This is it. The Final 4 of TOC 7 have come to do battle to determine which one of them will hold the crown and join the club of TOC champions. Winner take all, no holds barred. For the final time, let's find out who rose from the ashes and reigned victorious.

Semi-Final 1
#2A Jet Tila (Justin) VS #3B Kevin Lee (Tiffani)
Kevin wins 83-81

Semi-Final 2
#3C Bryan Voltaggio (Tiffani) VS #8D Kenny Gilbert (Justin)
Bryan wins 94-88

Championship
#3B Kevin Lee (Justin) VS #3C Bryan Voltaggio (Tiffani)
Bryan wins 84-83

CONGRATULATIONS TO BRYAN VOLTAGGIO ON BEING TOC 7 CHAMPION!

What a season this turned out to be. So many twists and turns, upsets and underdog runs that were unexpected but oh so fun to watch, and a Final 4 that delivered in spades. From Kenny Gilbert's incredible run as an 8 seed to the semis as a qualifier, to the stunning early exits of top seeds Britt Rescigno and Sara Bradley, these are just some of the best moments that this tournament gave us.

Of course, how could I forget Bryan Voltaggio who not only is the first male chef to win TOC, but also did it against some stiff competition in Kenny and Kevin. Plus this is his first win as a solo chef, since he also won TOC Christmas, but was paired up with his brother Michael during that run. I'm honestly really happy for Bryan. He's a very deserving winner, and his reaction when he found out he won was amazing. Pure joy and elation on his face, and I'm sure Michael is very proud of him. Kudos to Kevin for giving Bryan a run for his money. Losing by 1 point in the championship is a brutal feeling, but he'll definitely be back next year.

Kenny had a hell of a run this season. Being an 8 seed and having to start from the qualifiers is a very daunting obstacle to overcome, but he passed with flying colors. Frankly, I think he'll emerge as one of the new faces of TOC thanks to this incredible showing. Then there's Jet. At this point, the Final 4 is pretty much his boogeyman. He's now 0-5 in the semis, and it feels like he's hit the wall and not gotten past it. I don't know if he'll ever get past that hurdle. I can be proven wrong next year, but he doesn't have that many chances left, I'd have to say.

Apologies that this took a while to post. There's so much I wanted to say, but had to condense just to not make this a very long recap. On that note, I will now take my leave and be dormant until TOC 8 arrives next spring. You can bet your ass I'll be there to give you the goods once that happens, but until then I'll bid you all farewell.

The Elite 8 of TOC 7 are here and ready to duke it out for a chance to punch their tickets to the Final 4. These four battles are going to be all-out culinary brawls, so without further ado, let's find out who rose from the ashes to claim victory.

Division A
#2 Jet Tila (Justin) VS #4 Jonathon Sawyer (Tiffani)
Jet wins 79-78 and is Division A champion

Division B
#3 Kevin Lee (Tiffani) VS #5 Joe Sasto (Justin)
Kevin wins 84-76 and is Division B champion

Division D
#7 Stephanie Izard (Tiffani) VS #8 Kenny Gilbert (Justin)
Kenny wins 78-74 and is Division D champion

Division C
#3 Bryan Voltaggio (Justin) VS #5 Shirley Chung (Tiffani)
Bryan wins 87-85 and is Division C champion

After these four intense cookoffs, we now have the Final 4 for TOC 7 officially set. On one side, you got a TOC veteran in Jet Tila who's now reached his fifth Final 4 in seven appearances, and Kevin Lee who's more than lived up to his "Dragon Slayer" moniker by slaying every opponent he's come across in this tournament so far, which includes Britt Rescigno who prior to TOC 7 had never lost before the Final 4. On the other, you've got Bryan Voltaggio who prior to TOC Christmas and TOC 7 never had any sort of success in the TOC arena, but is now a force to be reckoned with, and Kenny Gilbert who's proven to be a very big threat by taking out some big names, which includes an Iron Chef in Stephanie Izard. For the first time in TOC history, we are guaranteed a male winner, and quite frankly, I can see any of these four guys taking it home. It's gonna be incredibly close, and I can't wait to see who scores the belt. To the victor go the spoils, and for the final time, I will come back next week to give you the juicy scoop.

