Who is Tournament of Champions chef Nini Nguyen? Career, Instagram, and more explored

While season 6 of Tournament of Champions is ongoing, fans of the show are curious to find out more about its contestants. Created and hosted by Guy Fieri, the show is an amalgamation of contestants from various cooking reality TV shows. It follows a single-elimination format, and the dishes are scored by a panel of judges.

Nini Nguyen has become known for her determination and her style of cooking on the show. She hails from the coveted cooking franchise, Top Chef, and starred in its Kentucky and All-Stars L.A. versions. She also appeared on Last Bite Hotel.

This New Orleans resident has time and again proven her prowess in cooking with the different challenges she has gone through. Her official Instagram account handle is @chefnininguyen and currently boasts 92k followers.

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More on Tournament of Champions chef Nini Nguyen

Nini Nguyen from Tournament of Champions was raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, after she migrated there with her family in the 1970s. It was Nguyen's grandmother who taught her how to cook, and the chef even stated that her grandmother had a huge influence over her love for cooking.

Nguyen went to Louisiana University and graduated with a bachelor's degree in business. But when Nguyen was fresh out of college, she struggled to find work because of the Great Recession. This prodded her to enroll in a culinary school, but she didn't continue there because she believed she was getting a better experience of cooking at her job.

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Tournament of Champions star Nini Nguyen's career

Nini kickstarted her career at a Louisiana bakery called Sucré and then moved to one called Couquette. Her talent then took her to New York City, where she worked for a Michelin star restaurant called Eleven Madison Park for two years.

Another feather in her hat was added when she worked at a startup called The Dinner Lab and helped open a cooking school named Cook Space. This was situated in Brooklyn, and she herself led culinary programs here.

After this, Nini's fame skyrocketed as she entered season 16 of the coveted Top Chef franchise as a chef in 2019. She was eliminated early on, but her talent didn't go unnoticed, as she was invited back for the All-Stars L.A. season in 2019.

Nguyen also hosted the cooking show Downton Kitchen in 2022. After this, she appeared on Tournament of Champions season 5, which premiered in 2024. In the same year, Nguyen also entered the show Last Bite Hotel as a contestant and won it.

Apart from her extensive reality TV career, the Tournament of Champions star has also released her own cookbook, Đặc Biệt: An Extra Special Vietnamese Cookbook.

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More on Tournament of Champions star Nini Nyugen's Instagram account

The bio on Nini's Instagram account mentions the name of her cookbook and the link to its publisher's Instagram account. In her bio, she describes herself as a chef, an author, and a martini enthusiast. Her bio also features a link to the artist management agency she is associated with.

Another link in the bio takes viewers to a page where they can purchase her cookbook, get information on her book tour, access her website, get recommendations on restaurants in Vietnam and New Orleans, browse recipe videos, shop her LTK favorites, access her Substack, reveal her kitchen and pantry staples, and order a cameo.

Her Instagram profile features her food tours, her appearances on cooking reality TV shows, and, of course, her dishes.

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For more updates on Tournament of Champions, fans of the show can follow its host Guy Fieri's Instagram account, @guyfieri.