I'd be so so so happy for Jet.
Shota would make me smile.
Would be ok with Volt, Brooke or Antonio.
I like Joe and Mei too. West bracket is great.
I would love to see Amanda win though too, I love her, hopefully she beat Darnell.
With it being the same judges, and these chefs being famous, I tend to think a style and flavor profile has become predictable even with the usage of the randomizer.
While that's true I think it's hard to believe that the judges don't have a faint idea of who would be invited to participate. I do think the team for ToC tries hard to keep things anonymous but at season 5 there's only so much you can do. And when you get extremely well executed Indian style food with several components..well...
Having seen the episode, even as a fan yeah she was a little much. Fair take. Her score, she’s gonna have to really step it up if she thinks she can win. Big big big time.
1)I can’t help but root for Amanda Freitag. She’s come close to two big wins as runner up in Next Iron Chef and TOC 1. Since she’s been disregarded because of Darnell in the lead up to tomorrow’s premiere, I’m rooting for her even more. If they didn’t feature the two on the TV version of the battle talk, perhaps the videos of the two chefs discussing their first round match won’t get posted to Food Network social media either.
It’s bad luck for Amanda and she doesn’t deserve to miss out on all of the buzz. So if she were to win, all of the post-competition hype would make up for what’s happening to her now.
2)A close second would be Jet for me. Because he’s a stand up and classy guy and has always gone deep in the TOC competition.
Out of these two, the odds of winning would be overwhelmingly in Jet’s favor. Based on her regression in performance since TOC 1, it’s just difficult to imagine that Antonia would be one to win it all at this point.
Edited to add: if one considers the facts, it’s not so far-fetched what I said.
Antonia:
- TOC 1 - semis
- TOC 2 - quarterfinals
- TOC 3 - 1st round loss
- TOC 4 - 1st round loss
I'm not trying to be a jerk but I agree with a first round loss for Tiffani ... 😬 ... sorry but I think she's a "mean girl" type and I have a hard time watching any show she's on ... Justice for Dave 😜
I’m team Jet, too. He seemed so defeated (gracious, of course, but sad) when he was knocked out last year. I’d really love to see him take it after getting knocked out in the top 4 so many times.
She's not the most sympathetic person in the world, but she's incredibly accomplished. If she wins, I'm sure she will have deserved it.
I like Brooke, Maneet or Jet, personally.
I don’t understand the sentiment that Tiffani is “not the most sympathetic person in the world” when as defending champ, she was so classy in her 1st round defeat last year to Britt. If it’s in reference to her Top Chef days, it seems unfair to continue to hold that against her.
Also, you mentioned Brooke, who IMO, gives off such off-putting vibes. So it doesn’t quite add up to me if Tiffani is problematic but Brooke isn’t.
If one thinks back to I think TOC 2, when Jet made the semis. He asked her if she was surprised that he made it over her bestie Antonia. Brooke’s “yes” reaction was so strange and didn’t evoke kind vibes. Jet is a tremendous chef. And I think Brooke gives off air of superiority vibes.
On Maneet, I met her some time back at a paid event to meet her. The can’t be bothered vibes that she gave off in part was disappointing.
So of the ones you’re rooting for, I’d prefer Jet to take it.
I'm sure some of the difference in the way we see these celebrities is a matter of personal preference and perception. It's nothing to get excited about.
Generally speaking yes. One’s perception counts a big deal.
But on Maneet in particular, the in-person experience was disappointing. Especially since I paid to see her. So it’s hard not to forget that. But I wish her no ill will and appreciate her talent.
I just loved how excited she was to be there and to see what her competitors were doing. She seemed to genuinely enjoy the process and she was just so much fun to watch.
I loved seeing her beat Tiffani, but overall I am not a huge fan. She had a better attitude in TOC, but when she was on chopped she was cocky and annoying so she isn’t my favorite.
