'TOC VII': Weekly Updates, Eliminations and Who Took Home the Belt

Season 7 of Guy Fieri’s Tournament of Champions officially kicked off on March 1 with eight out of 34 chefs competing in the first round of head-to-head battles for the title of TOC VII champion, the coveted champion’s belt and a $150,000 cash prize. Ahead, find out which chefs ended their time in the TOC kitchen and which chefs still have a chance at becoming the TOC VII champion.

April 19 Episode: And the Winner Is…

David Chang is the Surprise Finale Judge

James Beard award winner, David Chang, entered the TOC kitchen as the last guest judge of Season 7 — and everyone was actually freaking out.

“No way! That’s crazy!” said Jet.

“He’s my idol and he’s here eating my food. I have to get to the next round!” said Kevin. “David Chang is literally one of the reasons that I started cooking. The coolest moment of my TOC career is David Chang eating my food.”

Jet Locks In for His Fifth Final Four Battle

It was Jet vs. Kevin in the first round of the semifinals and both came ready to fight their way to the final battle of TOC VII. “Anything short of a championship is a failure,” said Kevin. With the “style” category being a color this round, the randomizer dealt them salmon belly, cauliflower mushrooms, banana leaves, white and ostrich egg as the wildcard, which Guy said is one of the hardest randomizers he’s ever seen on TOC (and that’s saying something!). Jet used the ostrich egg — which is the equivalent of about 24 chicken eggs — to whip up an ostrich egg omelet and salmon belly white donburi (aka fish served over rice).

Kevin stuck to what he knows and also went the rice bowl route — in the form of salmon belly hoe-deopbap with mushroom rice, a korean style sashimi dish served in a rice bowl.

Mei called Jet’s dish craveable, but said it didn’t read as white, while David Chang said hoe-deopbap is one of his favorite dishes and noted that Kevin’s was full of flavor and technique, winning him 83 points over Jet’s 81 points. Jet left with his head held high telling the audience, “I hear you when I’m here. I won’t quit, if you won’t quit.”

One Chef Received the Highest Score of TOC VII

In the second battle of the night, chef Kenny, the only qualifier to ever make it to the final four, went up against TOC: All-Star Christmas winner, Bryan. Guy spun the randomizer for chicken liver, kohlrabi (a peppery broccoli), a spaetzle maker, pink for the color and crown melon. Both chose to fry the chicken livers. Bryan made chicken fried chicken livers with pink spaetzle and kohlrabi yogurt sauce and Kenny made szechuan chicken livers with kohlrabi puree and sautéed spaetzle.

The judges loved the peppercorn flavors and use of the kohlrabi’s tops in Kenny’s dish. But Bryan received the best praise of the round with Mei using words like “insane” and “spectacular.” David questioned how Bryan was able to pull it off in only 45 minutes and Brooke said, “This is one of the most thoughtful, finessed, refined dishes that I've seen on TOC. I'm finding nothing bad to say about this.” Bryan’s dish won him the highest score out of anyone in the season (94 out of 100 points).

Bryan Voltaggio Brings Home the ‘W’

The final head-to-head battle of TOC VII came down to recent newcomer, Kevin, vs. chronic runner-up, Bryan. For the last round, Guy cranked up the randomizer to its highest level of difficulty and gave the chefs an hour to make two dishes. They spun for live king crab, fresh water chestnuts, a pressure cooker, breakfast and dinner (as the two dishes) and sticky as the wildcard ingredient. After fishing the live crabs out of a tank (the TOC kitchen really has everything), Bryan got to work making king crab and grits for his breakfast dish and masago arare tempura of king crab leg with water chestnut cream sauce for his dinner dish.

On the other side of the kitchen, Kevin cooked up Alaskan king crab juk for his breakfast dish and tempura fried king crab with sticky spicy glaze and pickled water chestnuts for his dinner dish.

Mei said the crab was cooked perfectly in both of Bryan’s dishes, while Cat Cora said Kevin’s dishes were nicely executed and David loved his use of the crab in the juk. The winner came down to a one point difference, but ultimately Bryan was named the champion of TOC VII, gaining him his first individual competition win ever. Congratulations Bryan!

April 12 Episode: The Great 8 Are Here

This week, the “Great 8,” who fought their way from the first bracket (two of the chefs came all the way from the qualifiers!), competed in four head-to-head battles to determine who would be moving on to the semifinals.

