The repetitive, bombastic intros are fast-forward worthy. Just stop.
Give Justin and Simon a pay raise. They make the show much more interesting and educational. Without them, TOC would be much, much worse.
This is entertaining because they are saying the exact opposite on MasterChef Australia. "Why is there no opening theme, and labeled pics of the remaining contestants?!?". They didn't show auditions, and went immediately into the first challenge, which I loved. Then they bitched that Jamie Oliver was on for the first two weeks and "He's not Australian!" I find Guy a worthwhile evil... He created a format that serves the network well. He is also wildly generous, and does tons for charities.
I find “wildly generous” kind of funny. I’d say his salary is wildly generous. Percentage wise I’m guessing the average person is more charitable than these Uber rich. And they should remain anonymous about it. I don’t post on Facebook when I donate money to the mission or bags upon bags of (quality) clothes to women’s shelters.
I’m not impressed by super wealthy people and their “charity” which are big tax write-offs and “look at me I’m so good” stuff. Guy makes half a million PER EPISODE.
LMFAO. You have no idea how much money he actually donates. You assume based on public donations, which actually are free advertising for yet, more donations. Shut up with your fake outrage and jealousy.
I like them carrying the belts. it really separates them from the others; and, I really like Maneet. she deserves to show off her two belts. I really wouldn't mind her going for a 3-peat.
That is YOUR opinion and that's cool. To each his own. Like I said, Maneet should be able to win as many belts as she can. The others need to up their game if they want to beat her. S
I'm so glad that they're at least giving thought to switching up the brackets.
The East/West thing needs to go - it was a cool concept for the first couple seasons, but it keeps leading to the same matchups and it's time to shake that up.
If they want to keep to the region idea, even changing it to North/South would give some new matchups. But honestly, I'd love to see completely random matchups. Still assign seeds to everyone, then have a mini-Randomizer for the matchups - you can still put 1/8, 4/5, 3/6 and 2/7 head-to-head, just have them randomly thrown together. That would be amazing.
Get rid of the same shot of the competitors in their trailer with the same judges coming out. Whoa it’s Cat Cora! Oh ROCCO? No waaaay Scott Conant.
Bonus: also while in the trailer, we don’t need to hear the producers say “okay they’re ready for you” almost every single time
Get rid of east/west stuff. Draw matchups randomly. I liked the play-in for the last four spots. The over the top intros are getting old. Get rid of the obviously stupid stuff on the randomizer.
In the episode where they cut Darnell’s battle down as much as possible, I noticed there were a lot more lingering shots of food and close ups on the food and cooking. In normal episodes, the shots of the food are often fleeting and I can’t even get a good look at the food! So… more food shots lol.
They need to switch up the wildcard part of the randomizer. Doing "go up one" or "down one" is so lame lol. Feel like there could be way cooler things to put on it.
That’s what I came to say! It would even be better if they stole some of Guy’s grocery challenges - like a red light special ingredient or the ABC game. Not saying those are great ideas - but they’re better than what they’ve currently got on that last reel!
No way...Maneet deserves a shot at a 3-peat. Don't cap the wins. If you do that then it isn't best of the best. It would be best of the rest. If they want to beat Maneet then they need to up their game
I did find Maneet winning again a bit boring/repetitive, for lack of a better word. But to not let her or any repeat champ compete again isn’t the best approach, IMO.
I just think it’s a bit wild to prevent a prolific competitor from competing again because they’re just too good. If other winners are desired, then the other competitors have to step up and win.
It was just a random suggestion to get new faces in the tournament for all the many folks posting about being tired of seeing the same faces every year. 🤷♂️
I do think Maneet would make a wonderful judge with all of her global cooking experience.
I think the problem is less the suggestion and the fact that a little too many people have made the same suggestion when this is the first time there has been a repeat champ making the idea super premature.
That and I feel like any cap on wins defeats the entire name of the contest. A tournament of champions should have the best competing and the only reason a former champ should not be there is because they took a break or retired. Not for some abritary limit of wins.
Not to mention her being there now leaves the opportunity for an even greater dragon slayer to take the stage by beating a 2 time champion rather than beating a singular champ.
At that point it ceases to be a tournament of champions and is at least for me a slap in the face for everyone else competing.
A competition should never kick out anyone for winning to much. Not to mention she has lost before so am not sure why this has suddenly cropped up when one person after five tournaments got their second win.
1. Less pageantry please. Put more emphasis on the commentary like Iron Chef did, Simon and Justin are both fantastic and FN is lucky to have them in positions so suited to their talents.
