is what balances this dish so perfectly.

00:44:38I'm in some, like, acidic, sweet, nostalgic state where this skirt steak and this chef took the pickled and the

00:44:46skirt steak off that randomizer and transformed this into something else, which I think is TOC all day long.

00:44:55I heard you, Alex.

00:44:56I picked up some broccoli and I got this bitterness in my mouth that was, like, just so overpowering.

00:45:04Very interesting dish.

00:45:05I feel that there was just one dimension to it.

00:45:08All right, judges, thank you very much.

00:45:10Your scorecards are in front of you.

00:45:13How you doing?

00:45:14I feel good.

00:45:15I feel good about two of the three judges, you know, but she had two of the three judges as

00:45:19well.

00:45:20Alex didn't, you know, find for her dishes much, too.

00:45:23So, you know, it's just who used the randomizer better, who, who, who put gameplay better, you know, and it's

00:45:30gonna be a close one.

00:45:31I still feel very proud of what I did, and may the best chef win.

00:45:34Win or lose, I just can't even prove that I can still compete, you know?

00:45:37Let's just see what the judges think.

00:45:39All right, chef.

00:45:40Okay.

00:45:42Let's go see if I'm going to the second round.

00:45:43Let's go.

00:45:44Let's bring our chefs back in.

00:45:46Chef Claudette!

00:45:47Chef Dimaeus!

00:45:53There was a lot going on there.

00:45:55Yeah, huh?

00:45:57Let's get into this.

00:45:58One chef scored 85.

00:46:03The other chef scored a 87.

00:46:06Wow!

00:46:07A two-point difference.

00:46:12Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the first round between Chef Dimaeus Borzon and Chef Claudette Zepeda is...

00:46:27Claudette Zepeda!

00:46:30Congratulations!

00:46:33Good job.

00:46:34Good job.

00:46:35I did it.

00:46:38Zepeda knocked it out of the park.

00:46:41Good job.

00:46:42Good job.

00:46:43Chef, congratulations.

00:46:45Chef Tobias.

00:46:46There's no stopping the honcho.

00:46:48No.

00:46:48Not at all.

00:46:48There's no stopping the honcho at all, man.

00:46:50Good job.

00:46:56Good job.

00:46:59I thought I hit the stake perfectly.

00:47:02I thought I used a randomizer to the T, but, you know, things happen, man.

00:47:06It wasn't my night.

00:47:06Chef, you just won your first round in Tournament of Champions!

00:47:13Claudette Zepeda!

00:47:15Let's take a look.

00:47:17Oh, now I gotta go up against Jet.

00:47:19Claudette Zepeda going up against Jet Tila.

00:47:23I'm excited.

00:47:24Let's go.

00:47:26Congratulations, Chef.

00:47:27That's gotta feel great.

00:47:28It does, it does.

00:47:29And now you're in round two, and you're going up against Jet Tila.

00:47:31That's terrifying.

00:47:33It's gonna be a good battle.

00:47:35Are you ready to meet our next two culinary masters?

00:47:41We have our first rematch of TOC 7.

00:47:44Now, these chefs faced off a TOC 6, and an upset victory flipped their rankings this year.

00:47:51We have the number five seed, Chef Karen Akunowicz, who has twice been a TOC quarterfinalist, but was knocked out

00:47:58last year in the first round by Chef Sawyer.

00:48:02I was really heartbroken last year.

00:48:05I thought about it all year.

00:48:06I was still thinking about it on the plane, on the way here.

00:48:10Really happy to be here and to have the opportunity.

00:48:13At number four seed, Chef Jonathan Sawyer, who secured his first TOC victory last year, has been racking up impressive

00:48:19culinary victories ever since.

00:48:21Four seed is the highest ranking I've ever had, being my fourth year.

00:48:25I've also won Wild Card Kitchen, became the champion of 24 and 24.

00:48:30I'm on a hot streak right now.

00:48:32We're both James Beard Award winners, you know, which is a recognition that, like, not a lot of people in

00:48:37this competition hold, right?

00:48:38There's three of us, except for maybe the icons, but I don't know because I don't know who they are.

00:48:43It's gonna be a tough one.

00:48:44Jonathan, I love you.

00:48:46Sorry I have to beat you and send you home.

00:48:48My brother.

00:48:49You're in there, ready for you.

00:48:50All right.

00:48:51All right, Chef, you ready to battle?

00:48:52Carpe diem.

00:48:57Are you ready for a Rip Roar at TOC rematch?

00:49:01Yeah!

00:49:03So let's light it up!

00:49:06Inspired by her years spent as a chef and a pastry maker in Italy,

00:49:10she opened three renowned Italian restaurants in her beloved Boston.

00:49:17Her restaurant, Fox & Knife, made food and wine, eaters, and USA Today's Best New Restaurants list.

00:49:242018, she received the James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast.

00:49:32Put your hands together for the Fox!

00:49:36Chef Karen Okunowicz!

00:49:45In her greatness.

00:49:47So interesting, how would we call this?

00:49:50The rematch.

00:49:51Mm-hmm.

00:49:52Let's see what happens.

00:49:53Your opponent!

