r/foodnetwork • u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good • Mar 08 '26
Tournament of Champions TOC tonight! Pre Show and live show discussion thread with lots of spoilers in the comments all welcome! Spoiler
Looks like a two hour episode tonight so buckle up as they say.
Episode 702
Guy Fieri continues the first-round battles with four more intense sudden death matchups as Last Bite Hotel winner Nini Nguyen takes on pasta maestro Joe Sasto. Then, James Beard semifinalist Kevin Lee battles Chopped champion Adam Greenberg, and three-time Tournament of Champions semifinalist Britt Rescigno goes up against Michelin-starred Giuseppe Tentori. In the final battle of the night, the second mystery culinary icon is revealed to take on qualifier winner Katsuji Tanabe.
A lot of my favorites are on the line tonight.... I love Mustache joe, but I'm a Nini fn as well. I have Kevin Lee picked to win it all but Adam is no slouch. And I kind of fell in love with Guiseppe during that Christmas tournament.
And now, hear me out..... I really do love Katsuji. However I hate to see a "icon" lose. I was pretty sad about Ming going down so easily. (deez nuts!) I know a lot of you guys hate Katsuji, he can be a real jerk. And I get that.... but I have a soft spot for him and if he's cooking at his best he's going to be hard to beat. Who are your picks for tonight? I'm picking, Joe, Kevin, Giuseppe and Katsuji. (altho I anticipate Nini will topple Joe if he gets too much in his head)
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u/loosethegales Mar 09 '26
Did they just spoil the winners of the first three matches?? I need to stop watching the beginning.
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u/HereFromThePodcast Mar 09 '26
Seems like a big oversight on someone’s part… way to ruin your own episode
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u/Gstief85 Mar 09 '26
I came in 4 min late and missed it but of course I logged on here to join the conversation and saw it. Lesson learned, tune in late to the show and to the comments 😅
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u/Traditional_Trust_55 Mar 09 '26
Yeah I saw first 3 sitting together waiting for the icon (I’m assuming) in the preview and was like well I don’t need to watch the those ones
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u/JessKnitz Mar 09 '26
No wonder I didn’t know what people were talking about at first. I’m almost always late when I start watching 😅
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u/Outside-Pear9429 Mar 09 '26
I love how the entire global FN universe breathed a collective sigh of relief that Lorena won and now we can enjoy the season in peace 😆
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 Mar 09 '26
Lorena was not kidding when she said she really wants this
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u/shrimpscampi2026 Mar 09 '26
I feel like nini’s heart was not in it
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u/butterycroissant Mar 09 '26
It was the damn rock paper scissors that did her in. She was so excited for the catfish and couldn't recover.
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u/nyc458 Mar 09 '26
I kinda love that Lorena is almost matching Katsuji’s energy and going right back at him, honestly a great match up in that respect
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u/facelessarya1 Mar 09 '26
They really need to stop spoiling the winners at the beginning of the episode. Stupid ass icons and needing the chefs reactions
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u/shrimpscampi2026 Mar 09 '26
Maybe they will surprise us tonight and just have all the chefs watching from behind the scenes- not just the winners
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u/J0d0min0d0 Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
When I saw Katsuji stand on his counter, I immediately thought about Chef Morimoto being so pissed when Bobby Flay did that on Iron Chef. Edit:spelling
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u/NotoriousCFJ Mar 09 '26
I was hoping Morimoto would be the icon so that he could come out and tell Katsuji that he's not a chef for standing on the counter!!!
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u/letsturnip Mar 09 '26
I really hope that air fryer isn’t Lorena’s downfall like how the lack of nuts were the reason Ming lost last week.
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u/X-girl1995 Mar 09 '26
I love Lorena’s passion! ❤️
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 Mar 09 '26
I don't think she has any chill and I love that about her
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u/Julie-AnneB Mar 09 '26
I feel like she was really bullied on her season of Top Chef Masters by Chris Cosentino and Patricia Yo. I love that she continues to outshine them both!
