'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
**Disclaimer: This Tournament of Champions article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.**
Tournament of Champions season 6 ended on April 20, 2025, giving Antonia Lofaso the champion's belt and the $150,000 prize money. She reached the finale after defeating a host of seasoned chefs with a noteworthy reputation in the culinary world. In the finale, she first defeated Britt Rescigno and then Sara Bradley in the final cook-off.
The contestants were each given the same playing field and the same ingredients to prepare a dish to impress the judges. With a blind-tasting system, the experts scored the dishes without knowing which dish belonged to whom. Antonia defeated Sara with 88 points on her scorecard, while the latter secured 82.
Trending
With Antonia's win, season 6 became the sixth consecutive season that Tournament of Champions crowned a female winner. Brooke Williamson won season 1, Maneet Chauhan won seasons 2 and 5, Tiffani Faison won season 3, and Mei Lin won season 4. It is a significant trend that has caught the attention of netizens and contestants alike.
While some netizens appreciated having female winners, others often questioned it and even wondered if the show was biased toward them, putting the male competitors at a disadvantage.
However, I believe gender plays no role in determining the winners of Tournament of Champions. In my opinion, the competition follows a fair and unbiased format, making it possible for any chef to win.
While the trend of producing female winners is noteworthy, it does not mean the competition favors one over the other. To make such a claim demeans and discredits the efforts of not only the female chefs but also the men who compete.
Women have won Tournament of Champions based on their talent
From the use of the Randomizer to the blind tasting, every element of Tournament of Champions ensures that the winner deserves the title. Consequently, I believe having six female winners is not a manufactured pattern but a testament to the fact that women have consistently outperformed men in the show.
Each season of Tournament of Champions featured more male contestants than female ones, allowing the former a better chance at winning. However, despite having fewer chances at winning the competition, the female chefs made it far and won, illustrating that the outcome of each season was unbiased and based on performance and skills rather than gender.
Moreover, the format of the show prevents it from becoming a gendered competition. The Randomizer gives the same ingredients and difficulty level to both chefs in a cook-off, putting them on an equal footing right from the start. Consequently, whichever chef wins, wins based on talent rather than gender.
In my opinion, the female Tournament of Champions contenders have simply outperformed the men each time and clinched the victor's title. Additionally, the blind tasting enhances the fairness of the tournament. Judges are brought to the kitchen in separate, private trailers and not allowed to interact with the contestants until after the tasting.
Moreover, the Tournament of Champions chefs are not allowed to post clues on social media, so judges remain completely unaware of their identities. Again, the panelists are a mix of women and men from the culinary industry, demonstrating that the winners are determined based on talent rather than gender.
During an interview with AP News, published on February 14, 2025, Tiffani Faison said:
"It completely removes the implicit bias. There's no one in front of you that looks a certain way, that speaks a certain way, that wants to tell you about what this dish means to them or where it's from. It [is] just the food."
When one looks at other culinary competitions, the male dominance appears evident. Iron Chef America originally featured one woman chef, Cat Cora, among three men. In the first 21 seasons of Top Chef, 71% of the winners have been men. In Chopped as well, well over half of the winners were male contenders.
It is one of the main reasons why Tournament of Champions' judging system allows a fair competition, preventing gender from playing a role in influencing the outcome. Maneet Chauhan, who defeated 40 male chefs for the executive chef position at Vermilion in Chicago, said:
"For the longest time, as women chefs, we've been trying to say, 'Judge us on our food, not on who we are.'"
Mei, while speaking to AP News, said that women were "a little bit more focused" and "a lot more organized in the kitchen," when asked what gave female contenders an edge over their opponents. Maneet added that women were accustomed to multitasking, a skill she believed was needed to win Tournament of Champions.
Thus, it can be concluded that having six female winners is not a result of bias but sheer talent and performance in the kitchen. Tournament of Champions strips the chefs of their titles and reputation, allowing a cook-off to prioritize food over popularity or gender. In my opinion, since the participants' identities are kept concealed, the winners can never be announced based on gender.
I believe that instead of scrutinizing the competition and suspecting foul play, one must take note of the trend of emerging female winners as a significant shift from other cooking shows.
Tournament of Champions episodes can be streamed on Max.