00:49:57After learning his mastery of meats from the culinary greats such as Michael Simon,

00:50:02and his solo venture named Best New Restaurant by Bon Appetit and Esquire.

00:50:10In 2017, he received the James Beard Award for Best Chef Great Lakes.

00:50:19Heat out 23 other chefs to win the second season of 24 and 24.

00:50:27Put your hands together for the bearded ballers!

00:50:31Chef Jonathan Sawyer!

00:50:34Good!

00:50:36Good!

00:50:37Good!

00:50:39Good!

00:50:40Good!

00:50:41Good!

00:50:42Well, chef, it's a moment right now that we get to see two James Beard Award-winning chefs,

00:50:50two friends, and once again, be opponents.

00:50:55Do I bring it to you at TOC, or what?

00:50:58Chefs, let's take it to the randomizer, right this way.

00:51:03That's what I'm talking about.

00:51:05The randomizer loves no one.

00:51:07Let's get into it, folks, here we go, protein.

00:51:18Salmon, chicken, chops.

00:51:21Chops.

00:51:21Lamb shoulder chops.

00:51:24And fingerling potatoes, rice, are breaded.

00:51:27Wow.

00:51:29But the low seed is going to spin.

00:51:35Karen, you must pick one of the four.

00:51:38I would think about spinning the edges.

00:51:41The edges.

00:51:42I'll go style.

00:51:43Style?

00:51:43Yeah.

00:51:44Okay, here we go, re-spinning style.

00:51:46I mean, I don't know.

00:51:48I don't know.

00:51:50Sauté, breaded, creamy, sautéed.

00:51:56Hmm.

00:51:57Happier than you're breaded?

00:51:59Yeah.

00:52:02Lamb shoulders, fingerling potatoes, ricer, sautéed.

00:52:05Sautéed, 30 minutes, and revenge is best served.

00:52:11Go cook.

00:52:12Go cook.

00:52:15The lamb shoulder chop, tons of flavor.

00:52:18Fingerling potatoes, why do they call them that?

00:52:19Because they look like fingers.

00:52:20And what goes great with that?

00:52:21Ricer.

00:52:22The only thing is you can't rice a fingerling potato.

00:52:25Do a ricer, let's take the skin off.

00:52:27Sautéed, we all know this one.

00:52:28It's cooked fast and hot and a little bit of fat.

00:52:31Could be a way to do the chop, not sure.

00:52:33And the low seed re-spin, I think that was a good move,

00:52:36getting off of the breaded.

00:52:38For me, this dish is gonna be all about technique

00:52:40and maximum flavor, because I'm going against a killer.

00:52:43I'm going against one of the best, Karen Akunewicz.

00:52:47I think that there's nobody she would rather face

00:52:50to redeem herself in this entire bracket than me.

00:52:53Let's go.

00:52:57Hi, Justin, how are you?

00:52:59Perfect, and you?

00:53:00I'm great.

00:53:01After last year, I didn't know if I could come back.

00:53:05I was so heartbroken.

00:53:07I was determined to take Jonathan down.

00:53:09It's gonna be a tough competition,

00:53:10but in the end, I'm coming out the winner.

00:53:14Thanks, guys.

00:53:16This round feels like deja vu.

00:53:18Feels like I've been here before with this guy

00:53:20against that chef.

00:53:22You wanna talk direction and general?

00:53:24Yeah, I'm gonna make a sautéed lamb,

00:53:26shoulder blade steak, glazed and gochijang shoyu

00:53:29and black garlic.

00:53:30Hey, that's the start of our plan.

00:53:32All right, I love it.

00:53:32The goal of this marinade is sort of threefold.

00:53:34We're gonna intensify the lamb flavor.

00:53:37We're gonna tenderize it, and we're gonna also add complexity

00:53:40through that umami.

00:53:41With the lamb shoulder, you gotta break down the tendons

00:53:44and the sinew, pounding it paper-thin with a meat mallet.

00:53:48All right, meat is tenderizing.

00:53:51I'm gonna sauté some bones to fortify that broth.

00:53:53You like that?

00:53:54I'm going up against a James Beard award-winning chef,

00:53:57the fox.

00:53:57They don't call her the fox because she's not an assassin

00:54:00inside of this arena.

00:54:02I have zero margin for error.

00:54:04I absolutely need to nail this dish.

00:54:08Chef, when you have a plan, let me know.

00:54:10I'm going to go Middle Easter.

00:54:12I'm gonna make some beautiful, creamy mashed fingerling potatoes.

00:54:15I'm gonna season my lamb with shawarma spice, with coriander, and cumin.

00:54:22I'm known for my modern Italian cuisine,

00:54:24but I've also studied Middle Eastern cuisine,

00:54:27so my depth and breadth of knowledge of food is vast.

00:54:30I start sautéing the aromatics that are going to start

00:54:33my lamb pomegranate jus.

00:54:36So I'm gonna sauté the lamb.

00:54:39Yep.

00:54:39And I'm gonna add some stock to it.

00:54:42This is so important and so personal for me this year.

00:54:45My mom had a stroke this year,

00:54:47and it made me realize how precious every single moment is.