Jonathon and Jet Tackle Yet Another All-New Ingredient

It was Jonathon versus Jet in the first battle of the Great 8. For this round, the randomizer handed out globally inspired wildcard ingredients. Jet and Jonathon spun for whole branzino, bok choy, a handheld waffle iron, fresh and fried style, and canned ackee (the national fruit of Jamaica) — an ingredient neither of them had worked with that has a nutty, creamy flavor similar to scrambled eggs.

Jonathon already faced a new-to-him ingredient in the “Super 16” round (dried soybean curls), so he was ready to showcase ackee and bring down the winningest chef in the TOC kitchen. He served up an island-style whole fried branzino with an ackee waffle and island sauce that highlighted the tropical fruit’s interesting flavors.

Meanwhile, Jet focused on the fermented flavors of ackee that work well in Asian cuisine. He cheffed up a whole fried branzino with crispy ackee, mochi rice and bok choy two ways. Judges Brooke Williamson, Mei Lin and Susan Feniger were so impressed by both chefs’ presentation and use of the ackee that the win came down to a one-point difference: 78 to 79, with Jet coming out victorious. (He's keeping us on edge to find out if this is the year he makes it all the way.)

Kevin and Joe Reinvent the Cannoli

In an interesting twist, which seemed almost made for Italian-American chef Joe, the randomizer dealt out cannoli tubes as the must-use equipment. Kevin and Joe were also required to use pork collar, manzano peppers, and quince and to make the dish sweet and spicy. Both chefs entered the judging with equally impressive and creative takes on savory cannolis that had our mouths watering.

Joe whipped up a sweet and spicy quince-glazed pork collar and a wonton wrapper cannoli that was stuffed with diced pork collar. Kevin crafted a dish of manzano-glazed pork collar steak with a kimchi manzano pork fried rice cannoli that was stuffed with ground pork collar and crispy rice and served with a quince and manzano butter. Both chefs cleverly dipped the ends of their wonton and rice-paper cannolis in chopped chives to mimic the look of chocolate chips. Ultimately, the judges preferred Kevin’s over Joe’s rendition. “I have no notes," Mei said of Kevin's pork collar. Maybe a first on TOC?

Kenny Has an Emotional Response to Edging Out Stephanie

Both Kenny and Stephanie Izard came from the qualifiers, and they entered the TOC kitchen ready to prove they’re worthy to move on to the semifinals. They spun for whole duck, graffiti eggplant, a vegetable sheeter, liquid and solid as the style and bananas as the globally inspired wildcard ingredient. Kenny created a kimchi soup with duck meatballs, graffiti eggplant and unripe red bananas that served as a starch similar to potatoes. Stephanie made a dish of roasted duck breast with banana duck chili sauce and poached duck eggs. The judges liked Stephanie’s use of the bananas to make a curry, but praised Kenny’s use of the sheeter to make daikon radish noodles for his soup. And with high stakes came high emotions. In a heartfelt moment, Kenny teared up after Guy announced his win, saying, “A lot of times you just want a chance. So for everyone to see this and to say I’m here and I’m not going anywhere … I’m going all the way to the top.”

Slim Margins: The Battle Between Shirley and Bryan

In one of the closest judgings of the night, both Bryan and Shirley Chung brought their A-games, proving the end of TOC VII is just around the corner. The randomizer dealt them presa Ibérico, kabocha squash, a wet grinder, crunchy and soft, and passionfruit. Shirley chose to do a rendition of one of her favorite childhood dishes, making passionfruit char siu presa Ibérico with kabocha squash puree and tempura.

Feeling more in his wheelhouse with a meat he can treat like steak, Bryan cooked a dish of kabocha and passionfruit BBQ presa Ibérico with kabocha puree and crunchy kabocha sticks. Both chefs received rave reviews. Mei said Shirley’s char siu was “spectacular” and she “just wanted another bite.” She also praised Bryan’s use of the wet grinder: "It's ingenious." It was impossible to even guess who would win … but in the end, Bryan edged out Shirley with a score of 87 to 85.

April 5 Episode: Don’t Mess With the Randomizer

In Week 6, the second round of the Super 16 fought for the last four spots in the quarterfinals of TOC VII. Let’s see who went home and who stayed to face their next cook.