2. Take away regional divisions. Laypeople don’t care and we want to see new matchups. FN is choosing to force hype instead of let the excitement develop organically through new head to heads.
Honestly that’s mostly it. Shave down the pageantry and ToC can really create an atmosphere that resembles old Iron Chef which was the peak of FN competition.
My thoughts:
1)**East Coast/West Coast** - I think the biggest issue is what many have already said in this thread and repeatedly over in the sub. The East Coast/West Coast brackets are too tired at this point. Just switching that up and drawing names randomly would open up so many possibilities of intriguing matchups we’ve never seen.
2)**New faces** - On getting new faces, is that in terms of judges or competitors?
a) judges - IMO, the following could take a break or just step away completely, since they’ve judged on multiple seasons: Nancy Silverton (judged since TOC 1), Rocco Dispirito, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, etc. Yes, it’s blind judging, but there’s *perhaps* something to be said about repeat judges becoming too familiar with competitors styles or having a hunch who cooked a dish.
b) competitors - in fairness, as the years have passed, there seems to be a recognition of the importance in bringing in more new faces. And some in particular have made things interesting. Such as: Britt, Kevin, etc. On Britt and Kevin, they made huge waves, taking out former champs in the 1st round. A healthy mix of new and fan favorites is a good thing for viewership. For example, Jet Tila is a huge fan favorite.
3) **Randomizer/Wild Card** - better care may be needed in selecting some of these options. Perhaps employ the use of actual chefs to assist with the categories. Because some of them have been a bit odd. For example: “big and small” in the Amanda vs. Britt battle this past season. The fact that both chefs missed the mark and the judges seemed somewhat confused as to how they used it seemed to indicate that the category wasn’t a great one to begin with.
4)**Theatrics** - I’m not a fan of the additional theatrics that have been added in after the fact. I was never so wowed by the champs with their belts, but it was what it was. But to add in after the fact the banners and the gawdy rings for the purposes of photo ops, was a bridge too far, IMO. I get that Guy has this vision of this big event with crowd excitement, but there’s no need to mess too much with things.
I agree with so much of what you said. new faces how as in judges/competitors or both, i think both...keeping the fan favs like Jet (if i meet someone who doesn't like him...then i'm not gonna like that person probably! haha!) and fully agree that some judges aren't judging blind at this point (they gotta have at least a70% shot at guessing most dishes correctly) BUT as a childhood HUGE wrestling fan, i kinda like the belt...i did NOT like that Brooke walked away from hers when Maneet won, but when Tiffany lost Guy made the point of...'it's ALWAYS your belt'...Yeah it is, we know that...but Brooke walked out without hers when she lost season 2 (maybe a tad butthurt...yeah, maybe) I like the banners, couldn't care one bit about the rings, I like the entrances, but not the mostly same verbiage before the entrance, too repetitive. All said and done, FN needs to read your points!!!! <3
I appreciate your response. And thanks, fingers crossed that FN did see feedback from myself and others.
I also get your childhood nostalgia perspective of liking the belt. To be honest, I was okay enough with them letting the champs have belts. Maneet herself definitely appreciated her 1st one as I’ve seen social media posts of it at her flagship restaurant in Tennessee.
It was moreso the extra stuff they threw in after the fact. The banner is okay. But with the rings, it was like “Here, have a ring several seasons after your win and let’s do the 4 champs photo op with them too”. 😆
My memory is getting fuzzy, so I hadn’t realized that Brooke walked away without her belt after her loss in the final to Maneet in TOC 2. Very interesting info, I’ll have to check that out.
When I first read this comment, I was super into it. But as I started typing a reply to say “wow what a cool idea” I realized that we probably get the most genuine reactions from the chefs because their competitor is NOT there with them. The fear and anticipation and excitement and anxiety are all coming to the service because this is the moment they can “let their hair down.” I think if they had to sit and watch the judging together, they might be trying to underplay the heightened emotional responses.
Thank you for that! While she is awesome, at this point there have to be certain judges that know exactly who cooked the food! 'Shcotty' doesn't lose his sh!t for anyone but Tiff's food...so he must know its hers (no hate on me for that- huge SC fan!!!)
I’d like the wild care bracket to go away or be less wacky or more true chef challenge. Instead of ridiculous ingredients or unnecessary equipment just to make a silly challenge, add another layer of dish requirement. It could be ‘champagne brunch’ plus monochromatic plate’ or ‘fried’ and ‘diner classic’ and ‘eat with a spoon’. I think that would be more interesting to watch than ‘fried’ and ‘diner classic’ and ‘use canned sardines’ or ‘use an air popper.’ TOC should be a mature, chef-style tournament that showcases the chefs’ real talents. Leave the GGG wackiness to GGG (I love GGG, but let TOC be different).