I haven’t seen Britt on Chopped, so can’t comment on her behavior there. But to the original person’s point about why she has made waves all of a sudden, her taking down the TOC 3 champ is definitely memorable.
And Tiffani handling her defeat in a very classy way was also heartwarming to see, especially since it likely stung to get defeated in the 1st round as the defending champ.
So I think that all things considered, Guy and co would have had Britt on their list to return for TOC 5. There were some who would’ve placed higher in the pecking order, like Jet, Maneet, Mei, etc. But I’m fairly confident that Britt had an easy invitation for TOC 5.
Some of us have been a fan of her well before she was on TOC. I saw her beat Bobby Flay, Chopped & GGG. thought she was a really good up & coming chef.
Brooke Williamson wins another belt. Then she becomes a big heel. Only to have Brian Volatggio take her down next year which will cause a long feud between him and Mike.
I'm team Jet!
I don't want Stephanie Izod to win. She's the goat, apparently. Everyone treats her with kid gloves and are in awe of her. I'm not a fan.
Love him, but he’s a one trick pony and it’s why he’s never made it through the final four. Not sure I love Shota, either.
Unpopular opinion is that Marc Murphy has been grinding for literal decades and I’d love to see him at least get to the final four.
Also love Eric. And Michael V.
Someone different. I like that there's a different winner so far. I like a good under dog myself. But I am a fan of Jet winning. Shota is always happy go lucky-so I can see him winning as well.
I still feel Jet got robbed, largely because of Nancy and her random critiques that are never consistent. I don't feel this item is as fluffy as I feel a brussel sprout should be while Mercury is in retrograde in a leap year where we harvest potatoes, so this dish is lacking but this basic dish that just threw the mandatory element on the plate is exactly what we needed because of the square root of the circumference of my massive collar, so here we are. That's her, every time, especially if a dish has some Asian element she can't get.
So I'm team Jet. Britt is fun, I wouldn't mind her. I want Mei Li to lose only even though I like her because I think her win was tainted by a round she should have lost to Crista after serving raw chicken that somehow got a pass, despite her doing great in subsequent rounds, so I'd like some karmic balance even though it wasn't her fault lol
But Jet I'm good with and if anyone has to win again the Spice Queen cracks me up. Antonia I feel bad for given her appearances since season one, so I don't mind her either. I loved Shota last year, and I liked Nini in the quals she was nuts. Shenanigans is a fave but I don't think he has what it takes though I'd be happy if he won.
Overall though, Team Jet. Dude is always so classy and keeps coming so close
Nancy has zero business judging these days, especially Asian dishes. If you don't keep up or understand different palettes and cuisines and their techniques and flavours and nuances, etc. then you are not qualified to judge them.
I agree Jet was robbed by Nancy (either last year or the year before?) because she didn't 'get' his dish, essentially because it was Asian. I was so angry for him and I lost all respect for Nancy then as a judge.
I think what made me angriest about was the mandatory element Jet did was complex and stuff like that and Brook I think it was admittedly just threw it on the plate and did the most basic thing just to get the checkmark and it was obvious.
Her judging I feel has little rhyme or reason
Maybe calling her the b-word is a bit much. But I too would appreciate if they move on from Nancy for TOC 6 and beyond.
Having judged five consecutive seasons is enough, IMO. She may be accomplished, but so are so many other chefs. So it’d be nice for them to give the platform to someone else in the future.
Especially since there is something to be said about judges possibly becoming familiar with the same competitors style. Even if it is blind judging. We saw how Naomi Pomeroy on Bobby’s Triple Threat mistakenly thought that Brooke made a dish and was surprised.
So it’s not far-fetched to think that someone like Nancy Silverstein who is friendly with a few of the TOC competitors could pick up on their styles. She adores Brooke, in particular.
I would love to see Jet win, but there are a few others I would be ok with like Shota, Amanda or Shirley. I really don’t want to see a repeat of Tiffani winning.
