Guilty Eats
Fansided

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) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
5 of 9
Next
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 11: Chef Marc Murphy speaks at the dinner With Marc Murphy and Tommaso De Simone Part Of The Bank Of America Dinner Series Presented By The Wall Street Journal Hosted By Fathom Landmarc on October 11, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for NYCWFF)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 11: Chef Marc Murphy speaks at the dinner With Marc Murphy and Tommaso De Simone Part Of The Bank Of America Dinner Series Presented By The Wall Street Journal Hosted By Fathom Landmarc on October 11, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Paul Zimmerman/Getty Images for NYCWFF) /

10. Marc Murphy

We’ve reached the 10 spot in our bracket rankings, which means we’ve really hit the meat and potatoes of talent when it comes to chefs for the Food Network ultimate Tournament of Champions (food pun very much intended).

The next 10 chefs are going to be ones that not only have the pedigree of head-to-head competition but also the regular star power on Food Network. Marc Murphy one hundred percent fits those qualifications. The Italian-born chef is not only a regular judge on Chopped (he’s one of only five chefs who has been a judge on Chopped for every season), but he’s also competed on Iron Chef America and Guy’s Grocery Games.

Additionally, factor in that Murphy’s trained in both French and Italian style cuisine and you have yourself a very solid 10 seed who has potential to go all the way if the match-ups break in his favor.

NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 13: Giada De Laurentiis attends Food Network’s 25th Birthday Party Celebration at the 11th annual New York City Wine & Food Festival at Pier 92 on October 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Food Network)
NEW YORK, NY – OCTOBER 13: Giada De Laurentiis attends Food Network’s 25th Birthday Party Celebration at the 11th annual New York City Wine & Food Festival at Pier 92 on October 13, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Food Network) /

9. Giada De Laurentiis

I’m absolutely certain that I will get a massive amount of response from having Giada, who is one of the three biggest stars on Food Network, seated in the 9 spot on the Tournament of Champions bracket. That said, while Giada is a talent and savvy chef who has several cooking shows that air during the day on Food Network, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her go head-to-head in a Food Network competition show.

Therefore, my decision to rank her in the ninth spot is purely going off the idea that no matter how much star power you have, you also have to have the competition resume to back it up!

Could Giada compete in the Tournament of Champions and run away with it? Sure. However, I’m much more inclined to believe any person who’s been battle tested on Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay, or Guy’s Grocery Games would fair better than De Laurentiis.

Home/Food TV