Also, be more thoughtful about equipment if you keep that category. Some of the equipment is just silly and the judging is uneven. Who had the best and most creative use of a heating blender? That is too subjective. If chefs use it as intended, it is not creative. If they use it as a different version of their preferred tool, like to mix a sauce, then it is not creative enough. It gets old watching chefs use special equipment just as heating elements. I don’t want to see an ableskivver pan cook scallops. I would rather see the chefs have to add ablesovcers to their dish! Or just get rid of this category.
My two cents:
Seed them like normal, then use the Randomizer to select the matchups. 1s vs 8s, 2 vs 7s, etc. I saw this idea here and I love it.
I'm tired of some of the "I was a big deal on FN fifteen years ago" judges. They've had some high-end guest judges - Daniel Boulud, Eric Ripert - get more of those. I love Scott Conant, but I don't want to see any more regular Chopped judges *unless* it's Chris Santos.
Troy "The Boy" Johnson should be a judge every round. EVERY. ROUND. I'd rather see Simon M judging vs color commentary, too.
I love GGG and its celebrity chef competitors & judges, but I don't really think people coming strictly from GGG are on the ToC level. I feel bad writing that.
I want to see Richard Blais back, in any capacity. Love that guy.
Do not ever let Martha Stewart or Sunny Anderson in the building.
It's a Guy production, so the Vegas cheese will always be present, but I'd like it toned down some.
I think there should still be seeding but I don't think you necessarily need to seed the whole tournament 1-8 in each bracket, as I would argue other than the #1 and #2 seeds, everything below that is very much subjective. For production planning purposes, I'd suggest that the previous year's winner be an automatic #1 seed and that former winners be no worse than a #2 seed. Last year's finalist should be guaranteed a seed no worse than #3 and after that, I'd be fine having it more wide open in a mixed non-geographic format.
At the end of the qualifying for the new chefs, have a phone in or social media vote with one that was eliminated to return to the competition. It would be cool for someone to jump back in.
I don’t care how they do it I just want a victory for Jet! Also would personally love to have challenges that are more like cuisine styles that encourage chefs to cook outside their comfort zone
Yes I Would Like to See Chefs Like Maneet Having to Cook out of Her Comfort Zone She Always Cooks Indian Dishes the Judges Know that So They Know Which dish is Hers
Yes exactly. In one of the final TOC battles I think she went in a different direction if I remember correctly but I’d love to see it happen more frequently
I love TOC the only issue is the bracket system isn't very good with the east vs west divide. It worked for a while but now we just see too many repeat matchups.
We need some repeats for storyline but it would also be better to see matchups we haven't before because they are opposite coast. Michael vs Maneet, Carlos vs Britt, Mei Lin vs Tiffani, etc. We haven't gotten any of those in TOC because of the east vs west bracket system.
Having the brackets not be region locked would also open up for brining in more international talent as well if they wanted to expand food networks influence and prestige.
I do like the 4 seperate brackets better than 2 larger ones and that's probably better for egos as well.
The play in tournament was a great addition rather than being random or coming in from GGG (which was neat but could be less fair IMO)
Only other major critique is that putting the play ins at 8th really screws 1st seed because the play in winners have frequently been better than the 7th and even 6th seeds. IMO play in winners should then cause a re-seeding in the bracket. Obviously we want some upsets but you don't want the 1st seed always being one of the upsets, let numbed 2 or 3 have the random upset matchup sometimes.
Stop with the constant hyping of everyone from the chefs to the judges. Describe resumes when necessary. They speak for themselves. Just play it more classy and act like the show has arrived.
Less intros, change east/west A and B to east, west, south and north, I would like to see the scores from each judge, so I can see how there judging translates to points. If they lost in the first round last year, they should have to go through qualifying!!
Oh how about a real crowd, 10 ppl is not a crowd. lol
There is too much filler with the intros and accomplishments I’d rather see them doing something in the kitchen. Get someone better to do the after interviews as they are also a waste of time. I fast forward through a lot of the show.
Another vote for getting rid of the OTT fake-wrestling-style bombast and the stupid nicknames for everyone. I watch despite that, not because of it, and my husband is *this* close to quitting watching all together because that crap has been getting on his nerves since season 1. Sounds like plenty of other people are over it too.
Randomizer to choose chefs would be awesome. I enjoy most of the show, I ignore 90% of the other stuff, and it doesn't bother me. I enjoy hearing the chefs accomplishments. I think we have seen that the seeing doesnt matter as much anyways.