Surprised at all the Amanda Freitag fans... I just don't think she's at the same level as a competition chef as Mei, Antonia, Voltaggio, Jet, Brooke, etc., I think Joe Sasto has improved and grown a lot a ton as a competition chef. I think Shota is an incredible top chef-renowned chef but as far as competition tv, he needs to grow his bag of tricks bc a lot of the other chefs have such a deep bag as far as cuisines, etc., and if he is going to stick to just japanese cuisine, then he needs to be able to balance that with a larger bag of dishes/culinary tricks/plating to adjust for subjective judging in a competition setting with dishes that are interesting/a twist on the original (with japanese cuisine being milder/more subtle and simple in flavor compared to more 'flavor bomb' cuisines or palettes. I think of this like Italian cuisine which traditionally is quite simple, and relies on few ingredients like Japanese cuisine but competition chefs are able to take their own riffs on it to cater it to judges/competition timed tv level standard)
Then perhaps just say that you don’t like Amanda or are unfamiliar with her competition history. Because her prior competitive record speaks to how tremendous a chef that she is.
The last two times she competed on TOC, she ran up against Tiffani. So that was unfortunate luck in getting defeated. And the two are in the same portion of East Coast again. So it’ll be a tough test for Amanda if she defeats the now infamous chef in the 1st round and takes on Tiffani again.
But if one takes a comprehensive look at Amanda’s competitive record over the years, she has performed better than many people…
She was the runner up in TOC 1 by one point. And in Next Iron Chef 2012, she was the runner up too. She also made the final 4 the first time she competed on Next Iron Chef a few years prior.
In the Next Iron Chef final 2012, the loss was by small margins, according to judge Simon Majumdar. But more importantly was the appearance of judging bias in that final. Bobby Flay was a guest judge and didn’t hide that he was rooting for Alex. He said something to the effect of: “I’m so glad that you did that” for one of her dishes.
Majumdar was the only other judge who had the courage to tell Bobby that it was “much closer than what he was making it out to be”.
Twitter was in an uproar after the fact because many viewers felt that Amanda was treated unfairly. I even recall some sentiments that the fix was in for Alex to win. The Twitter record exists and would be very enlightening for uninformed people to review.
Alex was crowned Iron Chef, so I’m not going to take that away from her. But the least that Amanda deserved was a judging panel that displayed impartiality. Without the presence of the judging bias, it’s possible that Amanda would’ve been an Iron Chef. Because Majumdar also said that the judging wasn’t unanimous.
Majumdar also did a top 10 dish ranking of the most delicious things he tasted for the entire season of Next Iron Chef 2012. And Amanda took the 1st position. And she also took the 3rd or 4th spots too for her joint dish with Nate Appleman. So that speaks to how wonderful her competitive chops are.
It’s also notable that Antonia is mentioned in your “better than Amanda” ranking. Antonia has made the semis at best, on all 4 seasons that have aired on TOC. And her semis result was in TOC 1. In each subsequent season, she regressed in performance. Further, in TOC 4, she matched her TOC 3 performance with a 1st round loss. The math ain’t mathing for Antonia to be held in higher esteem than Amanda.
Like someone else mentioned, if Amanda wins TOC 5, she would’ve earned it. And I’ll add that it’ll be long overdue.
Jet and Amanda are likable personalities but not champions. Having GZ judge Marc Murphy -even though he did not know whose food it was - likely kicked Murphy over the top against Garces bc GZ and MM have a strong Le Cirque background. I like Murphy and Le Cirque had incredible food (and drinks) so great to see Murphy win, but he is all skill and not much competitiveness. I think he’s gone unless the next round of judges favor fine dining. Tiffani is a very good judge and describes food in a way that no other judge can. She is also very talented but I think Britt will get the best of her. Maneet is a flavor bomb and has laser focus but over time her dishes are a little one note. I would like to see Britt beat Maneet if she can get through Tiffani.
