Tournament of Champions Season 5 qualifiers round 3: Playing to the randomizer

With two more spots in the main bracket up for grabs, Tournament of Champions Season 5 qualifiers round 3 were ready to skewer their way to a victory. As other chefs have come to learn on this Food Network competition, the Randomizer never makes that path easy. 

Looking to fill the eighth seed in East Bracket B, four chefs vied for the coveted position. The group included Adriana Urbina, Chris Scott, Justin Sutherland and Demetrio Zavala.  

For the first round, the Randomizer offered pork blade steak, green beans, skewers, sour and 35 minutes. While it is debatable whether this combination was truly a gift, two chefs nailed the randomizer and two missed the mark.  

Sutherland received praise for his robust marinade. The combination of tamarind, yuzu, and orange hit the sour component. But, the judges wanted more flavor from the green beans. The contrast was a little too great to be a well-balanced plate.  

In contrast, Demetrio offered tons of dynamic flavor. The mojo flavor was on point and the green bean chimichurri was a hit with the judges.  

Adriana was the only chef who decided to fry the pork blade steak. While judges appreciated skewering the green beans and the pickled component, the dish needed editing.  

Lastly, Chris offered yuzu marinated pork skewers. While that sour really made the judges’ mouths salivate, some of the pork was slightly overcooked.  

Earning the two spots in the next round were Demetrio and Chris. Unfortunately, Justin and Adriana had too many mistakes for the judges to overlook.  

For the final battle, Chris and Demetrio tackled catfish, broccoli, brick, spicy and 30 minutes. The brick component of this Randomizer was difficult. While the brick might be great for a chicken or to weigh down a pan, the chefs might have gone a little too far outside of the box in checking off this requirement.  

Demetrio offered a pan seared catfish with miso gochujang. While the judges appreciated that the catfish was not muddy, it did need more spice. In addition, the broccoli was quite greasy, which was not appealing.  

Chris offered a down-home fish fry. While using the brick as a plate was not the best choice, the catfish made up for that mis-step. It was a perfectly craveable dish.  

Earning the eighth seed in East Bracket B, Tournament of Champions Season 5 was Chris Scott. He will face Tiffani Faison.  

Could Tiffani Faison see an early exit like last season? Be sure to watch Tournament of Champions Season 5 Sunday nights on Food Network. New episodes can be streamed the next day on MAX.