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Food Network is hosting a new Tournament of Champions, we take a stab at the bracket

By Julian Coltre

BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JULY 26: (L-R) Amanda Freitag, Marcus Samuelsson, Alex Guamaschelli, Marc Murphy, Maneet Chauhan, Chris Santos of the television show "Chopped" for the Food Network speak during the Summer 2018 Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 26, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - JULY 26: (L-R) Amanda Freitag, Marcus Samuelsson, Alex Guamaschelli, Marc Murphy, Maneet Chauhan, Chris Santos of the television show "Chopped" for the Food Network speak during the Summer 2018 Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 26, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 18: Chef Justin Warner attends the Private Screening Of BURNT, Q&A Panel And Reception With Bradley Cooper And Sienna Miller during Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented By FOOD & WINE at MOMA on October 18, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 18: Chef Justin Warner attends the Private Screening Of BURNT, Q&A Panel And Reception With Bradley Cooper And Sienna Miller during Food Network & Cooking Channel New York City Wine & Food Festival presented By FOOD & WINE at MOMA on October 18, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images for NYCWFF) /

16. Justin Warner

I think the trickiest thing when coming up with a bracket of chefs is finding a way to appropriately rank them while also considering that anyone who has competed on Food Network is at the top of their field. In the case of Justin Warner, he is certainly an accomplished chef (he won the eighth season of The Next Food Network Star, he has competed and won on Guy’s Grocery Games and has authored a cook book. 

That said, Warner just doesn’t have the same Food Network star power as some of the other chefs that I’m going to list in this ranking. If he was an Iron Chef, if he had competed on even more head-to-head Food Network programming or anything else then chances are I’d have him ranked higher on this list.

Not a slight, just the way it rolls in “Flavortown”.

LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 05: Food blogger Aarti Sequeira particiates in the ‘Food Blogging & Beyond’ panel at the LA Times Celebration of Food & Wine at Paramount Studio on September 5, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for LA Times)
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 05: Food blogger Aarti Sequeira particiates in the ‘Food Blogging & Beyond’ panel at the LA Times Celebration of Food & Wine at Paramount Studio on September 5, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for LA Times) /

15. Aarti Sequeira

Much like Justin Warner, Aarti’s bid for a higher position in my ranking falls short due to her limited experience on head-to-head competitions outside of Triple G.

When it comes to the difference between Sequeira and Warner, as far as 16 v. 15 in the rankings, both have a valid case to be ahead of each other. They’ve both won their respective season of The Next Food Network Star and have won multiple episodes on Grocery Games. However, the reason I decided to go with Sequeira at 15 rather than 16 is because of her experience with spices and ethnic cuisines (after all, she is affectionately referred to as “The Spice Queen” by Guy Fieri).

Think of it as a knuckleballer in baseball, someone who is going to bring a little bit of different flavor and ability to the competition. That sort of “off-speed pitch” could prove impactful when it comes to impressive judges in a competition.

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