Tournament of Champions Season 4 adds a new twist to culinary competition
While a new champion raised the belt in season 3, Tournament of Champions Season 4 is set to turn the Food Network competition upside down. As the new season is set to debut on Sunday February 19, the familiar faces might need to up their food game. Could another new champion raise that coveted belt?
When Guy Fieri launched Tournament of Champions, the bracket focuses culinary competition sought to change the conversation on who is the ultimate chef. While Iron Chef might show a chef’s quick thinking and adaptability, this food battle added another element, the dreaded Randomizer. Regardless of the unlikely combinations, the spun wheel was more difficult that a diner with too many eating restrictions.
In Tournament of Champions Season 4, Food Network announced that 14 tournament rookies have thrown their name into the bracket. If these new chefs think that they know what to expect, they might want to reconsider stepping into this Food Network kitchen.
As Guy Fieri said, “Tournament of Champions is the most intense culinary competition ever created. We’ve got single-elimination, sudden-death, head-to-head blind battles and judging. But of course, every year we’ve gotta up the ante, so we made the competition even more wild and unpredictable with the introduction of wild cards in every round. Get ready for some big-time surprises!”
That surprise factor drives people to watch. Everyone knows that these chefs can create impeccable dishes in their own restaurants. This competition is about pushing them out of their comfort zone and seeing how they react, quickly.
Although some of the chefs are rookies to this particular Food Network show, the names are familiar to fans of food television. According to Food Network, the competing chefs are:
East chefs: Eric Adjepong, Karen Akunowicz, Kelsey Barnard Clark, Maneet Chauhan, Leah Cohen, Madison Cowan, Tobias Dorzon, Graham Elliot, defending Tournament of Champions III winner Tiffani Faison, Darnell Ferguson, Jose Garces, Ilan Hall, Stephanie Izard, Christian Petroni, Britt Rescigno, and Jonathon Sawyer.
West chefs: Carlos Anthony, Nate Appleman, Shirley Chung, Tiffany Derry, Elizabeth Falkner, Timothy Hollingsworth, Mei Lin, Antonia Lofaso, Brian Malarkey, Shota Nakajima, Viet Pham, Joe Sasto, Tracey Shepos Chanami, Adam Sobel, Jet Tila, and Lee Anne Wong.
Truthfully it is impossible to predict a winner, but Tournament of Champions Season 4 might be the time for a male chef to earn a victory. That scenario hasn’t happened since the show’s inception.
Be sure to watch the season premiere on Sunday, February 19 at 8 p.m. ET. The show runs eight weeks. And, catch up on previous seasons on discovery+, where they can be streamed.