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

In recent years, it seems that Food Network has become as synonymous with head-to-head cooking competition shows as it has with programming that teaches viewers how to bake, cook and serve dishes.

That idea won’t be changing any time soon, not that we are complaining, as this week Food Network announced plans to hold a new cooking competition hosted by network icon Guy Fieri, dubbed as the ultimate “Tournament of Champions”.

On a Twitter video posted by Food Network, Fieri declares that “we need a tournament, we need to crown somebody the best of the best.” The Diners, Drive-ins and Dives host then goes on to say that fans should send Food Network their choices for 16 chefs to compete in this “no-holds-barred head-to-head” battle, with the winner of the bracket winning a brand new car.

Check out the tweet announcement, below!

Now, I don’t know about you, but I couldn’t be more excited for what this tournament could potentially shape up to be. Whether it is Guy’s Grocery Games, Iron Chef America, Chopped, Beat Bobby Flay or any of the other head-to-head shows that Food Network airs, there is a long history of worthy chefs who could compete in this bracket.

As of right now, Food Network hasn’t announced any additional details regarding competitors, filming or an air date, but that won’t stop me from supplying you with my list of the 16 chefs who should compete in this bracket!

Here’s who we think should participate: 

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”.

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.

14. Sunny Anderson

This competition that Food Network is hosting is going to be as much about having personalities as it is going to be about compiling the best chefs. So with that in mind, this competition wouldn’t be complete without perhaps Food Networks biggest and bubbliest personality, Sunny Anderson.

Let’s be frank, Anderson doesn’t have the cooking competition pedigree that a lot of the chefs on this ranking have (unless you count picking chefs to compete against Bobby Flay as part of that), but that doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be able to hold her own. She’s a co-host of The Kitchen, she’s owned a restaurant in the biggest market in the US and has cooked on shows like The View, Good Morning America and The Talk. 

Of course if all else fails, just having Anderson’s great outfits and funny wisecracks would be enough to make her appearance in the Tournament of Champions worth it.

13. Scott Conant

The more that we move up into the rankings, the more accolades and appearances on Food Network that we’re going to get from our chefs.

Coming in at the 13th spot I have Scott Conant. The reason being is, while Conant is not only a James Beard winning chef and great judge and contestant on Chopped, Most of his head to head competition is exclusive to that show.

He’s never competed on Iron Chef, he doesn’t venture over to Triple G and only ever selects competitors to try to beat Bobby Flay.

C’mon Scott, venture to more competitions and maybe I’ll move you up a little bit in the bracket!

12. Anne Burrell

Anne Burrell’s pedigree is incredibly impressive. She’s the host of several Food Network shows (Worst Cooks in America and Secret Life of a Restaurant Chef among others), she served as a sous chef to Iron Chef Mario Batali and competed on the The Next Iron Chef (she was eliminated in episode 6) and Chopped: All-Stars Tournament (she finished third behind Aaron Sanchez and Nate Appleman).

Unfortunately, the successes that Burrell has had as a Food Network personality are also the reason that she is 12 for me and not higher. The remainder of the ranking is filled with Iron Chefs, multiple time Chopped and Guy’s Grocery Game champions and the biggest stars that Food Network has.

Any other Food Network competition and Burrell is probably a top-seed, but here she slots into the 12 position.

11. Alton Brown

You can certainly make the case that outside of Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay and Giada De Laurentiis that Alton Brown is the most recognizable personality on Food Network. His rapier wit, distinct look and the way he incorporates science and food facts into his dialogue make him come off as the smartest guy on the Network.

Here’s the thing though, Brown has hosted pretty much everything on Food Network but he hasn’t exactly cooked on a lot of shows, let alone on any head-to-head competitions. He obviously knows how to cook (he’s either authored or co-authored over 11 cook books and cooks regularly on his show Good Eats), I’m just not really certain how he would fare going head to head with the likes of Robert Irvine, Alex Guarnaschelli and Bobby Flay.

Using food science to impress the audience is one thing, but using it in a head-to-head competition to flambe your cherries jubilee is another.

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.

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.

8. Aaron Sanchez

You want to talk battle tested Chefs? well that’s what you’re getting with Aaron Sanchez. His resume includes competing on Iron Chef America (Sanchez is one of the few chefs who has had his competition end in a tie when he and chef Masaharu Morimoto tied in the “Black Bass Battle”), judging over 44 episodes of Chopped, and competing to receive the title of Iron Chef on The Next Iron Chef.

Outside of that, Sanchez has also published two cookbooks and is an avid philanthropist. Sanchez certainly has the chops to take it all if he was to be selected for the Food Network Tournament of Champions.

7. Marcus Samuelsson

While his success on Food Network speaks for itself, Marcus Samuelsson may be one of the handful of chefs on this rankings who has had just as much success outside of cable TV as he has had on it.