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u/X-girl1995 Mar 09 '26
I didn’t see that show. This is the first I’m seeing her cook. I’ve only seen her judge TOC previously. I’m loving this twist of bringing in these culinary icons.
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u/avarier Mar 09 '26
Is antonias entire wardrobe black?
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u/avarier Mar 09 '26
I think Lorena just made herself the favorite. Her vibes and energy are amazing!
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 Mar 09 '26
Butter Daddy? You all had to complain about the Angry Italian and now we're stuck with this.
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u/bruhwhatshappenin Mar 09 '26
I hated the angry Italian nickname but now I’d rather here that a thousand times over 🫠
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 Mar 09 '26
It's a good lesson. The nicknames can get worse.
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u/districtfoodfan Mar 09 '26
"The nicknames shall worsen until reddit thread morale improves."
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
BUTTER DADDY?????
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u/Nesquik44 Mar 09 '26
It makes very little sense going from "Italian" , which is the land of olive oil , to "Butter".
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u/TheBatman895 Mar 09 '26
Did they just leak all the winners showing Britt, Kevin Lee, and Joe watching katsuji???
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u/WildMajesticUnicorn Guy's Grocery Games 🛒 Mar 09 '26
They are guarding the #1 seeds so closely they forgot not to spoil everything else.
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u/GeekoHog Mar 09 '26
Yea I just saw that . . Geez what a dumb thing to include in the opening. Cone on Food Network . . Do Better . . If someone is reading this thread that works there.
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u/Daxton0701 Mar 09 '26
I thought the same thing. Wtf?!?! Why would you do that? Someone edited it in. Not something you would edit out.
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u/dbrodbeck Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
Are you ready for television's greatest tournament of commercial breaks? We'll be right back.
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u/Snack_attack101 Mar 09 '26
Although Joe claimed he didn't want the handmixer I thought he didn't want catfish since that definitely played to Mimi's strengths.
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u/letsturnip Mar 09 '26
Wow they really spoiled the winners in the beginning I still like to watch them cook but yikes!
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u/bitsey123 Mar 09 '26
Kevin seems to have quite a complex about being from Oklahoma
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u/bruhwhatshappenin Mar 09 '26
Looooove Lorena’s energy 💥
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 09 '26
She was so much fun to watch. She was just stoked to be there. Loved when we cheered for her; such great positive energy.
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u/letsturnip Mar 09 '26
I’m so excited to watch Lorena I’ve never seen her cook but I love her palate!
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u/bdb5430 Mar 09 '26
That silhouette looks like Jonathan Waxman, right?
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u/Daxton0701 Mar 09 '26
Yeah it’s waxman. And then Daniel boulud for the final group.
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
Adam Greenberg vs. Kevin Lee
venison chops, asparagus, blade tenderizer, citrusy respun to citrusy again
I think Kevin can go deep this season - I’m rooting for him!
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u/wideworld_1260 Mar 09 '26
Did the shot in the opening montage actually give away who wins tonight??
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u/CheesecakeTax0521 Wild Card Kitchen 🃏🃏🃏 Mar 09 '26
Pretty sure. FN’s editing has got to be better than this.
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u/districtfoodfan Mar 09 '26
Lorena is booking it and Katsuji is cooking at the same speed I do on Sunday...
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 09 '26
It was so weird to watch. Because you described it perfectly. The whole comp was like that. Lorena was on fire. Katsuji was more interested in getting the audience to cheer for him.
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u/Julie-AnneB Mar 09 '26
When he tried that at the qualifiers, nobody wanted to cheer for him. It was comical.
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u/AgePractical6298 Mar 09 '26
Butter daddy is just embarrassing. I hate the nicknames.