Marcel and Stephanie Celebrate New Year’s Eve TOC Style

Stephanie Izard, who has battled her way to the Super 16 all the way from the qualifiers, faced Marcel Vigneron in the first head-to-head showdown of the night. The randomizer hit them with swordfish for the protein, king trumpet mushrooms for the produce, a blowtorch for the equipment, New Year’s Eve as the style and canned beets for the wildcard ingredient. Not bad ingredients for a high-end, celebratory meal! Marcel whipped up a dish of grilled swordfish with salsa macha, collards, beet labneh and crispy mushrooms, frying them in a champagne batter a la New Year’s Eve. In a risky move, Stephanie opted to make two courses in the 35-minute time window. She served the judges a grilled king oyster mushroom salad with beet juice and lentil vinaigrette for the first course and tataki (a Japanese preparation method where fish is briefly seared over high heat, leaving the interior raw) swordfish for the second course. Luckily, it paid off. While judge and two-time TOC champ Maneet Chauhan loved Marcel’s canned beet labneh, she and judges Susan Feniger and Hubert Keller were more impressed by Stephanie’s ability to complete two dishes in the given time frame and her ability to turn the king trumpet mushrooms into seared “scallops.”

Shirley and Viet Hop on the Cottage Cheese Trend

It's the rebrand of the century: cottage cheese as a creamy, protein-packed ingredient that can elevate almost any dish. And it’s finally made its way to the TOC kitchen, where chefs Shirley Chung and Viet Pham further proved its versatility. The randomizer dealt the competitors hanger steak for the protein, haricot verts for the produce, an immersion blender for the equipment, an appetizer duo as the dish style and cottage cheese as the wildcard ingredient. Shirley decided to use her time very wisely by cooking only one appetizer, shaking beef with haricot verts and a beurre fondue sauce, and making a prep-only second appetizer of hanger carpaccio with pickled haricot verts and cottage cheese mustard aioli. Viet took a different route, making a coordinating Vietnamese-marinated hanger steak lettuce wrap appetizer and tempura haricot verts with whipped cottage cheese appetizer that were plated together. While the judges were impressed by his crispy green beans and cottage cheese dip, it was Shirley’s upscale presentation and equally impressive appetizers in terms of both taste and technique that won her 87 points to Viet’s 80.

Kenny Reinvents School Cafeteria Food

Going up against one of the bubbliest chefs to enter the TOC kitchen, Kaleena Bliss, Kenny transformed the randomizer ingredients into a dish worthy of a luxury cafeteria. (Yes, that sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s true!) Kenny and Kaleena spun for double-cut pork chops, hatch peppers, a french fry press, comfort classic style and a ketchup wildcard. Kaleena made a crispy bone-in pork katsudon with ketchup and hatch chili curry and kombu hatch pepper rice that Maneet called “a hug on a plate." Kenny harped on his Cleveland, Ohio, upbringing, making what he deemed the “Sloppy Joe 2.0” with french fries and a remoulade. He ground part of the pork chop meat to top a whole fried pork chop in the sandwich. Susan, a fellow Ohioian, said the dish reminded her of her childhood in Toledo, while Maneet said the best part of the sandwich was the sloppy joe element. Kenny’s high-end take on a low-end dish won him 91 points, the highest score of the night.

Bryan and Dan Prove Nacho Cheese Should Be a Pantry Staple

A chronic runner-up, Bryan declared he wanted TOC VII to be his season, so he brought it all when going up against Dan Jacobs. The randomizer assigned the duo some of the hardest ingredients of the night, including halibut, watermelon radish, metal skewers for the equipment, Sunday supper style and a nacho cheese wildcard. Bryan crafted a dish of halibut skewers with watermelon radish salad and nacho ocean ranch (the ocean comes from the nori he mixed in). He incorporated the nacho cheese into a marinade for the halibut, glazed enoki mushrooms in the cheese and used it as the base for his nacho ocean ranch. Dan whipped up fried halibut with a mole verde, skewered watermelon radish and a watermelon radish escovitch. He cleverly used the nacho cheese as the emulsifier in his mole. Who knew canned cheese could be so versatile? Even the judges were impressed by both chefs' use of the nacho cheese, with Maneet saying that it should be a requirement in mole now. But Bryan edged out Dan by three points thanks to his execution and perfect cook on the halibut.

March 29 Episode: The Super 16 Show Out

This week, the first round of chefs, including the last icon standing, battled it out for their spots in the quarter finals of TOC VII. Let’s see who bested the infamous randomizer and who was sent packing.

