"I'm proud of what I created" — Tournament of Champions' Chef David Viana comments on his dish for the qualifiers

Tournament of Champions season 6 released part 2 of The Qualifiers on February 23, 2025, where sixteen chefs competed against each other in duos. Winners from each pairing advanced to the next round of the bracket-style cooking competition. Among the participants was Chef David Viana who was paired against Chef Dara Yu. Despite the competition, Chef Viana remained confident about his dish.

"I'm proud of what I created. I think it's a delicious bite that's worthy of going on to 'TOC.' It's thoughtful, it's developed, it's got nuance, and I think that this is a winning dish," he told the judges.

Impressed by Chef Viana's Qualifiers' dish, the judges advanced him to the next stage of the competition, where he and seven other chefs would join 24 pre-determined chefs to compete for the winner's title and the $150,000 cash prize. The competition would continue for eight weeks before crowning its ultimate champion.

Chef Viana and Chef Yu's dishes were tasted by previous Tournament of Champions winners Maneet Chauhan, Mei Lin, and Tiffani Faison. After a careful tasting, they gave Chef Viana 76 out of 100 and 72 to Chef Yu, ending the latter's journey on the show.

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"Going to make sure that it's flawless" — Tournament of Champions' Chef Viana on giving the experts a faultless dish

Chef Viana, renowned for his restaurants Lita and La Otra in Aberdeen, Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge, forthcoming Judy's in Asbury Park, and Abramzo & David's Delicatesse in Old Bridge, earned his position in the bracket after defeating Chef Yu during the February 23 episode of Tournament of Champions.

A James Beard Foundation Award nominee, whose Old Bridge restaurant was named one of USA TODAY's Restaurants of the Year in 2024, Chef Viana was determined to put his best foot forward and outshine Chef Yu to win the spot in the bracket.

The Tournament of Champions contestants were tasked with using white cauliflower and ground pork to prepare a dish within 32 minutes of cooking time.

However, they also had to use a panini press and incorporate a sauteed component in their dishes. Chef Viana felt confident about aligning the random ingredients and creating the noteworthy dish because it was what he did at his restaurant.

"I work in a restaurant where I change the menu every single week, so for almost five years straight, I've committed myself to coming up with new dishes and never repeating a dish... I think that makes me pretty uniquely qualified," Chef Viana said.

After a grueling round of competition, the Tournament of Champions star came up with tacos featuring tortillas made on the panini press, cauliflower crema, sautéed ground park, pickled cauliflower, and salsa macha.

While speaking about his creation, Chef Viana said:

"This dish is what stands between me and being on the main bracket here on 'TOC.' and I'm going to make sure that it's flawless."

Meanwhile, his competitor Chef Yu prepared lettuce wraps with a larb pork filling and curry cauliflower purée.

While judging Chef Viana's dish, Mei Lin mentioned that the flavors were "well-distributed" and appreciated his addition of salsa macha and use of cauliflower. Maneet was equally complimentary, saying Chef Viana "came ready to compete."

The Tournament of Champions contestant was also pleased with the dish he had presented to the judges and claimed it was the "winning dish." The judges agreed with Chef Viana's assumption and advanced him further into the competition where he joined 24 pre-determined chefs including former Shore chef, Britt Rescigno.

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Tournament of Champions season 6 debuts on March 2, 2025, at 8 pm ET exclusively on Food Network.