00:54:52And if we're not taking every opportunity and every moment

00:54:56and running with it,

00:54:57I'm not living the kind of life I want to live.

00:55:00It would mean everything for me to win today.

00:55:0320-minute chefs, 20 to go.

00:55:06Got to be plated in 20.

00:55:08My dish tonight is inspired by a Middle Eastern steakhouse.

00:55:15And another sauté.

00:55:17Sautéing this Swiss chard.

00:55:19I add to it heavy cream and butter as well as feta cheese.

00:55:23An important component to this dish.

00:55:30We're gonna make a potato puree,

00:55:31something smooth, creamy to go underneath.

00:55:35To maximize my potato points on the randomizer,

00:55:38I'm gonna slice some purple potatoes

00:55:39to get the least oily chip.

00:55:41They have to be paper thin.

00:55:43This is the most important culinary competition

00:55:45that I'll do ever.

00:55:47I am 41 months sober,

00:55:49and I'm more clear-headed than ever.

00:55:51To tell my kids that I am the guy that they know,

00:55:54I am the man and the chef and the father

00:55:56that they can be proud of,

00:55:57and fellow sober people and sober curious people out there,

00:56:00competing on this level, winning on this level,

00:56:02shows them that this is a path to victory.

00:56:04But now, I gotta win this first one

00:56:06before anything else happens.

00:56:08Ten minutes, ten left in the competition.

00:56:11Next step for the potatoes is to put them through the ricer

00:56:13and add them to butter and cream

00:56:15and whisk them together.

00:56:17Creamy, fluffy, and look at that, gorgeous.

00:56:19I know I need to use the ricer.

00:56:22Another way, I'm gonna pass my beautiful heirloom tomato

00:56:25through the ricer...

00:56:26What?

00:56:27...to start the base for my relish.

00:56:29Adding pomegranate molasses and sherry vinegar

00:56:31and tasting it, and it's delicious.

00:56:35Starting the rice.

00:56:39There we go.

00:56:40Gotta get meat in.

00:56:41This dish is all about technique and maximum flavor,

00:56:45and give me maximum points.

00:56:48Four minutes!

00:56:50I'm gonna keep this dish really tight.

00:56:53I'm really hoping the judge is gonna be wowed

00:56:54by my use of the randomizer.

00:56:56I sauteed everything, unless it was riced.

00:57:00You come into this competition,

00:57:01and people watching, maybe they think it's a game,

00:57:03but to all of us that are here,

00:57:05it is your reputation.

00:57:07It's your honor.

00:57:09That's what we all come here and put on the line.

00:57:11It would mean everything for me to win today.

00:57:14Two minutes!

00:57:15Just like that, the lamb is cooked.

00:57:18Even though plating's only 10 points,

00:57:19these judges eat with their eyes first.

00:57:21You have to nail plating.

00:57:23One minute!

00:57:24It's bittersweet.

00:57:25At the end of the day,

00:57:26one of the two greatest people that are here

00:57:28has to go home, and I gotta win.

00:57:30Five, four, three, two, one!

00:57:34That's it!

00:57:37Beautiful plate.

00:57:40Chef Garen, Chef Jonathan, well done!

00:57:44It was a great battle.

00:57:47So great.

00:57:48Was that 10 minutes, or was that...

00:57:50One!

00:57:54Ladies and gentlemen, let's invite back our super judges,

00:57:58Alex Guarnaschelli.

00:57:59Alex Guarnaschelli is one of my favorite chefs in the world.

00:58:03And Tony Lofaso.

00:58:04Oh, jeez.

00:58:05Of course.

00:58:06Reigning champs here.

00:58:07And Dominic Crenn.

00:58:08Dominic Crenn, Michelin master.

00:58:11The randomizer served up lamb shoulder chops,

00:58:15fingerling potatoes.

00:58:17The equipment was the ricer, style was sautéed.

00:58:20Here to present the first dish,

00:58:22the one and only TOC champ herself, Tiffany Faison.

00:58:25I did everything I can.

00:58:26In front of you, you have marinated

00:58:28and sautéed lamb shoulder chops

00:58:30with a fingerling fiore and fingerling chips

00:58:33with lamb fat sautéed shallots

00:58:35and sautéed lamb bonjour.

00:58:36The white fingerlings were peeled and cooked,

00:58:39then sent through the ricer.

00:58:40Very nice.

00:58:41Thank you, chef.

00:58:43It sounds great.

00:58:44I have no doubt that Jonathan made it an awesome dish.

00:58:46I feel transported to another place.

00:58:48I really do.

00:58:49That's good, right?

00:58:50She loves it.

00:58:52I like how the lamb shoulder was treated.

00:58:54I think that's a very hard piece of meat.

00:58:58This is technique all day long.

00:59:01Obviously, fingerling potatoes, ricer,

00:59:03of course, we're gonna go mashed.

00:59:04But the fact that they took the sort of beautiful red ones

00:59:07and slivered them and got them so crisp

00:59:10and there's no, like, remnants of oil.

00:59:13It's delicious.