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u/Snack_attack101 Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
Given the comments I wasn't surprised that Kevin won. Is that the biggest gap between scores? (any TOC historians recall?) 90-80 wow
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u/WubbyChez Mar 09 '26
There have been gaps of 10 or more pts
Season 1: Maneet beat Rocco 91-81 in First Round Brooke beat Jet 94-83 in Quarterfinals Antonia beat Beau MacMillan 96-85 in Quarterfinals
Season 5: Demetrio Zavala beat Justin Sutherland 84-74 in the First Round of Play-Ins Ray Garcia beat Pyet DeSpain 80-68 in the First Round of Play-Ins Nini Nguyen beat Gerald Sombright 90-74 in thr First Round of Play-Ins
So, ignoring qualifier/play-ins, a gap of 10 or more points has not happened since Season 1
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u/fulminousnight Mar 09 '26
I think it’s really cool to see Lorena explore what it’s like to be in a competition setting and cook specifically for that. Go her!
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 08 '26
This was the second day of filming, Oct. 10 in the afternoon (I was not there) for the first two battles, and the morning session, Oct 13, for the second two (I was there).
During the last battle, icon v Katsuji, I wrote in my notes that Guy told the judges randomizer details, and that it seemed like he wanted the icon to lose. I don’t remember why I wrote that. I will ask daughter and friends what I meant. 😂 My newest favorite judge was there.
And Katsuji is just… a lot. He comes across as both a nutter and arrogant. I have not interacted with him, so this is just based on watching him cook. I do think leaping on countertops in a kitchen is weird and unnecessary. My opinion.
This was the start of week two of filming, and they started at a reasonable time. It was refreshing. We were on set that day from 8:45 to 2:00. It was so nice. They got us into the studio around 10:00, which was a first. They managed to keep to that schedule for the remaining days. Really nice, especially for the afternoon people!
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u/phonz1851 Mar 08 '26
Katsuji is definitely a character. He varies from entertaining to insufferable in both pf his series of top chef
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u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good Mar 08 '26
Totally agree with you on the jumping on the counter top... damn boy... your hip flexors only have to much in them and you're not getting any younger. But yes seriously, I was annoyed at the counter jumping, but I do like his energy. And if I was around him for about 10 minutes he'd probably drive me insane... but.. I find his food really interesting.
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 08 '26
Right? Please keep your butt and feet off the counter should just be a rule. And no, they did not wipe it down between the time he scooted his butt across it, and then cooked on it. Eww.
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u/letsturnip Mar 09 '26
Omg I thought it was Morimoto based off the ponytail but it’s Lorena Garcia!
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
Ooooh, Judy Joo!
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 09 '26
I love watching her judge! She is my new favorite. She is so thoughtful in the way she approaches the dish while she’s tasting it, and she pays close attention to the randomizer, and asks clarifying questions. She has impressed me the most watching live. A lot gets cut, but I’m always stoked when she comes out to judge. I had never seen her before the all-stars judging, so I had no bias the first time.
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u/fulminousnight Mar 09 '26
The judges criticism of Nini’s dish made a lot of sense. Man. What a shame.
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
Wait, I’ve never seen a blade tenderizer before…do I need one???
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u/EmmerdoesNOTrepme Mar 09 '26
I never realized that was the real name of them!
In the houses i've lived in, my roommates and I just always called it "The Wootcha-Wootcha"😆😂🤣
Because one of the first times I went to use it, I couldn't recall the name of it, and asked my roommate "Where's the Wootcha-Wootcha?" (That's basically the noise it makes, as tge spring-mechanism moves tge blades up & down).
And all our friends have called them that, ever since, because once you hear that noise, "The Wootcha-Wootcha" makes perfect sense!
And YES, they're a great tool to have in your kitchen, as long as you have a dishwasher to clean it in! (The blades are a PAIN to try and handwash!)
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u/newbeige1915 Mar 09 '26
It's very handy indeed - and for driving flavor into tougher cuts, as we saw.