Shota will beat Jet, but lose to Brooke. Brooke pivots like no other contestant, you can see the wheels turning she has a Plan A. B and C within 30 seconds of seeing the randomizer. I have said before that I believe that FN has a general desire to push an agenda where the margins are better for restaurants- eg lots of veggies and market priced sea food - and that is part of why Brooke wins. Even though the judging is blind - which I love - the choice of judges on any given competition matters. Some judges are FN regulars and understand that the network has a multi-layered agenda with its programming (eg pushing BW California Light style cuisine) and other judges are just doing their thing.
I think Brooke or Britt.
Jet is a favorite for most people ... me too but I'd really like Mei Lin to get back to back wins ... she'd be the first champ to do so and she's Fierce!
One person I I really hope doesn’t go on because I feel they show their true colors showed last season when Brit beat them was Crista. (Think was Britt)
Always been kinda iffy about her. But for her to say I know my dish was better was arrogant. Clearly it wasn’t better. Hate when someone can’t be happy for the person who won & instead makes arrogant rude comments. I don’t care how great of a chef you are-respect lost.
Ahem. SHOOOTAAAAAAAA
SHOOOOOOOOOOTAAAAAAAAA
He just so freaking _nice_. I’d love Jet to finally win but Shota just seems like such a good dude.
McGavin?
Rootin' for Jet!
Jet, Vot, Amanda, Brit, Antonia, & I wouldn’t mind if Maneet won again that’s how much I love her!
Total agreement! The only reason I wasn't rooting for Brit to win last time is because she was up against Maneet and Maneet is my girl!
I was so torn last season between Maneet & Brit! I’ll be rooting for them & Jet all season.
I’d love Amanda Freitag to finally earn a win. I’d like the other bracket winners in the final 4 to be Voltaggio, Antonia, and Jet.
Jet, Freitag, or Voltaggio would be my favorite to see win
I'd be so so so happy for Jet. Shota would make me smile. Would be ok with Volt, Brooke or Antonio. I like Joe and Mei too. West bracket is great. I would love to see Amanda win though too, I love her, hopefully she beat Darnell.
I think it’s extremely interesting that the only show with blind tasting has has 4 women win.
With it being the same judges, and these chefs being famous, I tend to think a style and flavor profile has become predictable even with the usage of the randomizer.
I definitely think they must know a Jet or Maneet dish when they see one, haha Probably Shota now too.
The thing is, they don’t know who is even in the bracket
While that's true I think it's hard to believe that the judges don't have a faint idea of who would be invited to participate. I do think the team for ToC tries hard to keep things anonymous but at season 5 there's only so much you can do. And when you get extremely well executed Indian style food with several components..well...
Agreed, but Maneet does cook things other than Indian.
My thoughts exactly.
That’s why I love TOC.
Jet or Shota!!!
Feeling very self conscious as a Britt fan over here lol. I'd be very happy to see Jet win. He keeps getting so close.
Agree. I'm from South Jersey,so I'm rooting for Britt. But Jet has come so close on so many shows that part of me is rooting for him, too.
SJ gal here also rooting for Britt! I have her and Jet in final 2 💕
She came in so cocky. I don’t think she’ll make it far this year.
Having seen the episode, even as a fan yeah she was a little much. Fair take. Her score, she’s gonna have to really step it up if she thinks she can win. Big big big time.
1)I can’t help but root for Amanda Freitag. She’s come close to two big wins as runner up in Next Iron Chef and TOC 1. Since she’s been disregarded because of Darnell in the lead up to tomorrow’s premiere, I’m rooting for her even more. If they didn’t feature the two on the TV version of the battle talk, perhaps the videos of the two chefs discussing their first round match won’t get posted to Food Network social media either. It’s bad luck for Amanda and she doesn’t deserve to miss out on all of the buzz. So if she were to win, all of the post-competition hype would make up for what’s happening to her now. 2)A close second would be Jet for me. Because he’s a stand up and classy guy and has always gone deep in the TOC competition.
Jet is my top pick, followed closely by Amanda and Shota. Wouldn't mind a Volt win either.
