Tournament of Champions Season 4 episode 6: Elite Eight finalized

While another bracket event has every number one seed out of their tournament, Tournament of Champions Season 4 episode 6 had a single number one seed remaining in this side of the bracket. With the Elite Eight in their sights, would another upset happen on Tournament of Champions Season 4 episode 6 or would the expected outcome reign supreme?

Much has been said about Tournament of Champions Season 4. From the amount of chefs in the competition to the talent of the assembled group, this Food Network show continues to prove itself as a culinary powerhouse.

While the first couple of episodes have seen a former champion be defeated by a number eight seed, a former finalist lose in the first round, and several other top seeds be eliminated, it proves that any of these chefs could win it all.

For the last four battles of the Sweet Sixteen, many people were wondering if another Cinderella story would emerge. Similar to the previous episode, each battle featured surf and turf. While some chefs had challenges, others seemed to be taking the easy road to victory.

In the first battle, Tiffany Derry took on Mei Lin. Their requirements were tiger prawns, flat iron steak, campfire iron and weeknight dinner. The idea of weeknight dinner seemed strange without a clear direction on how to approach that plate.

The two dishes were vastly different. Chef Mei made an egg roll prawn with a heavily marinated flat iron steak. While the bowl felt like a weeknight dinner and the flat iron steak was nicely cooked, she approached the campfire pie iron as a throw away. The judges were critical of that element.

For Tiffany Derry’s dish, the dish had overall good texture, but the couscous was debated by the judges. Although the steak might have been cooked better, it was a good dish, but it could have been more successful.

In the end, Chef Mei won the battle and moves onto the next round. For this win, she scored the highest total in Tournament of Champions Season 4. Based on her first two battles, Chef Mei appears to be in a good position to go far in this competition. Only time will tell if she can keep the momentum going.

For the second battle, Tobias Dorzon took on Karen Akunowicz. Their required elements were crab meat, filet mignon, rotisserie oven and candle light dinner. This battle was a rematch from last season.

Chef Karen made a feta and crab spanakopita topped with filet and crab bearnaise sauce. The onions were cooked in the rotisserie using filet fat. Overall, the judges appreciated that the dish had some old world romantism and felt seductive.

Chef Tobias presented a seared filet with white wine crab sauce. While the dish was nice, the judges felt that it was not overly creative. From too much beef on the plate to not quite as beautiful as it should be, the romantic dinner did not spark a love affair with the judges.

In this battle, Chef Karen got redemption from last year and won this battle. Another number one seed is out. That means Jet Tila is the last top seed standing.

For the third battle, it was former Top Chef chefestants, Chef Joe Sasto and Chef Shota Nakajima going head to head. Even before this battle began, it had one of the lines of the night. Since the chefs decided to take an easy route on the re-spin, Guy Fieri said that the randomizer choice had the chefs choosing “capital B for boring.”

Although the requirements might seem easy, the dishes did have some flare. The required elements were halibut, hanger steak, meat tenderizer, and to-go takeout.

Chef Shota made Katsu Sando, which was a breaded hanger steak with halibut and a crunchy slaw. The judges appreciated all the good texture in the sandwich. Even if the halibut got a touch lost and it might need a little more ginger, the overall dish captured the theme and pleased the judges.

Chef Joe made two separate dishes, a hanger steak dan dan noodle and a halibut egg roll with duck sauce and spicy mustard. While the judges appreciated the playfulness of the eggroll, there was too much noodle in relation to the hanger steak. Overall, the dish felt a little too fancy for to-go takeout.

Chef Shota wrapped up another win and is the second number eight seed to more into the Elite Eight. Although Chef Britt might be the Cinderella story, Chef Shota might have deserved a higher seeding based on his current performance.

For the last battle of Tournament of Champions Season 4 episode 6, former Tournament of Champions winner Maneet Chauhan took on Stephanie Izard. Everyone was looking forward to see how the two celebrated chefs raised their game in this battle.

The requirements for this challenge were dover sole, rack of lamb, mortar and pestle, and lunch special. Given the two chefs breath of knowledge, this theme was not too difficult for them.

Maneet made Bunny Chow and a dover sole soup. Bunny chow is a South African street food where bread is hollowed out and a curry dish is served within the bowl. Chef Maneet made lamb meatballs with a tikka masala sauce for her Bunny Chow. Overall that portion of the dish was well received but the soup needed more dover sole, even just flaking some of the fish into the soup would have been smart.

Chef Stephanie made a dover sole ceviche and lamb sandwich. While the sandwich had a lot of nice textures, the gravy turned the bite into a slightly messy bite. It was a good lunch sandwich.

In the final battle of the night, the difference came down to presentation. Chef Maneet won that element and she moves onto the Elite Eight. It was clear that Chef Stephanie was quite disappointed.

Tournament of Champions Season 4 episode 6 had more upsets, some expected outcomes, and many impressive dishes. With a potential additional change to the Randomizer, Food Network viewers will have to tune in next week to see the outcome.

Tournament of Champions Season 4 airs on Food Network Sunday night at 8 p.m. and can be streamed on discovery+.