00:59:15The only thing, my lamb kind of not cooked all the way,

00:59:19so the fat was not melted.

00:59:22Judges, thank you very much.

00:59:23Scorecards are in front of you.

00:59:2450 points in taste, 40 points in the use of the randomizer,

00:59:28and 10 points in the presentation.

00:59:31That feels like a good score.

00:59:32We'll see.

00:59:34Judges, the chef welcomes you to a Middle Eastern steakhouse.

00:59:38The chop was pounded and seasoned with shawarma spice.

00:59:41It was then sauteed in a pan.

00:59:42It then became the basis for a sauteed jus.

00:59:45For the fingerling potatoes, they were riced

00:59:47and then combined with heavy cream and butter.

00:59:50For use of the ricer, we had some tomato go through there

00:59:53as well, providing some textural juxtaposition

00:59:55with the pomegranate and the salad

00:59:56that you'll see crowning the dish.

00:59:58In terms of other sauteed elements,

01:00:00you have some chard combined with feta cheese,

01:00:02chopped and placed on the side of the plate.

01:00:06Love the riced tomato.

01:00:08And I think the riced tomato with the pomegranate

01:00:11and the mint offers all the dimension here.

01:00:16I think these are two chefs, toe-to-toe, neck-and-neck.

01:00:19This is gonna be by half a point.

01:00:21Oh, Alex!

01:00:23Ugh.

01:00:24I love that the lamb is still on the bone.

01:00:26It makes me think of a lamb chop.

01:00:27That, I think, mixed with the mint and the pomegranate

01:00:30and the feta with the lamb, it's just, like, textbook good.

01:00:33I'm obsessed with the stash.

01:00:36She's obsessed with it!

01:00:38I love the pomegranate,

01:00:39but it's a little bit of balance, I think.

01:00:42The meat, it's just kind of overpowering everything.

01:00:45Thank you very much.

01:00:47So Antonia said she's obsessed.

01:00:49I know, but Dominique didn't love it.

01:00:52It's gonna be this close.

01:00:54I want this so badly.

01:00:56All right, chef, the scores are in.

01:00:59That was quick.

01:01:00Let's do it.

01:01:01Let's welcome back the chefs.

01:01:04Chef Jonathan.

01:01:05Chef Karen.

01:01:10Very high scores.

01:01:12One chef scored a 86.

01:01:19The other chef, 89.

01:01:23Ladies and gentlemen, the winner of the first round rematch

01:01:28between Chef Jonathan Sawyer and Chef Karen Akunowicz is...

01:01:36The winner is...

01:01:44Jonathan Sawyer!

01:01:51I'll tell you what, Fox, we love you in TOC.

01:01:53You are a true competitor.

01:01:55Give it up for the Fox, Chef Karen Akunowicz!

01:02:01Yeah, I feel terrible.

01:02:03Maybe it's the best I've ever cooked.

01:02:04I love it for Jonathan.

01:02:06I hope he goes all the way.

01:02:07I do.

01:02:07Truly, truly.

01:02:09Congratulations!

01:02:10First round win, Jonathan Sawyer.

01:02:13Let's take a look.

01:02:14Getting ready to compete against either Artie Sequeira,

01:02:18going up against the legend who will be showing up shortly

01:02:22tonight.

01:02:23Shut up.

01:02:24Give it up!

01:02:26The bearded bowler, Jonathan Sawyer.

01:02:34Yes!

01:02:35I don't think I've ever gotten a 9 out of 10 on plating anywhere,

01:02:39ever.

01:02:40Call my wife.

01:02:41Ask her.

01:02:41She'll back you up on this.

01:02:43She thinks I played everything left-handed on purpose.

01:02:45I'm right-handed, by the way.

01:02:47And now, ladies and gentlemen, the moment we have all been waiting

01:02:51for.

01:02:52We have a qualifier winner going up against our very first mystery

01:02:57culinary icon.

01:02:58Number 8 seed Chef Artie Sequeira is a Food Network star who

01:03:03stepped into the TOC arena for the first time and defeated an

01:03:06experienced competitor, Chef Brittany Anderson, to earn her spot

01:03:10in the bracket.

01:03:12Any concerns about not knowing who you're going to face?

01:03:15I have every concern about being in the main bracket.

01:03:18I'm the first one to go up against these icons, right?

01:03:21So I do feel the rest of the bracket watching.

01:03:25Her opponent is the first of our top-seeded culinary icons and one

01:03:29of the most accomplished chefs to ever step into the TOC arena.

01:03:34Artie, they're ready for you.

01:03:36Oh my gosh.

01:03:37Okay!

01:03:38We're going to do this.

01:03:39Let's go.

01:03:40Are you ready to see Chef Artie battle our mystery icon?

01:03:45Then let's light it up!

01:03:49Now, she started as a news producer for CNN.

01:03:52But after attending culinary school, she launched her own

01:03:56online cooking show.

01:03:582010, she outperformed 11 other hopefuls to win Season 6 of

01:04:03the Food Network star and turned her Artie's parties into a

01:04:06network cooking show.

01:04:08Ladies and gentlemen, put your hands together for the Spice Queen,

01:04:11the one and only Chef Artie Saquera!