Sure, lots of people know that Samuelsson is a host for Chopped, Chopped: Junior and Beat Bobby Flay, and most people also know that he’s competed and won both Chopped: All-Stars and Top Chef: Masters. However, did you know that the Swedish-Ethiopian chef was once the James Beard award winner for “Best Chef: New York City”, or that he had the opportunity to cook for President Obama? 

6. Robert Irvine

If Food Network decided to make a competition for who is the scariest, most intimidating and muscular chef, then not only would Robert Irvine come in at the number one seed but he would also run away with the competition. However, that is not what this competition is about (though I can guarantee any chef that would match up with Irvine in a head-to-head bout would probably be intimated).

Here’s the thing; Robert Irvine is a fantastic chef who has had a ton of success on Restaurant Impossible, Guy’s Grocery Games, Chopped and Dinner: Impossible. So why couldn’t he crack a top 5 spot in the bracket? Well that has one simple answer. He is not an Iron Chef, and as you’ll see over the next five slides, the top portion of the bracket is reserved exclusively for those who can call themselves that famed title.

5. Geoffrey Zakarian

Iron Chef. Chopped judge. Host of The Kitchen. Best dressed personality on Food Network. These are just a few of the hats that Geoffrey Zakarian wears in his day-to-day life (that last one might just be my personal opinion, but serious Zakarian has awesome outfits).

In terms of pure head-to-head cooking prowess, Zakarian can bring the fire. He won The Next Iron Chef in 2011 and earned the right to use that title from season 10 of Iron Chef till now (he is 9-5 since joining the cast). When he isn’t competing in Kitchen Stadium, Zakarian owns several restaurants in Florida, New Jersey and New York City.

4. Alex Guarnaschelli

There really is only one reason why Alex Guarnaschelli isn’t higher this Tournament of Champions bracket and that is because she is one of the “newer” Iron Chefs, having only received the title when she won The Next Iron Chef: Redemption  in 2012.

Outside of that, there really isn’t any reason why she couldn’t have been ranked even higher. She’s currently has 7 wins on Iron Chef, She has competed and won competitions on both Chopped and Guy’s Grocery Games, and she has gone toe-to-toe with Bobby Flay on Beat Bobby Flay and she came out victorious!

This of Alex Guarnaschelli as that really impressive UNC or Kentucky team in the tournament, that perhaps didn’t win their conference or conference tournament, but has several All-American’s and could easily win when push comes to shove.

3. Masaharu Morimoto

Morimoto has the distinction of being one of the longest reigning Iron Chefs. He has been on Iron Chef America since the shows inception and also starred and competed on the original Japanese version of the program.

In terms of overall record as an Iron Chef, his longevity has helped him compile the 2nd most Iron Chef battles in the shows history and he is 3rd all-time in victories by an Iron Chef.

The one thing working against Morimoto? He doesn’t really do anything other than Iron Chef on Food Network! He has made appearances on shows like Hell’s Kitchen USA, Top Chef and Masterchef, However his roles are always as a guest judge and he has never competed on or judged Chopped or Guy’s Grocery Games.

2. Michael Symon

If you really get down to the nitty-gritty, there really is no reason why Michael Symon isn’t worthy of being the top seed in a 16 person Food Network chef bracket. He has the second most wins and best winning percentage of every Iron Chef (a whopping 34 wins and 7 losses for a 82 win percentage), he’s a James Beard award winner, he has appeared on pretty much every single Food Network cooking competition (and hosts several of his own cooking shows).

That said, whether it is personal bias, star power or just the fact that it sometimes feels as though Symon is Pippen to Bobby Flay’s Jordan, there is a reason that Symon is the 2 seed in the bracket.

1. Bobby Flay

If you’ve stuck with the chef ranking this long then I commend you. That said, you don’t really get a reward because you had to have known that Bobby Flay was going to be the top seed in any Food Network competition bracket.

The fact is, Bobby Flay has made his TV Career through head-to-head food competitions. Whether it was Throwdown With Bobby Flay, Beat Bobby Flay or competing as an Iron Chef, Flay is the cream of the crop when it comes to facing opponent’s head on in cooking competitions. He has the most wins in Iron Chef America History, a well over .500 wins record on Beat Bobby Flay and he won a Chopped competition where competitors went head-to-head to try to face (and beat) him. In fact, if my calculations are correct, Bobby Flay’s career number of wins in Food Network cooking competitions is something like 249.

Add in the fact that, outside of Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay is the most recognizable personality on Food Network and you have the reasons as to why Flay is not only worthy of, but is the only choice for the top seed in the Food Network ultimate Tournament of Champions bracket!

My only hope is if Flay once again wins this Food Network competition, he then has to face host Guy Fieri in a final battle so I can finally get the ultimate “face of Food Network” showdown that I’ve wanted for years.