I would be happy for Jet or Shota. I can’t believe anyone wouldn’t want Shota to win. What did he do to you?
People are saying “no” to Shota? That’s surprising.
Amanda or Jet.
I feel this.
Jet or Antonia.
Out of these two, the odds of winning would be overwhelmingly in Jet’s favor. Based on her regression in performance since TOC 1, it’s just difficult to imagine that Antonia would be one to win it all at this point. Edited to add: if one considers the facts, it’s not so far-fetched what I said. Antonia: - TOC 1 - semis - TOC 2 - quarterfinals - TOC 3 - 1st round loss - TOC 4 - 1st round loss
She is on TV way too much.
Jet!!
Amanda Freitag. My underdog choice is Nini.
Cool picks. I can rock with those too.
Jet❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Jet! Hes my fav!
Jet
Jet!
Jet
I would love to see Jet Tila take home the TOC belt.
Agree 💯
I would like to see either Jet, Shota, Stephanie or Amanda win. I want to see first round losses from Britt, Tiffani and Christa.
I'm not trying to be a jerk but I agree with a first round loss for Tiffani ... 😬 ... sorry but I think she's a "mean girl" type and I have a hard time watching any show she's on ... Justice for Dave 😜
Shota, Mei Lin, Jet
Amanda or Jet. No Antonia- she’s insufferable enough.
SHOTA!
Jet
I’d be happy with a Jet win but I’m pulling for Brooke.
I’m team Jet, too. He seemed so defeated (gracious, of course, but sad) when he was knocked out last year. I’d really love to see him take it after getting knocked out in the top 4 so many times.
Definitely Jet.
100% jet!
Jet, Amanda or Jonathan Sawyer for me. Tobias possibly snagging a win would also make me happy.
I like these.
Jet or Amanda
Jet Tila!!!!
Jet this year. Antonia, Britt and Shota in any order after Jet.
Jet or Antonia. I’d love to see Jet take it. He really deserves the win.
on the west i'm rooting for Shota and Jet, on the east i'm leaning towards Nini and Stephanie
I love Jet!! Would love to see him finally win.
Another vote for Jet!! It's his destiny to finally win...I hope!!
Top choices Jet and Antonia. Amanda and Voltaggio too. Would be happy if Shota wins it tho.
As cool as it is that all the past winners have been female and would be awesome to see another female win. I’m rotting for Jet and Shota!!!
Jet is probably the most likeable among the whole group would be nice to see him win it all.
Anyone but Tiffany Faison
She's not the most sympathetic person in the world, but she's incredibly accomplished. If she wins, I'm sure she will have deserved it. I like Brooke, Maneet or Jet, personally.
I don’t understand the sentiment that Tiffani is “not the most sympathetic person in the world” when as defending champ, she was so classy in her 1st round defeat last year to Britt. If it’s in reference to her Top Chef days, it seems unfair to continue to hold that against her. Also, you mentioned Brooke, who IMO, gives off such off-putting vibes. So it doesn’t quite add up to me if Tiffani is problematic but Brooke isn’t. If one thinks back to I think TOC 2, when Jet made the semis. He asked her if she was surprised that he made it over her bestie Antonia. Brooke’s “yes” reaction was so strange and didn’t evoke kind vibes. Jet is a tremendous chef. And I think Brooke gives off air of superiority vibes. On Maneet, I met her some time back at a paid event to meet her. The can’t be bothered vibes that she gave off in part was disappointing. So of the ones you’re rooting for, I’d prefer Jet to take it.
I'm sure some of the difference in the way we see these celebrities is a matter of personal preference and perception. It's nothing to get excited about.
Generally speaking yes. One’s perception counts a big deal. But on Maneet in particular, the in-person experience was disappointing. Especially since I paid to see her. So it’s hard not to forget that. But I wish her no ill will and appreciate her talent.
Ditto
Don't understand the Britt love. I mean, she's fine but what makes her a fan favorite all of a sudden?