Jet and Claudette Go Head-to-Head for the First Time in Any Cooking Competition

Challenged by the randomizer to cook a dish with a whole chicken, Fresno peppers, a rolling grill basket, in the style of a weeknight dinner and frozen peas as the wildcard, Jet Tila and Claudette Zepeda both brought their signature bold flavors to the competition. As the winningest chef on TOC VII and a four-time finalist, Jet wasn’t afraid to play to his experience in order to crush Claudette. He hit the randomizer as many times as possible in his green pea chicken curry and “pea-laf” with Fresno chicken fat chili crisp. (Does it get any yummier?) Claudette harped on her childhood, making a cozy pollo con sopa de arroz, aka boiled chicken with brothy rice, that makes you want to curl up with a good book. Ultimately, the judges preferred Jet’s cook on the chicken, curry flavors and pop of peas, moving him to the quarter finals for the fifth time in TOC history.

A Surprising Upset Between Two TOC Vets

Both repeat TOC competitors, Britt Rescigno and Kevin Lee battled it out for their spot in the quarter finals. The randomizer hit the chefs with one of the best spins of the night: bone-in rib eye as the protein, escarole for the produce, a meat grinder for the tool, guilty pleasure for the style and pepperoni cups for the wild card ingredient. Itching to do a burger on TOC for years, Britt seized the opportunity and chose to grind the bone-in rib-eye meat into a steakhouse burger with pepperoni jam and a side of shoestring onions. Dragonslayer Kevin harped on his Oklahoma roots and made possibly one of the most expensive country-fried steaks ever with gravy. Having won every second-round battle she’s ever competed in and making it to the final four for three years in a row, Britt seemed like a shoo-in, but Kevin’s use of the steak in an elevated guilty pleasure dish and his treatment of the escarole gave him an edge of 80 points over Britt’s 75.

A Wildcard Ingredient Almost Stumped Two Chefs and the Judges

The dreaded randomizer threw both Jonathon Sawyer and Aarti Sequeira for a loop when it gave them soybean curls as their wildcard ingredient, which neither of them had ever tasted or worked with. The other requirements from the randomizer were tiger prawns for the protein, purple napa cabbage for the produce, a tortilla press for the equipment and date-night dinner for the style. Aarti chose to rehydrate the crunchy dried soybean curls, which are typically used as a meat replacement, and utilized them to give body to her dish of gunpowder prawns in a laksa broth (a spicy Southeast Asian coconut soup). Jonathon, too, was hesitant about what to do with the soybean curls, which received a disgusted reaction from both chefs upon tasting them, but decided to work them into the soup portion of his tiger prawn and purple nappa cabbage bisque. Equally thrown by what soybean curls actually are, the judges still loved Aarti’s big, bold flavors and the inclusion of a fried tiger prawn head in her laksa, but wanted the broth to be creamier. Meanwhile, judge Ken Oringer let a few expletives slip after he was blown away by the artistry of Jonathon’s take on a shrimp chip and the balance of flavors in his bisque, winning Jonathon 85 points over Aarti’s 79.

Joe Sasto vs. the Last Icon Standing

Lorena Garcia was the last number one-seeded icon left in TOC VII after Ming Tsai, Jonathan Waxman and Aarón Sánchez were eliminated in the first bracket rounds, leaving “Mustache Joe” Sasto with the responsibility to knock her out. The randomizer gave the chefs black cod for the protein, sunchokes for the produce, a smoking gun for the equipment, high-end lunch for the style and canned sardines for the wildcard ingredient. Lorena (in her all too fabulous glasses) immediately decided on a ceviche, a signature dish at her restaurants. She used the smoking gun to craft a smoked leche de tigre (a bright and spicy citrus-based marinade) black cod ceviche. Joe took a more New England route — a bold move when Boston native Ken is judging — with a sunchoke and black cod chowder. Although all of the judges agreed that Joe used too much of the sardines’ oil in his chowder, his sunchoke salad and the elevated feel of his plating helped him beat the last icon standing.

March 22 Episode: Turning the Tables

This week, the last mystery icon chef was revealed, and the final spots in the next bracket were determined in an exciting series of four head-to-head battles. Let's go over the highlights, shall we?

Two Friends of 20 Years Battle It Out

Stephanie Izard and Lee Anne Wong bring a new meaning to friendly competition. The two chefs met almost 20 years ago and immediately clicked, but that doesn’t mean they weren't going to both bring their A game last night. Having made it to the final four of TOC VI, Lee Anne was favored to go all the way in Season 7, but Stephanie, the first female winner of Top Chef, winner of Iron Chef and a James Beard Award winner, is also no stranger to competing in and winning competitions.

