Tournament of Champions

Thoroughly enjoyed the format. It was fun seeing a lot of the food network faves compete in a challenging event.

First of all, I'm not a Guy Fieri fan. If this were 150 years ago, Fieri would be the traveling snake oil Guy who carries with him his progeny as the Guy Jr. Who is miraculously "cured" by his daddy's concoctions.

I am, however, a cooking competition fan. Top Chef is the GOAT. This competition pales in comparison mainly due to the "ultra-hip" host and his nepo-baby in training. I mute the sound whenever Fieri is shouting his cutesy-pie reductions of phrases into "clever" aphorisms and then repeated again and again.

The actual bit of dramatic tension comes from the "Randomizer" creating a mashup of styles, ingredients, cook time, etc. Other than that, this series is overblown plug-and-play with otherwise earnest chefs and sous chefs trying to obtain a cash reward and garish professional wrassler's champion belt that is nearly impossible to carry gracefully and is obviously embarrassing to hold.

Even with an annoying and screaming host, the randomizer and the chefs kicks ass, and that includes the rotatinmg judges and sidekicks.

What these chefs comes up with in such short time is amazing!

Don't let the punkrock wannabe presenter put you off, because it's a really good cooking show!

I do actually enjoy the show. I also like the host. Never watched him before because it's a very American show shown mainly to a U. S audience. Seems from reviews he's a very polarising figure. I don't mind him...he is ...very much to the fore but that's okay. The cooking skills of the contestants are fantastic ..the speed with which they create dishes from what seems to be truly random ingredients is amazing. But...the contestants. There are some who come across as absolutely fantastic people whose skill have not inflated their egos at all. And then there are the rest. Those chefs give the impression that they should be given the prize because they've turned up...and that in itself is sufficient because they are simply wonderful and we are honoured by their presence. All in all good fun and worth a watch if you're bored.

....by what the chefs can conjure up in a short period of time. Their skill level is nothing short of astonishing. I enjoy watching some Food Network chefs and favorites competing against each other. In some episodes, I find myself cheering for one of my faves but at this level you can merely have a good day....but to win a great dish is in order. Some days the chef I'm cheering for comes up a bit short.

In other reviews people have mentioned really enjoying the "Randomizer". You can pencil me in as well. That makes things very interesting.

Guy is an excellent host. He does his level best to make sure the show is fun without all the drama or hosts who take to screeching at the chefs.

Two big ladles up!