'Alex vs. America': Meet the Season 5 Competitors

Season 5 of Alex vs. America is putting chef Alex Guarnaschelli to the ultimate test. In past seasons, the competition was designed to give rising chefs a chance to prove themselves against Alex, but — according to host Eric Adjepong — Alex won one too many times. Now, Eric is making it his personal mission to challenge Alex with her worst-nightmare matchups. Throughout the eight-episode season, Eric will pit Alex against various pros. From cooking against Tournament of Champions winners to trying her hand at Mexican and Thai cuisine (admittedly not her strength), she does it all in Season 5. Ahead, get to know the chefs she’s up against.

In the Season 5 premiere, Eric welcomes Tournament of Champions winners Antonia Lofaso, Tiffani Faison and Mei Lin to give it their all in two rounds of cooking against Alex. Antonia is a French Culinary Institute-trained chef and a restaurant owner. Tiffani is a chef and restaurateur based in Boston. Mei is a chef and restaurant owner, also based in Los Angeles. All three TOC winners have appeared on several other Food Network shows. Given the fact that they’re all close colleagues and friends with Alex, the competition is certain to be intense.

The TOC winners' culinary creations will be blind tasted and judged by Cat Cora and Susan Feniger. Cat is the first female Iron Chef and the first female chef inducted into the Culinary Hall of Fame. Susan is a chef who owns several restaurants in California and Las Vegas.

Another of Alex’s nightmares? Competing against her fellow Chopped judges. Always one to stir the competitive pot, Eric welcomes Chopped judges Maneet Chauhan, Scott Conant and Marcus Samuelsson to Season 5. Maneet is a Nashville-based chef and a two-time winner of TOC. Scott is a chef and restaurateur, with a passion for pasta, based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Marcus is an NYC-based chef by way of Ethiopia and Sweden.

To make things even more entertaining, Eric brings Antonia and Jonathon Sawyer to judge Alex’s iconic battle against her fellow Chopped judges. Both chefs have competed on AvA. Jonathon has also been on 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, where he took home the Season 2 win.

One cuisine beyond Alex’s comfort zone: Thai food. So, Eric welcomed Jet Tila, Sugar Sungkamee and Arnold Myint to Season 5. Jet is a chef, culinary anthropologist and cookbook author. He's also a world record holder for creating the world’s largest stir-fry, the world’s largest California roll and more (!). Sugar is a chef, restaurant owner and previous Alex vs. America winner. Arnold is a James Beard-nominated chef and restaurant owner based in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Thai food win is up to Justin Pichetrungsi and Penny Chutima. Justin is a chef and restaurateur who was dubbed the Best New Chef in 2022 by Food & Wine. He also won the 2023 James Beard Award for Best Chef in California. Penny is a Las Vegas-based chef and restaurateur, renowned for taking over as owner and managing partner of her mother's Thai restaurant, Lotus of Siam.

What could be better than Alex having another chance to compete against past Alex vs. America winners? Eric welcomes Kevin Lee, Taylor Frankel and Jonathon Sawyer to the kitchen to give Alex another run for her money. Kevin is a chef and restaurant owner based in Oklahoma City. He competed on Alex vs. America during Season 1. Taylor is a private chef based in Vail, Colorado. She competed on the show during Season 2. Chef and restaurateur Jonathon brought his A game during Season 3.

Chopped judges Maneet and Marcus return to Season 5 — this time to decide: Does Alex have what it takes to beat out past AvA winners?

Eric is all too aware of how much Alex loves and respects all-star chefs Geoffrey Zakarian, Gabriele Bertaccini and Rocco DiSpirito — which is why he welcomed them to the competition during Season 5. Geoffrey is a Worcester, Massachusetts-based host, chef and restaurateur renowned for his mastery of American cuisine. Gabe is a chef and Food Network host based in Los Angeles. Rocco is a New York City-based chef and restaurateur specializing in Italian cooking.

Who better to judge a handful of Food Network icons than fellow star Aarti Sequeira and TOC IV winner Mei? Aarti is a Food Network host and cookbook author based in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mei returns after competing against Alex earlier this season.

Eric welcomes award-winning chefs Ray Garcia, Claudette Zepeda and Gustavo Romero, all of whom specialize in Mexican cuisine — which Alex considers out of her wheelhouse. Ray is a chef and restaurant owner in Los Angeles. He was dubbed Esquire's Magazine Chef of the Year in 2015. Claudette is a James Beard-nominated chef and Iron Chef Mexico finalist based in Los Angeles. Gustavo is a chef and James Beard Best New Restaurant finalist based in Minneapolis.

Say hello to respected chefs Daniela Soto-Innes and Bricia Lopez. Both own Mexican restaurants of their own.

This episode is particularly difficult because Alex isn’t up against standalone Food Network stars. She’ll be competing against restaurant teams who are accustomed to working together every day. She'll face Michael and Kwini Reed of Poppy + Rose in Los Angeles; Kevin Tien and Paola Serrano of Moon Rabbit in Washington, D.C.; and David Viana and Brian Lopes of Lita in New Jersey.

Celebrity brothers, restaurateurs and chefs Michael Voltaggio and Bryan Voltaggio will call the winner (or winners) of this not-so-even competition. Michael and Bryan have a unique background, as they competed against each other on Top Chef, with Michael winning Season 6 and Bryan coming in as runner-up.

Alex doesn’t consider herself a baker, at least not when she's up against some of the best pastry chefs in the game. To put her to the test, Eric welcomed Keya Wingfield, Melissa Yanc and Karina Rivera to Season 5. Keya is a pastry chef and bakery owner based in Richmond, Virginia. She’s also the winner of Season 7 of Spring Baking Championship. Melissa is a pastry chef and bakery owner based in Healdsburg, California. She took home the Holiday Baking Championship Season 6 win. Karina is a pastry chef and bakery owner in Miami. She landed in the top three when competing on Season 5 of Spring Baking Championship.