01:04:21What is this?

01:04:23Hi!

01:04:25You're making history tonight, Artie, because you are the first to go up

01:04:28against our mystery culinary icon.

01:04:32Um, I got, like, butterflies.

01:04:33I've been waiting forever for this moment.

01:04:36Oh!

01:04:36Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the first mystery icon competitor?

01:04:45Now, our mystery icon has both competed and judged some of the most

01:04:49high-profile culinary competitions in the world.

01:04:55While pursuing his Yale engineering degree, he took some classes in Le Cordon Bleu.

01:05:011998, he opened an iconic restaurant and was named Chef of the Year by Esquire

01:05:06and became the first Emmy-winning host on Food Network.

01:05:12He beat Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America and became one of the newest Iron Chefs in 2022.

01:05:19He earned a James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast and was inducted into the Culinary

01:05:24Hall of Fame in 2023.

01:05:27And has showcased his pioneering East meets West cuisine for almost two decades

01:05:33on his acclaimed PBS series, Simply Ming.

01:05:38Oh, my God!

01:05:39Give it up for the world food icon, Chef Ming Tsai!

01:05:50Shut up!

01:05:51They gotta have to do this!

01:05:59Chef Ming, you're one of the first superstar icons that I ever met

01:06:04when I came into Food Network.

01:06:06So, Chef, thank you very much.

01:06:08Thank you very much.

01:06:08Love and respect.

01:06:11It's a freaking honor to go up against you.

01:06:14And thank you for thinking me worthy of something like this.

01:06:17Oh, we know you're worthy.

01:06:18And now, let's take it to the randomizer.

01:06:20Let's go, Chefs!

01:06:26Without further ado, this is the finale of the night.

01:06:29Let's go!

01:06:30Protein!

01:06:37Salmon!

01:06:38Okay.

01:06:39Aromas?

01:06:40Fox Grater?

01:06:41Nutty.

01:06:42And protein or produce re-spin.

01:06:46But the two of you need to agree on which one it's going to be.

01:06:51I say produce.

01:06:53I say produce.

01:06:55Here we go.

01:06:56Going for produce.

01:07:00Is it going to be tomatoes again?

01:07:02Probably.

01:07:03Ah!

01:07:05Come on, you guys!

01:07:07Salmon, Roman tomatoes, box grater, nutty, 30 minutes.

01:07:13Chefs, go.

01:07:15Okay.

01:07:17Here we go.

01:07:18Let's go.

01:07:20Salmon, I think people love it or hate it.

01:07:22Roma tomatoes, a little plum tomato.

01:07:24This is culinary like for tomato sauce and so forth.

01:07:27Box Grater has so many versatile sides to it.

01:07:29See how they use it.

01:07:30And then nutty, are they crusting the salmon in it?

01:07:32They got to taste it and they got to see it.

01:07:35Ming Tsai knows so much about food that I don't even know that I don't know.

01:07:41I mean, why don't you just ask Julia Child to come back from the dead and be there too?

01:07:47Like, this is so ridiculous.

01:07:50Thank you!

01:07:52I cannot believe I'm going to battle this guy.

01:07:56Like, that makes no sense.

01:07:58I don't see the parm.

01:08:00Icon means absolutely nothing.

01:08:03Only thing that matters is what's on the plate.

01:08:05And for every year I judged, I think, my God, I should get back and cook.

01:08:08And I came here with a mission, win this thing.

01:08:11So I think I'm going to do butter chicken, but with salmon.

01:08:15The combination of box grater and tomatoes is making me think, like, butter chicken sauce.

01:08:20Salmon has a ton of fat.

01:08:21It's a sassy little fish.

01:08:23And so I think that it'll go great with the tenderly seasoning.

01:08:25Into a very hot skillet, skin side down, and just let it cook.

01:08:30I just want to let you know I need a lot of validation.

01:08:34Thank you, guys. You're amazing.

01:08:37Chef Ming Tsai is an icon.

01:08:38People grew up watching him.

01:08:40He inspired legions of chefs to enter this arena.

01:08:45Chef, when you have a plan, fill me in.

01:08:47Oh, we're going to cook some salmon.

01:08:49And we're going to make a nice nutty pesto.

01:08:53So I'm going to make salmon and crispy skin it.

01:08:55Make a tri-nut pesto.

01:08:57Make a tomato fondue.

01:08:59That's the plan.

01:09:00A little crispy skin there, Justin.

01:09:02Yes, Chef.

01:09:03Speaking my language.

01:09:04I love salmon.

01:09:05It's fatty.

01:09:06Easy to break down.

01:09:07You can get perfect squares.

01:09:09I'm nuking the skin in the microwave, because usually people fry it.

01:09:13But when you fry it, it doesn't get that crispy.

01:09:15Salmon has been butchered, portioned.

01:09:17The skin has been reserved, pressed between paper towels, and is cooking away in the microwave to subtly render the

01:09:23fat.

01:09:24Maybe Iron Chef behavior.

01:09:26You guys doing all right out there?

01:09:27Yeah, audience?

01:09:29Yeah?

01:09:30Anyone hungry?