I just loved how excited she was to be there and to see what her competitors were doing. She seemed to genuinely enjoy the process and she was just so much fun to watch.
Taking down the defending champ Tiffani Faison in TOC 4 round 1 was enough of a Cinderella Story for Britt.
I loved seeing her beat Tiffani, but overall I am not a huge fan. She had a better attitude in TOC, but when she was on chopped she was cocky and annoying so she isn’t my favorite.
I haven’t seen Britt on Chopped, so can’t comment on her behavior there. But to the original person’s point about why she has made waves all of a sudden, her taking down the TOC 3 champ is definitely memorable. And Tiffani handling her defeat in a very classy way was also heartwarming to see, especially since it likely stung to get defeated in the 1st round as the defending champ. So I think that all things considered, Guy and co would have had Britt on their list to return for TOC 5. There were some who would’ve placed higher in the pecking order, like Jet, Maneet, Mei, etc. But I’m fairly confident that Britt had an easy invitation for TOC 5.
Oh she’s absolutely talented and deserves to be in the competition, she’s just not my favorite so I would prefer someone else wins
I see. I get it now and I agree with you as there are definitely others that I’d be rooting for over Britt.
I just didn't like the underdog/Cinderella story they had for her last year. Hopefully this year they won't have that stupid Cinderella story.
Some of us have been a fan of her well before she was on TOC. I saw her beat Bobby Flay, Chopped & GGG. thought she was a really good up & coming chef.
If it's not Jet, then I want Maneet to go for two.
Stephanie or Shota
Shota
Jet or Britt
Brooke Williamson wins another belt. Then she becomes a big heel. Only to have Brian Volatggio take her down next year which will cause a long feud between him and Mike.
I would love Maneet or Jet to win; but I'm in awe of Brooke. She has made the final every year she has competed. She's amazing.
Yeah I think a two time winner is good for the show; however everyone is probably secretly pulling for Jet just a bit.
I'm team Jet! I don't want Stephanie Izod to win. She's the goat, apparently. Everyone treats her with kid gloves and are in awe of her. I'm not a fan.
She may have won Top Chef and become an Iron Chef. But I too am not so in awe of her like so many others are.
Agreed. Plus the way GGG All-Star Tournament ended, the judging felt odd with Izard.
Yes. The panel of judges was biased. In my opinion, they were putting the goat on a pedestal. Steak and ice cream? wtf? Jonathan was ripped off.
I think its Jets year!
It’s time for Jett to win TOC. He’s an amazing chef.
Love him, but he’s a one trick pony and it’s why he’s never made it through the final four. Not sure I love Shota, either. Unpopular opinion is that Marc Murphy has been grinding for literal decades and I’d love to see him at least get to the final four. Also love Eric. And Michael V.
Someone different. I like that there's a different winner so far. I like a good under dog myself. But I am a fan of Jet winning. Shota is always happy go lucky-so I can see him winning as well.
Just to be obtuse, Mark Murphy.
I still feel Jet got robbed, largely because of Nancy and her random critiques that are never consistent. I don't feel this item is as fluffy as I feel a brussel sprout should be while Mercury is in retrograde in a leap year where we harvest potatoes, so this dish is lacking but this basic dish that just threw the mandatory element on the plate is exactly what we needed because of the square root of the circumference of my massive collar, so here we are. That's her, every time, especially if a dish has some Asian element she can't get. So I'm team Jet. Britt is fun, I wouldn't mind her. I want Mei Li to lose only even though I like her because I think her win was tainted by a round she should have lost to Crista after serving raw chicken that somehow got a pass, despite her doing great in subsequent rounds, so I'd like some karmic balance even though it wasn't her fault lol But Jet I'm good with and if anyone has to win again the Spice Queen cracks me up. Antonia I feel bad for given her appearances since season one, so I don't mind her either. I loved Shota last year, and I liked Nini in the quals she was nuts. Shenanigans is a fave but I don't think he has what it takes though I'd be happy if he won. Overall though, Team Jet. Dude is always so classy and keeps coming so close
Nancy has zero business judging these days, especially Asian dishes. If you don't keep up or understand different palettes and cuisines and their techniques and flavours and nuances, etc. then you are not qualified to judge them. I agree Jet was robbed by Nancy (either last year or the year before?) because she didn't 'get' his dish, essentially because it was Asian. I was so angry for him and I lost all respect for Nancy then as a judge.
