Tournament of Champions 7 (TOC 7) Bracket and Winners

Tournament of Champions season 7 starts on Sunday, March 1st at 8pm on Food Network and 32 chefs are competing for a $150,000 prize.  Once again, none of former champions are competing in the competition and they will be taking on other roles in Tournament of Champions.  Former winner Tiffani Faison will be a sideline reporter, while other former winners Maneet Chauhan, Brooke Williamson, Antonia Lofaso, and Mei Lin will be helping out judging.

There were two weeks worth of qualifiers where chefs competed head-to-head to try to earn 7th and 8th seeds.  Here are the results of all of those matchups and the eight chefs that earned their way into the tournament were: Aarti Sequeira, Katsuji Tanabe, Kenny Gilbert, Dan Jacobs, Giuseppe Tentori, Ashleigh Shanti, Viet Pham, and Stephanie Izard.

The other 20 confirmed chefs competing in the main tournament are: Adam Greenberg, Adam Sobel, Britt Rescigno, Bryan Voltaggio, Carlos Anthony, Claudette Zepeda, Dale Talde, David Viana, Jet Tila, Joe Sasto, Jonathon Sawyer, Kaleena Bliss, Karen Akunowicz, Kevin Lee, Lee Anne Wong, Marcel Vigneron, Nini Nguyen, Sara Bradley, Shirley Chung, and Tobias Dorzon.

This year, they are hyping up four "culinary icons" who will not be revealed until the contest starts.  These icons will be given number 1 seeds and have not yet competed on Tournament of Champions. Many people have been guessing who they are, but they will not be revealed until the new episodes start airing. That is probably the reason why no official brackets have been released by Food Network.  I have created a bracket below that has the matchups with placeholders for the unannounced chefs if you want to see the matchups for TOC VII.  This was done based on the bracket reveal episode that revealed the seeds and divisions, but let me know if anything is off.

Justin Warner and Tiffani Faison will be providing the play-by-play analysis of the competition, and Hunter Fieri will again be following the action backstage with interviews.  The judges this year include Antonia Lofaso, Maneet Chauhan, Mei Lin, Brooke Williamson, Alex Guarnaschelli, Cat Cora, Curtis Stone, David Chang, Dominique Crenn, Geoffrey Zakarian, Hubert Keller, Judy Joo, Ken Oringer, Marcus Samuelsson, Michelle Bernstein, Nancy Silverton, Rocco DiSpirito, Scott Conant, and Susan Feniger.  As they are judging the competition, it is safe to rule out all of these chefs as the mystery "culinary icons."

This post will be used to track the winners for each episode, so come back each week to see who won the matchups on Tournament of Champions (TOC 7) and to discuss the episodes.  Also, the Tournament of Champions season 7 bracket will be updated below with the winners during each episode. The TOC VII finale will air on Sunday, April 18th where the winner will be crowned and awarded $150,000 cash and the champions belt.

Tournament of Champions 7: Qualifier Winners

Photo - Food Network

Season 7 of Tournament of Champions (TOC VII) on Food Network begins on Sunday, March 1st.  This year there are 16 chefs competing in qualifiers in hopes to earn a spot in the final tournament bracket.  Eight of the 16 chefs competing in the qualifiers will earn spots by winning head-to-head battles.  The Tournament of Champions season 7 qualifiers start on February 15th and the 16 chefs trying to earn one of the eight spots in the final bracket are:

• Aarti Sequeira 
• Angelo Sosa 
• Ashleigh Shanti
• Brittanny Anderson 
• Chris Oh 
• Dan Jacobs 
• Eric Barrett 
• Gabi Chappel 
• Giuseppe Tentori
• Joe Flamm
• Katsuji Tanabe
• Kelsey Murphy
• Kenny Gilbert
• Michele Ragussis 
• Stephanie Izard
• Viet Pham

There will be four qualifier episodes, with two airing on February 15th and two airing on February 22nd.  Each of the chefs that advance to the final will be 7 and 8 seeds in the tournament. Right after the episode on the 22nd, the final bracket will be revealed with the final 32 chefs competing on Tournament of Champions season 7.

I will track the winners of the qualifiers below and I will do another post when the bracket is revealed to track the winners in the TOC 7 final bracket.  

Continue reading to see who won each of the TOC 7 Qualifier matchups......

John Henson and Stephanie Boswell Are Getting Married

Halloween Baking Championship host John Henson and Halloween Baking Championship judge Stephanie Boswell announced their engagement on Instagram in January 2026.  Stephanie shared a photo of her engagement ring (right) with the caption, "YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES!!! WE'RE ENGAGED!!! My love @realjohnhenson and I are making it official! Stay tuned for me bargain dress hunting and a backyard wedding with chickens in the background!"

This engagement came to a shock for many as most didn't know they were a couple until they announced their engagement.  The Instagram post has many commenting they are happy for John and Stephanie and wishing them the best. John even chimed in saying, "I have never felt happier or more at peace than when I’m with you. I am the luckiest man ever. (And that doesn’t even include the desserts!)"

