Tournament of Champions returned with another episode on March 30, 2025, airing at 8 pm on Food Network. The ongoing fifth season features 32 chefs competing for a $150,000 prize. Chefs are challenged to create dishes using randomly selected ingredients, equipment, and cooking styles through a tool called the Randomizer.
In the most recent episode, Chef Britt Rescigno secured her second win of the season, earning a spot in the top eight. She competed against Chef Michael Reed, a James Beard Foundation Awards nominee from California. The two were assigned the task of preparing a Sunday supper-style dish using whole lobster and English peas, with a vacuum sealer as the required piece of equipment.
Rescigno, a New Jersey native who now runs an Italian restaurant called Fiamma in Idaho, prepared country-style polenta with butter-poached lobster and peas. Reed made a lobster risotto with English pea and mint puree. The judges, Nancy Silverton, Marcus Samuelsson, and Scott Conant, awarded Rescigno’s dish 80 points, while Reed received 76.
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“The pressure is real. I’ve never not made it into ‘the great eight,’ and I just have bigger dreams this year than I ever have,” Rescigno said during the episode.
Britt Rescigno advances to the top eight in Tournament of Champions
Chef Britt Rescigno returned to the Tournament of Champions kitchen for her third season and continued her winning streak. This time, she was up against Michael Reed. The challenge was to prepare a dish that fit the theme of “Sunday supper,” using whole lobster and English peas. They also had to incorporate a vacuum sealer into their preparation.
Rescigno shared that lobster has a special place in her family, further saying that the family inspiration is "hitting hard right now." She mentioned how her grandfather enjoys lobster for his birthday. She chose to make butter-poached lobster with peas over polenta, keeping the Sunday supper idea in focus.
“I think that was a super smart move to pair the lobster with polenta because that took away that fanciness and brought it right down to what we would have for Sunday supper,” Judge Nancy Silverton commented.
Judge Marcus Samuelsson added:
“If you ever wanted to have a cooking class in how to cook lobster, Chef here showed us.”
The judges gave her a total of 80 points out of 100. Reed’s dish received 76 points. Rescigno now moves forward to compete in the next round against Chef Kaleena Bliss, who won her match against Chef Shota Nakajima.
Background and past performance in the show
This marks Rescigno’s third appearance on Tournament of Champions. Last season, she advanced to the final four after defeating several well-known chefs, including James Beard Award winner Jonathon Sawyer, Chopped judge Marc Murphy, and Amanda Freitag, who is also a fellow New Jersey native. She eventually lost to Maneet Chauhan in the semifinals.
Rescigno is a former executive chef at Delaware Avenue Oyster House & Bar in Beach Haven, New Jersey. She is also a past winner of Chopped and has competed on Beat Bobby Flay, where she won against the show’s host.
In the current season of Tournament of Champions, she previously won a round against Chef Chris Oh. On the March 30 episode, she shared how much this competition means to her.
“I have a lot to accomplish, and I’m here to do it,” she said.
Chef David Viana, another chef from the Jersey Shore, is also competing in this season of the show.
Tournament of Champions continues to air at 8 pm ET every Sunday on Food Network.