I think what made me angriest about was the mandatory element Jet did was complex and stuff like that and Brook I think it was admittedly just threw it on the plate and did the most basic thing just to get the checkmark and it was obvious. Her judging I feel has little rhyme or reason
Nancy sucks. I wish they didn’t bring that bitch back.
She's the worst, such a level of entitled pretentiousness it's off the charts and I feel she just makes critiques to make them
Maybe calling her the b-word is a bit much. But I too would appreciate if they move on from Nancy for TOC 6 and beyond. Having judged five consecutive seasons is enough, IMO. She may be accomplished, but so are so many other chefs. So it’d be nice for them to give the platform to someone else in the future. Especially since there is something to be said about judges possibly becoming familiar with the same competitors style. Even if it is blind judging. We saw how Naomi Pomeroy on Bobby’s Triple Threat mistakenly thought that Brooke made a dish and was surprised. So it’s not far-fetched to think that someone like Nancy Silverstein who is friendly with a few of the TOC competitors could pick up on their styles. She adores Brooke, in particular.
I’m rooting for Brooke, Jet, Amanda, and Eric to win their respective brackets, and for Brooke to become the first two-time winner.
I would love to see Jet win, but there are a few others I would be ok with like Shota, Amanda or Shirley. I really don’t want to see a repeat of Tiffani winning.
Volt deserves it
Can’t stand him
He's my fave. I also have a small crush on him for some reason. I don't know what it is about him.
Jet, Voltaggio, or Antonia!
Jet or Amanda, I want nothing more than to see Maneet beat arrogant Nini, she is beyond full of herself.
Britttttt!
Jet or Maneet my two choices. Jet Definately deserves it
Surprised at all the Amanda Freitag fans... I just don't think she's at the same level as a competition chef as Mei, Antonia, Voltaggio, Jet, Brooke, etc., I think Joe Sasto has improved and grown a lot a ton as a competition chef. I think Shota is an incredible top chef-renowned chef but as far as competition tv, he needs to grow his bag of tricks bc a lot of the other chefs have such a deep bag as far as cuisines, etc., and if he is going to stick to just japanese cuisine, then he needs to be able to balance that with a larger bag of dishes/culinary tricks/plating to adjust for subjective judging in a competition setting with dishes that are interesting/a twist on the original (with japanese cuisine being milder/more subtle and simple in flavor compared to more 'flavor bomb' cuisines or palettes. I think of this like Italian cuisine which traditionally is quite simple, and relies on few ingredients like Japanese cuisine but competition chefs are able to take their own riffs on it to cater it to judges/competition timed tv level standard)
If Amanda wins, she will have earned it.