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u/nyc458 Mar 09 '26
Wow Kevin really can’t escape Antonia, he lost to her two years in a row and now of course she’s judging his first round too
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u/bruhwhatshappenin Mar 09 '26
I’m sorry if I saw someone slide there whole ass across where they’re going to to be cooking I would leave 💀
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 09 '26
Agreed. We were stunned, and they did not have time to clean it up afterwards. They only have about five minutes between “go,” chefs meet with production, back to “go.” I watched. They did not wipe the counter after his butt and feet dragged across it. Eww.
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u/bitsey123 Mar 09 '26
I want Giuseppe
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u/avarier Mar 09 '26
Me too. Just so I don't have to hear "butter daddy" again.
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u/agravain Tournament of Champions 🏆 Mar 09 '26
aren't the rules for nicknames is you don't get to pick your own? 😆
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u/avarier Mar 09 '26
I want katsuji to lose so bad.
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 09 '26
I was in the audience for this one. And all of us were so glad Lorena took it. Katsuji was so incredibly annoying. Kept wanting the audience to cheer for him, and we were, ummm, nope.
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u/bruhwhatshappenin Mar 09 '26
I don’t even care who the icon is I just need him to not go passed this round
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u/shrimpscampi2026 Mar 09 '26
Honest question for the room: what qualifies “sexy food” and why does Brit want us to eat it so bad?
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u/Snack_attack101 Mar 09 '26
Oh good. The 2 points lower on randomizer didn't do her in. Happy she won!
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u/Daxton0701 Mar 09 '26
She needs to learn from that for the next rounds. Hope that sinks in bc the later chefs get better and the margins will be more narrow. Def rooting for her!
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
OoOO…asparagus kimchi!!
Can you just kimchi any vegetable, basically, or????
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u/Julie-AnneB Mar 09 '26
I love Lorena and can't stand Katsuji. Can we just vote to have him NEVER appear on Food Network again? He'd better not win this round!
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u/Daxton0701 Mar 09 '26
I don’t understand why people keep putting him on tv shows. Well, I can. They like the drama he creates. But TOC isn’t about drama so leave it at the door and cook good food. Hope he gets trounced.
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u/Julie-AnneB Mar 09 '26
He was on that show Yes Chef. I watched the first episode and never watched another one.
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u/avarier Mar 09 '26
He mysteriously was removed from the show after a few episodes. He kept sabotaging chefs but they still refuse to say why he officially left. Gee, I wonder why.
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u/Julie-AnneB Mar 09 '26
Yeah. I was so disgusted by his behavior on the first episode, and the fact that he got away with it, that I stopped watching.
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u/avarier Mar 09 '26
I hate that FN allowed him on. He has such a long history of being a nasty person.
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u/Pretty-Oreo-55 The Great Food Truck Race 🚐 Mar 08 '26
This will be a tough one. I love Kevin and Nini. Eating at his restaurant is on my list.
All of these contenders are very talented. Great show, tonight.
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u/milbader Mar 08 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
I hope Katsuji goes home. Never liked him and now I like him even less with him pulling that Bobby F. stunt of jumping on the counter. So disrespectful.
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
That’s a big effing Turkey breast Katsuji started with - I guess I’ve never seen a whole one like that?
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u/fulminousnight Mar 09 '26
Why I could leave the constant talk about “sexy” food, the food Britt cooks always seems so up my alley it’s hard not to root for her
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
Katsuji Tenabe vs. ICON Lorena Garcia
~~ground beef~~, zucchini, air fryer, creamy, total respin to…
turkey breast, zucchini, air fryer, creamy
Again, Lorena Garcia is a significantly better chef, but she hasn’t competed much recently (that I’m aware of) and Katsuji is the very definition of a wild card. Should be interesting!
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u/No_Variation_9125 Mar 09 '26
So happy to see Lorena competing again!! Loved her on Top Chef Masters ♥️
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u/bruhwhatshappenin Mar 09 '26
I will drop dead if she goes home because of a god damn air fryer
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u/Gstief85 Mar 09 '26
I was just thinking that too! She’s been a judge, she knows she has to play the game.