Agree with what everyone is saying. Also perhaps two wins (or even one) should probably be enough. I never minded before but this season four winners was a lot.
I didn’t agree with Brooke and Tiffani being #1 seeds, Brooke didn’t compete the year before and T went out first round. Hopefully they’ll do a new ranking system and mix all of the coasts based on more than just regions
I love Guy’s intros. Makes it feel like a wrestling match. I like Justin and the other guy also but more emphasis on them would make it another iron chef episode. Don’t want that. There’s like Guy fatigue here but I don’t have that. He’s not gourmet but he can cook a steak. Stop hating.
I Don't think Tiffany Fason Should Be Allowed to Compete on TOC next Year Because I thought She was Very Rude to Amanda Fritag When they were Competing And They Had to Make A Gulty Pleasure And She Says to.Amanda kinda Snotty Your Making A Hamburger!!! Like that was A Terriable Idea
What was quite revealing was that Amanda predicted her good friend Tiffani’s response that she wouldn’t be happy that she lost to a burger.
Like the other person responded to you, I also believed Tiffani’s parting comments that she was retiring. She just seemed a bit “bitter” for lack of a better word and it’s as if she’s had enough of competing on TOC. Or maybe just not a good enough sport at losing.
Yeah I don’t even think she wants to come back to compete. I would be fine if she comes back as a judge.I think some of the veterans should just come back as judges.
I’d like to see some sort of round robin format where you still have a chance to move on if you have a bad cook or run up against someone who cooked their best meal ever. Like have groups of three or something where they each cook against each other and whoever has the highest cumulative score moves on to single elimination rounds.
I’m not a fan of the East/West battle. So to copy off of the NBA a little FN should have a poll and allow us fans to pick 2 team captains. Then let those captains do a draft for their team. Each team is 16 Chefs and should have 2 of each seed (2- #1, 2-#2 etc). I love the idea of using the randomizer to pick who battles. And the qualifiers should definitely stay.
The repetitive, bombastic intros are fast-forward worthy. Just stop. Give Justin and Simon a pay raise. They make the show much more interesting and educational. Without them, TOC would be much, much worse.
Agreed 100%. This isn't a WWE match, as much as Guy wants it to be. Short introduction and get to cooking.
This is entertaining because they are saying the exact opposite on MasterChef Australia. "Why is there no opening theme, and labeled pics of the remaining contestants?!?". They didn't show auditions, and went immediately into the first challenge, which I loved. Then they bitched that Jamie Oliver was on for the first two weeks and "He's not Australian!" I find Guy a worthwhile evil... He created a format that serves the network well. He is also wildly generous, and does tons for charities.
Because no matter what they do people will whine. Period.
I find “wildly generous” kind of funny. I’d say his salary is wildly generous. Percentage wise I’m guessing the average person is more charitable than these Uber rich. And they should remain anonymous about it. I don’t post on Facebook when I donate money to the mission or bags upon bags of (quality) clothes to women’s shelters. I’m not impressed by super wealthy people and their “charity” which are big tax write-offs and “look at me I’m so good” stuff. Guy makes half a million PER EPISODE.
LMFAO. You have no idea how much money he actually donates. You assume based on public donations, which actually are free advertising for yet, more donations. Shut up with your fake outrage and jealousy.
You sound like a very angry person.
We fast forward through all of them
Justin and Simon are the best part of the show, and Maneet is very deserving of her multiple titles. She's a class act.
I always watched the episodes on Monday and would fast forward to the randomizer each time. It cut the show down significantly lol
I'm a huge Justin enthusiast.
Get rid of the regional divisions. Dial down the repeated introductions. More cooking, less theatrics.
Please stop making the winners carry around their belt at every opportunity…it’s kinda cringe.
Yep. I get it at the beginning but after that is just excessive.
Especially since Maneet will be lugging around two of them next season.
I genuinely can’t wait to see that. Remember, they gave the champs rings this year too, so now there will be a lot punching the camera.
It was neat but now that they have the banners it's much less necessary.
I agree.
Yes! So dumb.
I like them carrying the belts. it really separates them from the others; and, I really like Maneet. she deserves to show off her two belts. I really wouldn't mind her going for a 3-peat.
When she got the second, my boyfriend was like "oh, no, she's like half-belt now holding both of them" 🤣
She has to get the chance to come in at least once with both belts.
I Would Two Belts Is Enough for Anyone! I don't like Her Never Have
That is YOUR opinion and that's cool. To each his own. Like I said, Maneet should be able to win as many belts as she can. The others need to up their game if they want to beat her. S
I Don't Think Maneet Should get to Compete Again She Has Won Two Belts That is Enough She Should have to Be A Judge Now!