01:09:31I was still looking forward to competing on the two days off with my Chef de Cuisine and Sous Chef.

01:09:35Okay, practice.

01:09:36At my restaurant, they gave me three randomizers, and we timed it.

01:09:41I am ready.

01:09:43This is really crazy.

01:09:44The fact that he's here doing this competing round one.

01:09:48Artie's got her work cut out for her.

01:09:49Could you imagine if she wins?

01:09:52Or can you imagine if she doesn't, and he moves on, and everybody in the bracket has to start facing

01:09:57him?

01:09:58Yikes.

01:10:01Chef Artie, Chef Ming, 20 minutes left in the competition.

01:10:0520 to go.

01:10:07This is unlike anything we've ever done before, just bringing in these culinary icons.

01:10:11People that we have all been, like, in awe of growing up as young chefs.

01:10:15But if ever there was an eight seat that could take out a one, my money's on Artie.

01:10:19Talk me through the sauce, Chef.

01:10:21So, butter, oil.

01:10:23Like, regular butter or brown butter?

01:10:25How does that typically go?

01:10:26I'm gonna brown it.

01:10:27In order to make this nutty, butter chicken always has butter sauce in it, right?

01:10:31Brown butter is nutty.

01:10:33So, I'm gonna let this butter brown a little bit.

01:10:36So, it just has this underbelly of nuttiness that I'm hoping the judges will be able to taste.

01:10:41I'm gonna grate the tomatoes for that, and the ginger and the garlic.

01:10:45Then I go about box grating my aromatics, my garlic, my ginger.

01:10:49Then I add some Kashmiri chili, some garam masala, and a little bit of ground cumin.

01:10:54And just let them cook.

01:10:56So, next, I'm box grating the tomatoes.

01:10:59And actually, this is great.

01:11:02It gets rid of all the skin.

01:11:04It gives you just that delicious, juicy pulp.

01:11:08Ming is a mainstay on the judging side of things here at TOC.

01:11:12So, he really understands the game.

01:11:14I mean, he knows what the judges are looking for.

01:11:18And so, of course, he's gonna be an even fiercer competitor for it.

01:11:22But flavor-wise, I can't imagine anything that can bust these flavors out of the water.

01:11:27Like, this is so stinking good.

01:11:29Feeling good?

01:11:31Uh, yeah.

01:11:32Okay, good talk.

01:11:34I got a box grating a bunch of...

01:11:35Roma's not really sweet.

01:11:36I knew I was gonna make a tomato fondue.

01:11:38So, I figured great garlic, great ginger, great onions, great tomatoes.

01:11:43Fondre means to melt in French.

01:11:44So, you just literally melted tomatoes.

01:11:46I wanted a second texture in it.

01:11:48So, I added some fresh tomatoes afterwards.

01:11:49It's very humbling to be considered an icon.

01:11:52I am very proud of everything I've done as a chef in my career.

01:11:56It adds a ton of pressure.

01:11:57But I like pressure.

01:11:59Winning or losing, it is fun to cook under pressure.

01:12:02And I strive for it.

01:12:05Have you ever seen him cook live?

01:12:07No.

01:12:08No.

01:12:08This is kind of like...

01:12:10It's like a little kid.

01:12:11Like, I forgot we're in a competition.

01:12:12I'm just like, what's he gonna make next?

01:12:18RT's making a version of butter chicken with salmon.

01:12:21Uh, staying in the flavors that she does so brilliantly.

01:12:25When flavors like that are executed, to the level that we know that RT can do it, they can be

01:12:30unbeatable.

01:12:30So, I'm running through all the different versions of Nutty along with brown butter sauce.

01:12:36I actually think I'm gonna make cashews and rice.

01:12:40So, I take the rice and I warm it up in the microwave.

01:12:44And meanwhile, I'm browning some more butter and I'm adding peas and cashews and a little bit of brown cumin.

01:12:51Then I add the rice and sort of toss it all together.

01:12:55And I'm really looking for that butter to sort of caramelize and toast the rice a little bit.

01:13:01So that you get a toasted rice flavor that is somewhat nutty.

01:13:11Macadamia, almond and walnut.

01:13:14So, for my nutty, I grab three nuts to make a pesto.

01:13:17Because I'm thinking nutty and I love macadamia nuts, walnuts, fine.

01:13:20I love all those nuts.

01:13:21Greater the Parmesan.

01:13:22You have the basil.

01:13:23You have your nuts.

01:13:24You have your olive oil.

01:13:26Pretty classic pesto.

01:13:30So, Chef Ming Tsai has been a judge since season one.

01:13:33Since the inception of Tournament of Champions.

01:13:36He knows darn well that that style category is important.

01:13:40But we're only seeing three nuts and a pesto?

01:13:42I know I just needed to have a second layer of nuts.

01:13:45Macadamia, almond and walnuts.

01:13:48So, I'm going to make toasted nuts.

01:13:50I didn't get more nuts on the plate.

01:13:52All right, Chefs.

01:13:53This is the final five minutes.

01:13:54You have five to be plated.

01:13:57It's time to build my plate.