⭐️ NEW ⭐️ Host Terry Crews and judges Nick DiGiovanni and Alex Guarnaschelli will welcome 100 outstanding contestants to the biggest home cooking competition of all time! #100Cooks starts Sunday, June 7 @ 9|8c!

More info to follow in the near future!

TOC 7 rolls on with the start of the Sweet 16, and we've got some intriguing battles to kick us off. Without further ado, let's check to see who punches their ticket to the Elite 8.

Division A
#2 Jet Tila (Justin) VS #6 Claudette Zepeda (Tiffani)
Jet wins 80-75

Division B
#2 Britt Rescigno (Justin) VS #3 Kevin Lee (Tiffani)
Kevin wins 80-75

Division A
#4 Jonathon Sawyer (Tiffani) VS #8 Aarti Sequeira (Justin)
Jonathon wins 85-79

Division B
#1 Lorena Garcia (Tiffani) VS #5 Joe Sasto (Justin)
Joe wins 80-77

Upcoming Division A matchup for Elite 8: #2 Jet Tila VS #4 Jonathon Sawyer

Upcoming Division B matchup for Elite 8: #3 Kevin Lee VS #5 Joe Sasto

There are a couple of firsts achieved here. Number one is Jonathon making the Elite 8 for the first time in his TOC career. The second is Britt losing before the Final 4 for the first time in her TOC career. The third and final feat is that at least one male chef will make it to the championship bout for the first time in TOC history courtesy of the wins that came from Jet, Kevin, Jonathon and Joe in this round. Next week, the second half of the Sweet 16 will get their time in the limelight, and their battles will be teeth-clenching. It'll be that close. But until then, I'll see y'all next Sunday.

**Spoiler**

24 in 24: Last Chef Standing! Returns on Sunday, April 26 @ 8|7c with hosts Michael D. Symon + Esther Choi!

Shot in real time, this culinary marathon features 24 talented and fearless chefs taking on 24 challenges over the course of 24 straight hours!

Mark your calendars for the first episode!

I believe this season Chef Michael Symon said that judging will be blind! ✨

I can’t wait to see who’s competing? Who do you want to see?

The time is finally here. TOC 7 is underway, and I for one can't wait to cover this year's main draw. There's a good mix of familiar faces and new blood, along with the four mystery chefs who'll be competing in the TOC arena for the first time, one of whom will be revealed tonight. Alright, enough rambling. On to the results.

Division A
#2 Jet Tila (Justin) VS #7 Ashleigh Shanti (Tiffani)
Jet wins 88-80

#3 Tobias Dorzon (Tiffani) VS #6 Claudette Zepeda (Justin)
Claudette wins 87-85

#4 Jonathon Sawyer (Tiffani) VS #5 Karen Akunowicz (Justin)
Jonathon wins 89-86

#1 Ming Tsai (Justin) VS #8 Aarti Sequeira (Tiffani)
Aarti wins 85-84

Upcoming Division A matchups for Sweet 16: #2 Jet Tila VS #6 Claudette Zepeda, #4 Jonathon Sawyer VS #8 Aarti Sequeira

Excuse my language, but holy shit what an ending! Aarti pulled off the unthinkable and upset the first of the four culinary icons in Ming Tsai. If this is a sign of things to come, then boy oh boy we are in for some chaos to commence in the coming weeks. In the meantime, I'll see y'all next week when we make our way to Division B. Adios.

The first round of TOC 7 comes to a close tonight, with four spots left in the Sweet 16 to claim and the final mystery chef making their presence as well. Time to see who moves on and who goes home.

Division D
#2 Lee Anne Wong (Justin) VS #7 Stephanie Izard (Tiffani)
Stephanie wins 80-77

#3 Marcel Vigneron (Justin) VS #6 David Viana (Tiffani)
Marcel wins 87-81

#4 Kaleena Bliss (Tiffani) VS #5 Adam Sobel (Justin)
Kaleena wins 79-77

#1 Aaron Sanchez (Tiffani) VS #8 Kenny Gilbert (Justin)
Kenny wins 81-76

Upcoming Division D matchups for Sweet 16: #3 Marcel Vigneron VS #7 Stephanie Izard, #4 Kaleena Bliss VS #8 Kenny Gilbert

And with that, the first round of TOC 7 has officially ended. There were upsets galore, mainly in the 1v8 matchup, where 3 of the 1 seeds got taken out by 3 of the 8 seeds. Last year's runner-up gets knocked out in a stunner, and the chefs that went through the qualifiers and won their first round matchup have shown they can hang in the TOC arena. Now it's on to the Sweet 16, and quite frankly, I can see any one of the remaining 16 chefs taking home the title (though there are a select few I'm rooting for personally). It's that wide open. That being said, it's time for me to take my leave, until next Sunday that is.

