Tournament Of Champions Is Just As Intense As This Show, According To Amanda Freitag
Have you been tuning in to Food Network's "Tournament of Champions"? Hosted by Guy Fieri, the culinary television channel's bracket-style cooking competition is currently in its second season, which Broadway World noted kicked off on March 7 and has since been treating viewers to head-to-head battles between a few of the most talented chefs around. Big names like Maneet Chauhan, Michael Voltaggio, Antonia Lofaso, and Brooke Williamson are only a handful of the 16 chefs currently competing to become the winner of the "ultimate cooking tournament" (via Food Network).
You're not wrong if you think "Tournament of Champions" sounds like one of Food Network's more challenging cooking competitions, and if you've watched at least one episode, you've likely taken note of the high intensity in the kitchen as competitors work to put together a dish in line with the parameters set up by the dreaded randomizer machine. And, if you're like Twitter user @NicoleWillie2, you may have also noticed the similarities between "Tournament of Champions" and another one of Food Network's hit competition series — does the show "Iron Chef" ring a bell?
Amanda Freitag has competed on Tournament of Champions and Iron Chef America
Celebrity chef Amanda Freitag has been live tweeting throughout each episode of "Tournament of Champions," and commented on the suspenseful nature of a particular battle between chefs Tiffani Faison and Elizabeth Falkner (via Twitter). In response, Twitter user @NicoleWillie2 shared that the show reminded her of another hit program from Food Network's past: "Iron Chef." Freitag agreed, and proceeded to point out one major similarity between the two programs. "It's the same intensity," she tweeted back.
The 48-year-old certainly has some merit to her assertion, as she not only served as number one seed from the East Coast region in the current season of "Tournament of Champions," (via Food Network), but has also been very involved with the "Iron Chef" franchise during her career. According to Food Network, Freitag once competed in Kitchen Stadium against Bobby Flay, and was a contender on "The Next Iron Chef" as well.
A quick comparison of the two programs show that they have a few other things in common. There's the random aspect, for one, as "Iron Chef" presented competitors with a secret ingredient that they had to use (via Food Network) just like the randomizer does in "Tournament of Champions." There's also the fact that the current season of "Tournament of Champions" actually has an Iron Chef amongst its competitors — chef Cat Cora.
On the other hand, "Tournament of Champions" does have one element that is very different from "Iron Chef": its blind judging, which Freitag also admitted was her favorite part of the program.