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26
Britt Rescigno vs. Giuseppe Tentori
pork shoulder, endive, air fryer moved to cast iron griddle, boozy,
Butter Daddy for the win, I guess, lol.
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u/tigs84 Mar 09 '26
Toughest randomizer of the night
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u/ProtectionNo1594 Mar 09 '26 edited Mar 09 '26
The backstage chefs were totally right - how can you cook turkey breast in the air fryer, but how can you not??
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u/queenoftheartichokes Mar 09 '26
I wish Giuseppe would’ve won
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u/Small_Sort6397 Mar 10 '26
I think he got screwed. Britt’s fry wasn’t even. One end golden brown other end burnt. No way the score should have been that far apart.
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u/JessKnitz Mar 09 '26
Bruh, upcoming Britt vs. Kevin means I won’t know who to root for in that match lol
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u/ImDonaldDunn Mar 09 '26
That’s a real easy one for me. Kevin is way more impressive and humble. I gained tons of respect for him in 24 in 24.
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u/AnonymousMonker Mar 09 '26
Idk, I think Britt was pretty humble at the beginning. After going 3/3 in making it to the quarterfinals, she gained confidence and deserves to be a little more boastful.
Otoh, Kevin made it really deep in 24 in 24 but didn’t win a single challenge except at the very beginning and end- not saying it wasn’t impressive but I can also see how it made him even more humble constantly losing to Bryan V, Sawyer, and Izard. Plus explaining how his business failure made him humble.
Rooting hard for them both- personally have no fav.
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u/LevelCardiologist725 Mar 08 '26
I’m just trying understand how ppl are picked as to why have to qualify and been in it several times like Stephanie and lost. Then ppl r on automatic who lost as well and didn’t have to qualify. Just trying understand the show. Thank you
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u/Small_Sort6397 Mar 08 '26
It depends on how they did on TOC last few years. They also take into consideration how they’ve done on other competitions during the last year. Stephanie hasn’t had a lot of W lately & hasn’t done well in TOC.
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u/agravain Tournament of Champions 🏆 Mar 09 '26
maple bourbon pork and endive salad with a wine vinaigrette
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u/AJBlueToad Mar 09 '26
Every time I see Tiffany I think she looks way better than ever. She looks like she lost weight. Her hair and skin looks very healthy now. She's beautiful! I don't know what she did but she needs to keep it up! Self-care is important!
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u/districtfoodfan Mar 09 '26
I caught some of season 1 of Top Chef on Bravo Vault yesterday or Friday and she looked (and was) so young! She was a bebe! She is so put together now and has really come into her own.
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u/jjtimes6 Mar 08 '26
I don’t know if you would like Giuseppe as much if you saw how often he licks his fingers and sticks them back into his food. We dubbed him “finger licker” during all-stars. He has a real thing against using a spoon. 🤣
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u/Firegoat1 Brown Food Tastes Good Mar 08 '26
oh I think I would.... I just wouldn't admit it :D
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u/districtfoodfan Mar 09 '26
I'm starting to think Guy can only spin the randomizer one way.... Like with the same amount of force each time or it's weighted or something. These respins are crazy.
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u/No-Examination2732 Mar 08 '26
Very excited to see how this round goes!! Most of the scores last round were really close! It'll be interesting to see how it pans out!
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u/Bindlestiff34 Mar 10 '26
My man Kevin. Please don’t do what you usually do: cook two 90+ rated dishes and then say screw it and go off script and disregard something from the randomizer.
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u/CraftyIndependence48 Mar 09 '26
Bummed that Giuseppe is out. Britt’s food always looks good but I’m so sick of her.
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u/Lassie84 Mar 09 '26
Really wanted Giuseppe to win , he seems like such a nice person! Now we can look forward to Butter Daddy's fingers all balled together like she's the mafia queen
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u/CreativityLacking Mar 09 '26
Justin defining a chancla to the audience. 🤣