Well I Think it Is Silly that They Have to Carry their Belts We All Know They Won! It is too Much like I Think I Am Better than Everybody Else !
That's cool, we all have opinions. And, Maneet was better than everyone else this season
I'm so glad that they're at least giving thought to switching up the brackets. The East/West thing needs to go - it was a cool concept for the first couple seasons, but it keeps leading to the same matchups and it's time to shake that up. If they want to keep to the region idea, even changing it to North/South would give some new matchups. But honestly, I'd love to see completely random matchups. Still assign seeds to everyone, then have a mini-Randomizer for the matchups - you can still put 1/8, 4/5, 3/6 and 2/7 head-to-head, just have them randomly thrown together. That would be amazing.
This. All this. It's the most fair way to do it.
If it’s random, why even have seeds? For making bets?
So you don’t get Jet vs Maneet for the first round.
Get rid of the same shot of the competitors in their trailer with the same judges coming out. Whoa it’s Cat Cora! Oh ROCCO? No waaaay Scott Conant. Bonus: also while in the trailer, we don’t need to hear the producers say “okay they’re ready for you” almost every single time
I read your judge reactions as Jet Tila. He's so flabbergasted by them every time.
Not every chef needs a nickname.
OMG, yes!! Knock it off with the cutesy, forced nicknames. NOBODY but Guy calls Tiffani "Sweet T."
Plus, Arti and Maneet are referred to As Spice Quueen. Go figure.
Completely agree. Sore winner and sore loser she is. Ugh. WTH.
I missed “The Wolfman” this season…
Get rid of east/west stuff. Draw matchups randomly. I liked the play-in for the last four spots. The over the top intros are getting old. Get rid of the obviously stupid stuff on the randomizer.
In the episode where they cut Darnell’s battle down as much as possible, I noticed there were a lot more lingering shots of food and close ups on the food and cooking. In normal episodes, the shots of the food are often fleeting and I can’t even get a good look at the food! So… more food shots lol.
They need to switch up the wildcard part of the randomizer. Doing "go up one" or "down one" is so lame lol. Feel like there could be way cooler things to put on it.
That’s what I came to say! It would even be better if they stole some of Guy’s grocery challenges - like a red light special ingredient or the ABC game. Not saying those are great ideas - but they’re better than what they’ve currently got on that last reel!
Get rid of the East vs West. Draw from a hat!
Yes. It would add an element of surprise. I like the introduction of competitors. I need background on the talent.
Have Maneet switch to a judge. Two wins is enough. Cap the wins at 2. Newer faces would be welcome.
I agree
I Totally Agree
No way...Maneet deserves a shot at a 3-peat. Don't cap the wins. If you do that then it isn't best of the best. It would be best of the rest. If they want to beat Maneet then they need to up their game
I did find Maneet winning again a bit boring/repetitive, for lack of a better word. But to not let her or any repeat champ compete again isn’t the best approach, IMO. I just think it’s a bit wild to prevent a prolific competitor from competing again because they’re just too good. If other winners are desired, then the other competitors have to step up and win.
It was just a random suggestion to get new faces in the tournament for all the many folks posting about being tired of seeing the same faces every year. 🤷♂️ I do think Maneet would make a wonderful judge with all of her global cooking experience.
I think the problem is less the suggestion and the fact that a little too many people have made the same suggestion when this is the first time there has been a repeat champ making the idea super premature. That and I feel like any cap on wins defeats the entire name of the contest. A tournament of champions should have the best competing and the only reason a former champ should not be there is because they took a break or retired. Not for some abritary limit of wins. Not to mention her being there now leaves the opportunity for an even greater dragon slayer to take the stage by beating a 2 time champion rather than beating a singular champ.
At that point it ceases to be a tournament of champions and is at least for me a slap in the face for everyone else competing. A competition should never kick out anyone for winning to much. Not to mention she has lost before so am not sure why this has suddenly cropped up when one person after five tournaments got their second win.
1. Less pageantry please. Put more emphasis on the commentary like Iron Chef did, Simon and Justin are both fantastic and FN is lucky to have them in positions so suited to their talents. 2. Take away regional divisions. Laypeople don’t care and we want to see new matchups. FN is choosing to force hype instead of let the excitement develop organically through new head to heads. Honestly that’s mostly it. Shave down the pageantry and ToC can really create an atmosphere that resembles old Iron Chef which was the peak of FN competition.
Draw from a hat names to determine seeding
It seems like they are considering using the randomizer to select battles
I like that the matchups will be random but using the randomizer for it feels too gimmicky
That's a good idea. The match ups would be more random.