Congratulations to John Henson and Stephanie Boswell on their engagement and I am sure they will have a great wedding cake!

Holiday Baking Championship Winner Season 12

Monday night at 8pm ET on Food Network is the two-hour season twelve finale of Holiday Baking Championship where the winning baker will take home $25,000.  This season there are five remaining contestants in the final episode.  The five remaining contestants competing for the prize are: Nico Alkalay (Denver, CO), Tarek Husseini (St. Louis, MO), Charles Zimmerman(Charlottesville, VA), Chase Maus (Santa Fe, NM), and Ashleigh Wright (Frisco, TX).   One of the contestants will be eliminated during the first hour of the episode and the final four will compete during the second hour to be crowned the winner of Holiday Baking Championship.  Duff Goldman will once again be missing from the judges table as Zac Young, Nancy Fuller, and Kardea Brown will be the judges in the final episode.

The episode description for the final episode states, "It's the finale, and three challenges await the five remaining bakers! For the preheat, host Jesse Palmer asks the bakers to create "naughty" elf desserts in flavors like black licorice, sauerkraut, or red curry. Then, in an elimination challenge, the competitors make "nice" hot cocoa desserts. For the final bake, the bakers must make a large-scale, over-the-top naughty vs. nice cake with both themes clearly represented in the decorating. Guest judge Zac Young joins Nancy Fuller and Kardea Brown to decide which talented baker walks away with $25,000 and the title of Holiday Baking Champion!"

I will update this post with the winner of Holiday Baking Championship season 12 after the episode airs and feel free to discuss this season in the comments.

Continue reading to see who was eliminated during the first hour and to see who won season 12 of Holiday Baking Championship....

Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas Winner

Tonight at 8pm ET on Food Network is the two-hour season finale of Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas. There are four teams remaining who are competing for bragging rights, a $100,000 prize, and an additional $50,000 prize for their charity. The final four teams are: Kevin Lee and Dale Talde, Jet Tila and Ashley Holt, Michael Voltaggio and Bryan Voltaggio, and Tobias Dorzon and Marcel Vigneron.

For the semi-finals of Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas, Kevin Lee and Dale Talde will face Jet Tila and Ashley Holt, while Michael Voltaggio and Bryan Voltaggio will face Tobias Dorzon and Marcel Vigneron. The two winners of those matchups will face off in the finale to determine the winner of Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas.

Here is a previous post about all of the matchups and outcomes for TOC: All-Star Christmas, but below is how the final four teams got to this point:

• Kevin Lee and Dale Talde defeated Maneet Chauhan and Stephanie Izard 77-74 and Graham Elliot and Giuseppe Tentori 78-74.
• Jet Tila and Ashley Holt defeated Aarón Sánchez and Amanda Freitag 82-79 and Britt Rescigno and Jonathon Sawyer 93-88.
• Michael Voltaggio and Bryan Voltaggio defeated Sara Bradley and Damaris Phillips 82-80 and Mei Lin and Nini Nguyen 92-91
• Tobias Dorzon and Marcel Vigneron defeated Shirley Chung and Sherry Yard 85-79 and Antonia Lofaso and Alex Guarnaschelli 80-79.

Also, below is the updated bracket for TOC: All-Star Christmas that shows the winners of all of the matchups up until this point.

I will update this post with the winner of the final three matchups after the episode airs and you can discuss season 6 of Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas in the comments.

Continue reading to see who won the matchups in the final episode.....

Harry Potter Wizards of Baking Winner - Season 2

Sunday night at 8pm ET on Food Network is the season 2 finale of Harry Potter Wizards of Baking where the winning team will be announced.  There are three teams remaining that are hoping to be crowned the Wizards of Baking winner.  The teams are: Molly Robbins (Lancashire, UK) and Priya Winsor (St. Albert, Alberta, Canada), Alex Madrigal (Playa Del Carmen, Mexico) and Jenny Chambers (Salisbury, UK), and Zoë Burmester and Jordan Pilarsk (season 1 winners).  There is no cash prize, but the winners will get a "Wizards of Baking Cup."  Last year, the winners were included in a Harry Potter cookbook which is already available on Amazon.  There have been other Harry Potter cookbooks released in the past, but it doesn't seem there will be another one released from season 2.

The episode description for the final episode states, "For the final showdown in the illustrious Great Hall, hosts James and Oliver Phelps challenge the three baking teams to create showpieces celebrating the Goblet of Fire. The epic creations are presented to a crowd of Harry Potter superfans. Guest judges Warwick Davis, Afshan Azad and Devon Murray return to join Carla Hall and Jozef Youssef to award the trophy and crown the Wizards of Baking champions."

I will update this post with the winner of Harry Potter Wizards of Baking season 2 after the episode airs and feel free to discuss this season in the comments.

Continue reading to see who won Harry Potter Wizards of Baking season 2.......

Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas Bracket and Winners

Food Network's hit show Tournament of Champions will have a special season that starts on Wednesday, November 5th at 8pm on Food Network. This season is a holiday-themed season called Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas and 32 chefs will be paired up in teams of two to compete as teams against each other in a bracket format.   The winning team will take home a $100,000 prize and they also get an additional $50,000 prize to give to a cause that they are passionate about.