01:13:59So, first goes down the makhani sauce.

01:14:02And then I lay a piece of salmon on top of that.

01:14:06I spoon some rice right next to it.

01:14:08I'm realizing that I may not have enough box grated oil.

01:14:13So, I grab some teeny tiny beautiful little radishes.

01:14:16And slice those to go on top of the whole dish.

01:14:19Put up great food.

01:14:20That's what I've said from day one of coming here to TOC.

01:14:23Is I want to put food up that I'm proud of.

01:14:26And I felt like I cooked with my entire mind, body and spirit.

01:14:30And that is what I did today.

01:14:32This is me.

01:14:33First, I just added a little bit of herbs on the plate.

01:14:36I wilted it with the warm tomato fondue.

01:14:39Putting the raw salmon on that side and the cooked salmon.

01:14:42I knew that would bring and finish the cooking of the salmon.

01:14:44Which I loved.

01:14:46Grated the Parmesan.

01:14:47The salmon skin.

01:14:49And then pesto on top.

01:14:50Five.

01:14:52Four.

01:14:53Three.

01:14:54Two.

01:14:55One.

01:14:56We're done.

01:15:01You at least have to hit the rando twice.

01:15:03And I had the nuts.

01:15:05But time's up.

01:15:06I didn't get them on the plate.

01:15:07They were there and then they were gone.

01:15:09And no one's fault.

01:15:11Me.

01:15:12Well, I will tell you this.

01:15:13It was a world class showdown.

01:15:15Job well done.

01:15:16Fantastic.

01:15:17Thank you very much.

01:15:18Chef Artie Supra.

01:15:19Chef Mink Tsai.

01:15:20Back to your trailers.

01:15:21Let's bring in the world class judges.

01:15:24Wow.

01:15:25I'm sweating.

01:15:26That was hot.

01:15:28That was freaking hot.

01:15:30It's fun being in it again.

01:15:31The clock does not discriminate.

01:15:33The clock never stops.

01:15:35I feel good though.

01:15:36It does feel very much like a David and Goliath sort of story.

01:15:41But we know who won in David and Goliath.

01:15:44So I'm just holding on to that.

01:15:46We'll see what happens.

01:15:47Either way, it was an honor.

01:15:49It really was.

01:15:50All right, ladies and gentlemen, for the final judging of the evening,

01:15:53let's welcome back our esteemed judges,

01:15:55Alex Guarnaschelli, Antonio Lofaso, and Dominique Crenn.

01:16:00Are you kidding me?

01:16:03Alex is an OG.

01:16:05Antonio, obviously.

01:16:07I cannot believe that freaking Dominique Crenn is over there.

01:16:10Yeah.

01:16:11Judges, what a pleasure.

01:16:12Our final round tonight.

01:16:14The randomizer served up salmon, Roma tomatoes, the use of the box grater.

01:16:19Style is nutty.

01:16:20Up first to present the dish, you won an only wild card, Justin Warner.

01:16:24Judges, our chef calls this salmon midcouille with Roma fondue and a nutty pesto.

01:16:30The salmon portion, the skin was cooked in the microwave for 12 minutes.

01:16:35It then crowns the salmon filet that has been cooked on one side.

01:16:39For the Roma tomatoes, some were run through a box grater.

01:16:42This became the foundation of the sauce beneath the salmon.

01:16:44And then some of it was used as a brunoise in the finishing of the plate.

01:16:49In terms of nutty elements, a trio of nuts are the backbone on the pesto,

01:16:54which you will find on top of the salmon beneath the skin.

01:16:59They're eating it, so that's always a good sign.

01:17:01Great cooking!

01:17:05Thanks, Alex.

01:17:06Wow!

01:17:07How great.

01:17:08The fish unto itself is dynamite.

01:17:11Really, this is a celebration of salmon.

01:17:14All of the elements to salmon and the way that it's cooked is done here.

01:17:18This technique is impeccable.

01:17:20We always want a fried, crunchy salmon skin.

01:17:24Like, to me, that can be a snack and a meal on its own,

01:17:27and I thought it was done to perfection.

01:17:29It adds a lot of great texture to the dish.

01:17:31That is so smart. I can't wait to try that.

01:17:33See, this is why he's me.

01:17:35Love it.

01:17:36I like the use of the grater, grating.

01:17:39We were talking about grating, you know, the tomato,

01:17:41which I think this is great.

01:17:42But the nuts get lost a little bit,

01:17:45and I think this chef needed to double down.

01:17:48Yep.

01:17:49They needed pumpkin seeds, brown butter, a nut oil.

01:17:53Damn.

01:17:54But this is some dynamite cooking.

01:17:56Thank you very much.

01:17:57Scorecards are in front of you.

01:17:59As always, 50 points available in taste,

01:18:0340 points in the use of the randomizer,

01:18:04and 10 points in plating.

01:18:07Decent.

01:18:08Decent.

01:18:10Again, the nuts were...

01:18:12I needed more nuts on the plate.

01:18:14I had them toasted, ready to go.

01:18:18I'm thinking it's Ming's to lose.

01:18:21Like, he just cooked...