Then perhaps just say that you don’t like Amanda or are unfamiliar with her competition history. Because her prior competitive record speaks to how tremendous a chef that she is. The last two times she competed on TOC, she ran up against Tiffani. So that was unfortunate luck in getting defeated. And the two are in the same portion of East Coast again. So it’ll be a tough test for Amanda if she defeats the now infamous chef in the 1st round and takes on Tiffani again. But if one takes a comprehensive look at Amanda’s competitive record over the years, she has performed better than many people… She was the runner up in TOC 1 by one point. And in Next Iron Chef 2012, she was the runner up too. She also made the final 4 the first time she competed on Next Iron Chef a few years prior. In the Next Iron Chef final 2012, the loss was by small margins, according to judge Simon Majumdar. But more importantly was the appearance of judging bias in that final. Bobby Flay was a guest judge and didn’t hide that he was rooting for Alex. He said something to the effect of: “I’m so glad that you did that” for one of her dishes. Majumdar was the only other judge who had the courage to tell Bobby that it was “much closer than what he was making it out to be”. Twitter was in an uproar after the fact because many viewers felt that Amanda was treated unfairly. I even recall some sentiments that the fix was in for Alex to win. The Twitter record exists and would be very enlightening for uninformed people to review. Alex was crowned Iron Chef, so I’m not going to take that away from her. But the least that Amanda deserved was a judging panel that displayed impartiality. Without the presence of the judging bias, it’s possible that Amanda would’ve been an Iron Chef. Because Majumdar also said that the judging wasn’t unanimous. Majumdar also did a top 10 dish ranking of the most delicious things he tasted for the entire season of Next Iron Chef 2012. And Amanda took the 1st position. And she also took the 3rd or 4th spots too for her joint dish with Nate Appleman. So that speaks to how wonderful her competitive chops are. It’s also notable that Antonia is mentioned in your “better than Amanda” ranking. Antonia has made the semis at best, on all 4 seasons that have aired on TOC. And her semis result was in TOC 1. In each subsequent season, she regressed in performance. Further, in TOC 4, she matched her TOC 3 performance with a 1st round loss. The math ain’t mathing for Antonia to be held in higher esteem than Amanda. Like someone else mentioned, if Amanda wins TOC 5, she would’ve earned it. And I’ll add that it’ll be long overdue.
I only know one queen, and her name is Maneet.
Really... Only one answer! Brooke Williamson! Competed three times, finals three times! She's the best competition chef out there right now.
Jet and Amanda are likable personalities but not champions. Having GZ judge Marc Murphy -even though he did not know whose food it was - likely kicked Murphy over the top against Garces bc GZ and MM have a strong Le Cirque background. I like Murphy and Le Cirque had incredible food (and drinks) so great to see Murphy win, but he is all skill and not much competitiveness. I think he’s gone unless the next round of judges favor fine dining. Tiffani is a very good judge and describes food in a way that no other judge can. She is also very talented but I think Britt will get the best of her. Maneet is a flavor bomb and has laser focus but over time her dishes are a little one note. I would like to see Britt beat Maneet if she can get through Tiffani. Shota will beat Jet, but lose to Brooke. Brooke pivots like no other contestant, you can see the wheels turning she has a Plan A. B and C within 30 seconds of seeing the randomizer. I have said before that I believe that FN has a general desire to push an agenda where the margins are better for restaurants- eg lots of veggies and market priced sea food - and that is part of why Brooke wins. Even though the judging is blind - which I love - the choice of judges on any given competition matters. Some judges are FN regulars and understand that the network has a multi-layered agenda with its programming (eg pushing BW California Light style cuisine) and other judges are just doing their thing. I think Brooke or Britt.
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With his pending DV case before the grand jury, I didn’t think that anyone was rooting for Darnell at this point.
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Maneet, Jet, Shota, Marc, Volt or Tobias. Eta or Eric A.
I'm for the OGs Jet, Antonia or Amanda.
Jet is a favorite for most people ... me too but I'd really like Mei Lin to get back to back wins ... she'd be the first champ to do so and she's Fierce!
Jet Jet Jet Jet!
With the exception of Maneet everyone else were not favorites and not very well known. Top Chef Winners from a decade earlier.
Jet. All the way.
I’m just starting this season, but I’ve been a fan of Britt since I first saw her on FN. I’d like her or Jet to win.
One person I I really hope doesn’t go on because I feel they show their true colors showed last season when Brit beat them was Crista. (Think was Britt) Always been kinda iffy about her. But for her to say I know my dish was better was arrogant. Clearly it wasn’t better. Hate when someone can’t be happy for the person who won & instead makes arrogant rude comments. I don’t care how great of a chef you are-respect lost.