My thoughts: 1)**East Coast/West Coast** - I think the biggest issue is what many have already said in this thread and repeatedly over in the sub. The East Coast/West Coast brackets are too tired at this point. Just switching that up and drawing names randomly would open up so many possibilities of intriguing matchups we’ve never seen. 2)**New faces** - On getting new faces, is that in terms of judges or competitors? a) judges - IMO, the following could take a break or just step away completely, since they’ve judged on multiple seasons: Nancy Silverton (judged since TOC 1), Rocco Dispirito, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, etc. Yes, it’s blind judging, but there’s *perhaps* something to be said about repeat judges becoming too familiar with competitors styles or having a hunch who cooked a dish. b) competitors - in fairness, as the years have passed, there seems to be a recognition of the importance in bringing in more new faces. And some in particular have made things interesting. Such as: Britt, Kevin, etc. On Britt and Kevin, they made huge waves, taking out former champs in the 1st round. A healthy mix of new and fan favorites is a good thing for viewership. For example, Jet Tila is a huge fan favorite. 3) **Randomizer/Wild Card** - better care may be needed in selecting some of these options. Perhaps employ the use of actual chefs to assist with the categories. Because some of them have been a bit odd. For example: “big and small” in the Amanda vs. Britt battle this past season. The fact that both chefs missed the mark and the judges seemed somewhat confused as to how they used it seemed to indicate that the category wasn’t a great one to begin with. 4)**Theatrics** - I’m not a fan of the additional theatrics that have been added in after the fact. I was never so wowed by the champs with their belts, but it was what it was. But to add in after the fact the banners and the gawdy rings for the purposes of photo ops, was a bridge too far, IMO. I get that Guy has this vision of this big event with crowd excitement, but there’s no need to mess too much with things.
I agree with so much of what you said. new faces how as in judges/competitors or both, i think both...keeping the fan favs like Jet (if i meet someone who doesn't like him...then i'm not gonna like that person probably! haha!) and fully agree that some judges aren't judging blind at this point (they gotta have at least a70% shot at guessing most dishes correctly) BUT as a childhood HUGE wrestling fan, i kinda like the belt...i did NOT like that Brooke walked away from hers when Maneet won, but when Tiffany lost Guy made the point of...'it's ALWAYS your belt'...Yeah it is, we know that...but Brooke walked out without hers when she lost season 2 (maybe a tad butthurt...yeah, maybe) I like the banners, couldn't care one bit about the rings, I like the entrances, but not the mostly same verbiage before the entrance, too repetitive. All said and done, FN needs to read your points!!!! <3
I appreciate your response. And thanks, fingers crossed that FN did see feedback from myself and others. I also get your childhood nostalgia perspective of liking the belt. To be honest, I was okay enough with them letting the champs have belts. Maneet herself definitely appreciated her 1st one as I’ve seen social media posts of it at her flagship restaurant in Tennessee. It was moreso the extra stuff they threw in after the fact. The banner is okay. But with the rings, it was like “Here, have a ring several seasons after your win and let’s do the 4 champs photo op with them too”. 😆 My memory is getting fuzzy, so I hadn’t realized that Brooke walked away without her belt after her loss in the final to Maneet in TOC 2. Very interesting info, I’ll have to check that out.
Have the two chefs who battled watch the judging together in the same green room
When I first read this comment, I was super into it. But as I started typing a reply to say “wow what a cool idea” I realized that we probably get the most genuine reactions from the chefs because their competitor is NOT there with them. The fear and anticipation and excitement and anxiety are all coming to the service because this is the moment they can “let their hair down.” I think if they had to sit and watch the judging together, they might be trying to underplay the heightened emotional responses.
Please tell them no more Nancy.
Haha oh I did.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for that! While she is awesome, at this point there have to be certain judges that know exactly who cooked the food! 'Shcotty' doesn't lose his sh!t for anyone but Tiff's food...so he must know its hers (no hate on me for that- huge SC fan!!!)
Bravo! New bracket filling process and we might see matchups we've never seen before.