The randomizer challenged the battling friends to cook a dish that included venison tenderloin and corn, utilized a French press and had earthy elements. Stephanie whipped up a venison tenderloin with charred corn, red onion and beet greens with grilled mushrooms, while Lee Anne made a poached venison tenderloin over corn puree with corn mushroom salad. Although Lee Anne focused on hitting the randomizer multiple times, it was Stephanie’s dish’s earthiness and rich sauce that won her 80 points over Lee Anne’s 77.

Scott Throws in the Towel (In a Good Way!)

The head-to-head battle between James Beard nominee David Viana and the first winner of 24 in 24: Last Chef Standing, Marcel Vigneron, resulted in one of the highest accolades of the night. Initially, the randomizer challenged them to cook a dish with Manila clams, but David and Marcel opted to use their “move one down” wild card to change the protein to pork blade steak. The other requirements included butternut squash, the use of a microwave and glazed elements.

David pulled together a dish of blade steak with butternut squash glaze, butternut squash and glazed walnuts that the judges said was cooked to perfection and had a depth of flavors. Even though David made an impression, it was Marcel’s soy sauce and honey-glazed pork steak with butternut squash that truly wowed the judges. After his first bite, Scott Conant literally threw down his napkin in excitement, exclaiming, “That is delicious!” With a score of 87 points versus David’s score of 81, Marcel pulled out the win.

Kaleena Upsets TOC IV Quarter Finalist Adam

With a Beat Bobby Flay, Chopped Grand Champion and Beachside Brawl win under her belt, Kaleena Bliss went into the competition knowing she had to harp on the randomizer while also drawing from her own culinary background. Challenged by the randomizer to create a dish that included ground lamb and cucumber, the use of a food processor and had layers, she crafted a dish of crispy ground lamb dumplings that contained layers of both ingredients and flavors. Adam Sobel, who has earned several restaurants two Michelin stars and a James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant, took a more literal approach to the layers requirement by cooking a lamb moussaka with eggplant. While the judges were impressed by Adam’s flavors, use of the food processor and obvious layers, it was Kaleena’s dish’s textures and craveability, as judge Marcus Samuelsson noted, that won her the battle.

The Last Icon Is Revealed

One of the biggest twists of TOC VII so far is that the No. 1 spot in each division went to a mystery icon chef who has never competed on the show. For Division D, it was “beast of the kitchen” bert, who was challenged with competing against the final mystery icon: Aarón Sánchez. A Food Network legend, Aarón was a judge on the premiere episode of Chopped and is known as one of the country’s most celebrated Latin chefs. Naturally, the pressure was on for Kenny to prove his worth.

As Guy noted, the chefs received one of the hardest challenges of the night from the randomizer, requiring them to cook a dish using a spiralizer that included Manila clams, breakfast radish and crispy elements. Aarón leaned into his mastery of spices, cooking Manila clams in a spicy seafood broth with crispy plantain chips, while chef Kenny chose to highlight the randomizer elements by making a crispy Thai collard salad with crispy clams and crisp breakfast radishes. In an unexpected upset, Kenny pulled out a win over the legendary chef.

“I’m so pumped. This is what I came here to do,” said Kenny. “The first time I saw this competition get started, I said, ‘I’m going to compete there,’ and I’m here, and I’m ready to take it.”

What Happened on TOC VII So Far?

During Week 1, Jet Tila, Claudette Zepeda and Jonathon Sawyer knocked out their opponents Ashleigh Shanti, Tobias Dorzon and Karen Akunowicz, while Aarti Sequeira took out the top-seeded mystery icon chef Ming Tsai.

In Week 2, Joe Sasto, Kevin Lee and Britt Rescigno won the battle against chefs Nini Nguyen, Adam Greenberg and Giuseppe Tentori. This time, the mystery icon Lorena Garcia maintained her No. 1 seat, beating chef Katsuji Tanabe.

Last week, the third-bracket chefs Shirley Chung, TOC: All-Star Christmas winner Bryan Voltaggio and Dan Jacobs moved forward to the next round over their competitors Dale Talde, Carlos Anthony and Sara Bradley. Qualifier Viet Pham successfully scored more points than the mystery icon Jonathan Waxman.

How to Watch TOC VII

Guy Fieri’s Tournament of Champions airs Sundays at 8|7c on Food Network and streams the following day on HBO Max and discovery+.