There are 32 chefs competing and they will be paired up in teams of two.  The pairings of chefs are as follows - Antonia Lofaso and Alex Guarnaschelli; Maneet Chauhan and Stephanie Izard; Mei Lin and Nini Nguyen; Jet Tila and Ashley Holt; Lee Anne Wong and Zac Young; Sara Bradley and Damaris Phillips; Britt Rescigno and Jonathon Sawyer; Michael Voltaggio and Bryan Voltaggio; Marcus Samuelsson and Rachel Sherriffe; Shirley Chung and Sherry Yard; Kevin Lee and Dale Talde; Aarón Sánchez and Amanda Freitag; Tobias Dorzon and Marcel Vigneron; Adam Sobel and Christian Petroni; Aarti Sequeira and Crista Luedtke; Graham Elliot and Giuseppe Tentori.

Justin Warner and Tiffani Faison will be providing the play-by-play analysis of the competition, and Hunter Fieri will also be on the floor to provide insight.  The judges this year include Michelle Bernstein, Scott Conant, Cat Cora, Susan Feniger, Gale Gand, Lorena Garcia, Judy Joo, Nancy Silverton, Curtis Stone, Jacques Torres, Christina Tosi, Ming Tsai, and Geoffrey Zakarian.

This post will be used to track the winners for each episode, so come back each week to see who won the matchups on Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas and to discuss the episodes.  Also, the Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas bracket is below with all of the matchups. The finale will air on Wednesday, December 10th where the winning team will be crowned and awarded $100,000.

Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas Bracket:

Continue reading to see who won the matchups in each episode of Tournament of Champions: All-Star Christmas......

Holiday Baking Championship Season 12

Photo - Warner Bros. Discovery

The twelfth season of Holiday Baking Championship airs on Monday nights at 8pm ET/PT on Food Network starting November 3rd, 2025.  This season is once again hosted by Jesse Palmer and the judges are Nancy Fuller, Duff Goldman, and Kardea Brown.  This year there are twelve bakers competing for a $25,000 prize and a feature in Food Network Magazine.  Something new this year is that the bakers will be divided into two teams - Team Naughty and Team Nice.

The bakers competing for the $25,000 prize on season twelve are:

• Alyx Abreu - New Orleans, Louisiana
• Nico Alkalay - Denver, Colorado
• Jeanna 'Gia' Barnes - Troy, Alabama
• Jean Carlos - Orlando, Florida
• Daniel Gray - High Point, North Carolina
• Tarek Husseini - St. Louis, Missouri
• Erin Michelle Luttrell - Kansas City, Missouri
• Chase Maus - Santa Fe, New Mexico
• Camrey Smith - Detroit, Michigan
• Ashleigh Wright - Frisco, Texas
• Charles Zimmerman - Charlottesville, Virginia
• Violet Zoner - Ithaca, New York

The Holiday Baking Championship season finale will air on Monday, December 22nd and I will do another post about that episode before it airs.  Feel free to discuss season 12 of Holiday Baking Championship in the comments of this post. 

UPDATE - To see who won Holiday Baking Championship season 12, visit this post.

The Great Food Truck Race Season 18 Winner

Photo - Food Network

Sunday Night at at 9pm ET on Food Network is the season 18 finale of The Great Food Truck Race where the winning team will take home $50,000.  The two remaining teams competing for the prize are Nishaan and Good Fortune. Nishaan is a Pakistani-American fusion food truck from New York City and is run by Naoufal, Zeeshan and Vidya. Good Fortune is run by Sarah, Arturo and Chris from Memphis, TN and they do handmade Chinese noodles and dumplings. It seems like a lot of people were happy to see the Que food truck go home before the finale.

The final episode is in Norfolk, Virginia and the description states:

"Host Tyler Florence kicks off the finale with the two winningest teams in Great Food Truck Race history competing in a sales frenzy, feeding the sailors of a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier in port at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia. After the sailors are fed, the trucks move to town, and one team misses the perfect sell spot by just a few feet, with unforeseen consequences. In the final challenge, one team proves they've truly outperformed the rest, but it all comes down to sales to see who will win $50,000 and the title of Great Food Truck Race champion."

I will update this post with The Great Food Truck Race season 18 winner after the episode airs.  Feel free to discuss this season and the finale in the comments.  

Continue reading to see who won The Great Food Truck Race season 18.....

BBQ Brawl Season 6 Winner

Sunday night at 9pm ET/PT on Food Network is the season six finale of BBQ Brawl where the remaining 
contestants will cook through the night to determine a winner. The final contestants competing for the win are Kyle Bryner, Tyler Anderson, and Brad Leighninger.

The episode description states: "In the final showdown, team captains Bobby Flay, Maneet Chauhan and Antonia Lofaso give the top three Brawlers no time to rest before they must cook through the night to craft an epic feast worthy of the title "Master of 'Cue." Only one finalist will emerge victorious."

I will update this post after the episode airs with the winner of BBQ Brawl season 6.

Continue reading to see who won season 6 of BBQ Brawl.....