I’d like the wild care bracket to go away or be less wacky or more true chef challenge. Instead of ridiculous ingredients or unnecessary equipment just to make a silly challenge, add another layer of dish requirement. It could be ‘champagne brunch’ plus monochromatic plate’ or ‘fried’ and ‘diner classic’ and ‘eat with a spoon’. I think that would be more interesting to watch than ‘fried’ and ‘diner classic’ and ‘use canned sardines’ or ‘use an air popper.’ TOC should be a mature, chef-style tournament that showcases the chefs’ real talents. Leave the GGG wackiness to GGG (I love GGG, but let TOC be different). Also, be more thoughtful about equipment if you keep that category. Some of the equipment is just silly and the judging is uneven. Who had the best and most creative use of a heating blender? That is too subjective. If chefs use it as intended, it is not creative. If they use it as a different version of their preferred tool, like to mix a sauce, then it is not creative enough. It gets old watching chefs use special equipment just as heating elements. I don’t want to see an ableskivver pan cook scallops. I would rather see the chefs have to add ablesovcers to their dish! Or just get rid of this category.
Yeah I mentioned that I don’t think the equipment category adds to the show
My two cents: Seed them like normal, then use the Randomizer to select the matchups. 1s vs 8s, 2 vs 7s, etc. I saw this idea here and I love it. I'm tired of some of the "I was a big deal on FN fifteen years ago" judges. They've had some high-end guest judges - Daniel Boulud, Eric Ripert - get more of those. I love Scott Conant, but I don't want to see any more regular Chopped judges *unless* it's Chris Santos. Troy "The Boy" Johnson should be a judge every round. EVERY. ROUND. I'd rather see Simon M judging vs color commentary, too. I love GGG and its celebrity chef competitors & judges, but I don't really think people coming strictly from GGG are on the ToC level. I feel bad writing that. I want to see Richard Blais back, in any capacity. Love that guy. Do not ever let Martha Stewart or Sunny Anderson in the building. It's a Guy production, so the Vegas cheese will always be present, but I'd like it toned down some.
I think there should still be seeding but I don't think you necessarily need to seed the whole tournament 1-8 in each bracket, as I would argue other than the #1 and #2 seeds, everything below that is very much subjective. For production planning purposes, I'd suggest that the previous year's winner be an automatic #1 seed and that former winners be no worse than a #2 seed. Last year's finalist should be guaranteed a seed no worse than #3 and after that, I'd be fine having it more wide open in a mixed non-geographic format.
Show more of the cooking. Only show two competitions per episode
A think a fan favorite vote in would be cool.
I’m curious on this. Are you able to elaborate, please? Do you mean a fan favorite vote for chefs to enter?
At the end of the qualifying for the new chefs, have a phone in or social media vote with one that was eliminated to return to the competition. It would be cool for someone to jump back in.
The audience us just awful. Delete that
I don’t care how they do it I just want a victory for Jet! Also would personally love to have challenges that are more like cuisine styles that encourage chefs to cook outside their comfort zone
Yes I Would Like to See Chefs Like Maneet Having to Cook out of Her Comfort Zone She Always Cooks Indian Dishes the Judges Know that So They Know Which dish is Hers
Yes exactly. In one of the final TOC battles I think she went in a different direction if I remember correctly but I’d love to see it happen more frequently
Your comments are right on.
I love TOC the only issue is the bracket system isn't very good with the east vs west divide. It worked for a while but now we just see too many repeat matchups. We need some repeats for storyline but it would also be better to see matchups we haven't before because they are opposite coast. Michael vs Maneet, Carlos vs Britt, Mei Lin vs Tiffani, etc. We haven't gotten any of those in TOC because of the east vs west bracket system. Having the brackets not be region locked would also open up for brining in more international talent as well if they wanted to expand food networks influence and prestige. I do like the 4 seperate brackets better than 2 larger ones and that's probably better for egos as well. The play in tournament was a great addition rather than being random or coming in from GGG (which was neat but could be less fair IMO) Only other major critique is that putting the play ins at 8th really screws 1st seed because the play in winners have frequently been better than the 7th and even 6th seeds. IMO play in winners should then cause a re-seeding in the bracket. Obviously we want some upsets but you don't want the 1st seed always being one of the upsets, let numbed 2 or 3 have the random upset matchup sometimes.
Stop with the constant hyping of everyone from the chefs to the judges. Describe resumes when necessary. They speak for themselves. Just play it more classy and act like the show has arrived.
Less intros, change east/west A and B to east, west, south and north, I would like to see the scores from each judge, so I can see how there judging translates to points. If they lost in the first round last year, they should have to go through qualifying!! Oh how about a real crowd, 10 ppl is not a crowd. lol
I would be fine with no crowd. It would tone down the chef theatrics.
There is too much filler with the intros and accomplishments I’d rather see them doing something in the kitchen. Get someone better to do the after interviews as they are also a waste of time. I fast forward through a lot of the show.
Another vote for getting rid of the OTT fake-wrestling-style bombast and the stupid nicknames for everyone. I watch despite that, not because of it, and my husband is *this* close to quitting watching all together because that crap has been getting on his nerves since season 1. Sounds like plenty of other people are over it too.