01:18:22He just cooked like someone like Ming would.

01:18:26This is why he's number one,

01:18:28and this is why he is a legend.

01:18:32Here to present the second dish,

01:18:34Chef Tiffany Faison.

01:18:35In front of you, we have tandoori-style salmon

01:18:37with the brown butter mockini sauce

01:18:39and brown butter crisp cashew pilau.

01:18:43The salmon was fabricated and treated to tandoori spices

01:18:46of Kashmiri chili, garam masala,

01:18:48and a hefty squeeze of lime.

01:18:50It was then cooked tandoori-style in a hot pan.

01:18:53The brown butter mockini sauce saw brown butter in a pan

01:18:55with box-grated aromatics of ginger and garlic,

01:18:58not to be outdone by the box-grated Roma tomatoes

01:19:02that then deglazed all of those spices.

01:19:04Just let it be positive, Milo.

01:19:06It's up.

01:19:11I want this dish over and over again.

01:19:13I want to eat it.

01:19:15Like, I just...

01:19:15I really like this dish.

01:19:17Somehow, like, it's just grab to my palate.

01:19:20I think I like the way that they use the nuttiness,

01:19:23not just the nuts, but also the brown butter.

01:19:25There's a lot of technique.

01:19:27This is, like, a master class in sauce.

01:19:31Uh-oh.

01:19:32Not good.

01:19:33This sauce, I think, traditionally would be, like,

01:19:35thrown into a blender and been pureed,

01:19:38but because there's so many of those chunks,

01:19:40I'm like, I believe box grater all day.

01:19:43For me, this salmon is better seasoned,

01:19:46but I liked the skin and a little bit the cook on the first one.

01:19:50So that's, like, a big area where I personally

01:19:53am gonna kind of split hairs.

01:19:55To me, the misstep was radish on top

01:19:58to sort of make it look pretty.

01:19:59I don't need it.

01:20:00Stick with your mint.

01:20:01Both these dishes are neck and neck for me.

01:20:03If there were only one judge, this would be a tie.

01:20:08Oh, that's a shame.

01:20:09Thank you very much, judges.

01:20:11All right?

01:20:12Scorecard in front of you.

01:20:16I'd eat more nuts.

01:20:18Brown butter was a good idea.

01:20:20I cooked really at the top of my ability

01:20:26and to cook from a place of, like, confidence and joy

01:20:29and not being intimidated.

01:20:31And I was not.

01:20:33It's in the judges' hands now.

01:20:35Now it's excruciatingly painful

01:20:37because now you just wait.

01:20:40Oh, well.

01:20:41Ladies and gentlemen,

01:20:42it's time to bring our chefs back in.

01:20:44Let's bring Chef Artie Saqueira.

01:20:47Chef Binsa.

01:20:53Chefs, job well done.

01:20:54A lot has gone on in the TOC arena just to get to this point.

01:20:59Both were delicious dishes.

01:21:00And the scores reflect.

01:21:03One chef scored a 43 out of 50 in taste.

01:21:09The other chef scored a 43 out of 50 in taste.

01:21:16One chef scored a 32 out of 40 in the randomizer.

01:21:22The other chef scored a 34 out of 40 in the randomizer.

01:21:27Whoo.

01:21:28One chef scored a 9 out of 10 in presentation.

01:21:33The other chef scored an 8 out of 10 in presentation.

01:21:37For a difference of 84 to 85.

01:21:41What in the world?

01:21:43A one point difference.

01:21:44The winner of tonight's final battle

01:21:46between Chef Binsai and Chef Artie Saqueira is...

01:21:58Artie Saqueira!

01:22:00Woo!

01:22:01Woo!

01:22:02Woo!

01:22:03Woo!

01:22:04Woo!

01:22:06Woo!

01:22:21Woo!

01:22:22Woo!

01:22:24Woo!

01:22:26Woo!

01:22:27Woo!

01:22:28Woo!

01:22:34Woo!

01:22:35You've just changed her life.

01:22:37You just gave everybody the experience of a lifetime.

01:22:40Ladies and gentlemen, the legend himself, Chef Ming Tsai.

01:22:45Thank you, Chef.

01:22:54I mean, they're not wrong.

01:22:58I had the nuts there.

01:22:59So if I just garnished it with the nuts, I think that would have given me that one point.

01:23:04My fault.

01:23:05No one to blame.

01:23:06Artie cooked really well.

01:23:08So good luck, Artie.

01:23:09You're just going to stare at me?

01:23:12You just got a chance to go up against a legend, a master.

01:23:16You held your own.

01:23:18And Chef Artie Sequeira, you're moving on in the TOC 7 tournament.

01:23:24Congratulations.

01:23:27We'll see you soon, Chef.

01:23:30You're the best.

01:23:31I love you.

01:23:32Oh, my God!

01:23:37Wow!

01:23:42How are you feeling?

01:23:45I can't believe.

01:23:47Join us next time when eight more contenders, including a mystery culinary icon, face off in their first round of

01:23:55the tournament in hopes of becoming the $150,000 champ of Tournament of Champion 7.

01:24:01Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho

01:24:02ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho

01:24:02ho

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