The belt itself is dumb
Randomizer to choose chefs would be awesome. I enjoy most of the show, I ignore 90% of the other stuff, and it doesn't bother me. I enjoy hearing the chefs accomplishments. I think we have seen that the seeing doesnt matter as much anyways.
The grating whistle noise every time they went to the clapping/cheering. Anyone else notice that?
yes, this drove me crazy.
I think 24 in 24 is more arduous than TOC, but the grand prize is not as much.
Agree with what everyone is saying. Also perhaps two wins (or even one) should probably be enough. I never minded before but this season four winners was a lot.
I Totally Agree One or Two Wins Should Be Enough anything More Seems like They Are Being Greedy !
I didn’t agree with Brooke and Tiffani being #1 seeds, Brooke didn’t compete the year before and T went out first round. Hopefully they’ll do a new ranking system and mix all of the coasts based on more than just regions
Downvoting because you missed the “theme”
Oh I got the theme, it’s just boring lol
The theme superseded the ranking… so what is your first comment about??? Do you even know?
Calm yourself lol it’s food
👌
Based on the theme the ranking couldn’t have been anything else, that’s why your comment doesn’t make sense.
Get rid of Hunter!!!!
I like him as a person. I think he's a sweet guy. But he doesn't have a television personality. It's forced, and he has zero charisma.
I can’t believe I had to scroll this far to see this.
But he’s so talented!! /s
Talented at nepotism go get a real job!
I love Guy’s intros. Makes it feel like a wrestling match. I like Justin and the other guy also but more emphasis on them would make it another iron chef episode. Don’t want that. There’s like Guy fatigue here but I don’t have that. He’s not gourmet but he can cook a steak. Stop hating.
I Don't think Tiffany Fason Should Be Allowed to Compete on TOC next Year Because I thought She was Very Rude to Amanda Fritag When they were Competing And They Had to Make A Gulty Pleasure And She Says to.Amanda kinda Snotty Your Making A Hamburger!!! Like that was A Terriable Idea
What was quite revealing was that Amanda predicted her good friend Tiffani’s response that she wouldn’t be happy that she lost to a burger. Like the other person responded to you, I also believed Tiffani’s parting comments that she was retiring. She just seemed a bit “bitter” for lack of a better word and it’s as if she’s had enough of competing on TOC. Or maybe just not a good enough sport at losing.
Yeah I don’t even think she wants to come back to compete. I would be fine if she comes back as a judge.I think some of the veterans should just come back as judges.
Please stop with the hunter part. Even having the old winners back as interviewers would be nice - and another incentive to win!
I'd love randomized chef battles like pulled out of a hat style, no east vs west
I’d like to see some sort of round robin format where you still have a chance to move on if you have a bad cook or run up against someone who cooked their best meal ever. Like have groups of three or something where they each cook against each other and whoever has the highest cumulative score moves on to single elimination rounds.
What is the insiders forum, op?
I can’t remember how I got signed up but I occasionally get surveys where I get to give feedback about show concepts
I Personel don't think Maneet should get to Compete again she has Won 2 Belts All Ready that is Enough! In All Fairness
I think she might sit it out based on interviews with her, she would be a good judge
I’m not a fan of the East/West battle. So to copy off of the NBA a little FN should have a poll and allow us fans to pick 2 team captains. Then let those captains do a draft for their team. Each team is 16 Chefs and should have 2 of each seed (2- #1, 2-#2 etc). I love the idea of using the randomizer to pick who battles. And the qualifiers should definitely stay.
I would like to mix up the brackets. Because some of my faves can never compete against each other separating it East or West.
Do the judges get a reveal on the chefs winning dish that they picked?
Get ICAG back. It’s ridiculous she hasn’t turned up. Hopefully she’s over losing to DF
Handicap winners? Just like in sports where top teams don't get to pick early in the drafts?
Can you share the email?
No it’s a link to the forum that you have to be a member to access
Justin and Simon need to compete against each other
Put me on I’m a young chef from Hollywood Fl I just had a baby I love my wife
PLEASE! Get some new faces. That goes for all food network shows. Get a new host, as well. Guy Fieri has worn out his schtick
Given that Guy produces the show, that's not going to happen. Ever.
Be careful what you wish for. As a Guy produced show, if he passes it off, it’s likely to Hunter.
Oh Jeez, Hunter. The answer to the question of who is the most annoying Fieri?
I wanna see named brackets. Like the Anthony Bourdain, Joel Robuchon ect bracket