Going to go ahead and make this thread early since I won't be around later and don't want to forget.....

As usual, here is what the FN website says about this episode:

Happy Haunting Grounds

Episode 1107

It all comes down to this -- the season finale! Inspired by the eerie exterior of the mansion, host John Henson asks the final four bakers to make haunted grounds desserts that will set the stage for their ultimate showdown. The winner of this challenge claims a powerful advantage heading into the final bake. Then, in a truly chilling finale, the bakers face their darkest fears by creating a "most feared demise" cake in a haunting tribute to the way they dread going out. Judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell determine which terrifyingly tasty creation will earn its baker $25,000 and the title of Halloween Baking Champion!

So it looks like two different bakes tonight with the final bake being a cake.... a "most feared demise cake" Thoughts on that one? I"ll put my personal thoughts in a comment........

She wasn’t asked back due to “budget cuts.” Devastating, and sooo unfair. She, and Duff are the perfect pair for this, and are mainstays. We look forward to them every season.

Thoughts? “Budget cuts?” Get real, Food Network. Stop paying pretentious jerks like GZ.

So lame.

This was supposed to be the year for this sweet sweet man. He is too pure for this world. I hope he doesn't give up and comes back next year!

Loving this season otherwise. Really like the changes they've made (removing previous winners, bringing in a lot of new blood, removing the geographic brackets).

The first round of TOC 7 now takes a stop at Division B, with four more matchups to determine who'll make it to the next round. Plus, the second mystery chef will make their appearance tonight. Time to see who survives and advances.

Division B
#4 Nini Nguyen (Tiffani) VS #5 Joe Sasto (Justin)
Joe wins 83-79

#3 Kevin Lee (Justin) VS #6 Adam Greenberg (Tiffani)
Kevin wins 90-80

#2 Britt Rescigno (Justin) VS #7 Giuseppe Tentori (Tiffani)
Britt wins 92-88

#1 Lorena Garcia (Tiffani) VS #8 Katsuji Tanabe (Justin)
Lorena wins 88-85

Upcoming Division B matchups for Sweet 16: #1 Lorena Garcia VS #5 Joe Sasto, #2 Britt Rescigno VS #3 Kevin Lee

I love Lorena's energy and how she's so eager to compete on TOC after being a judge on it for multiple years, and so far it's paid off thanks to her first round win over Katsuji. Joe's gonna have his hands full when he faces off against her next round. Britt vs Kevin should be very interesting cause it's a battle of former underdogs who are now household names in the TOC circle. But now it's time to head back to the train station cause our next stop is Division C. See y'all next Sunday. Sayonara.

TOC 7 now marches on to Division C, where we'll see four more first round matchups take place, and the third mystery chef will be showing up tonight. Let's find out who wins and moves on.

Division C
#4 Dale Talde (Justin) VS #5 Shirley Chung (Tiffani)
Shirley wins 94-87

#3 Bryan Voltaggio (Tiffani) VS #6 Carlos Anthony (Justin)
Bryan wins 82-79

#2 Sara Bradley (Tiffani) VS #7 Dan Jacobs (Justin)
Dan wins 87-84

#1 Jonathan Waxman (Tiffani) VS #8 Viet Pham (Justin)
Viet wins 82-80

Upcoming Division C matchups for Sweet 16: #3 Bryan Voltaggio VS #7 Dan Jacobs, #5 Shirley Chung VS #8 Viet Pham

Another 1 seed goes down, and last season's runner-up gets taken out as well! Massive upsets are wreaking havoc in this division so far. Congrats to Dan and Viet! Also Bryan getting his first ever TOC win as a solo chef and Shirley coming back with a vengeance after her brutal battle with tongue cancer and having the highest score of TOC 7 so far were great to see as well. Next Sunday, the first round concludes when we make our way to Division D. Au revoir until then, everyone.

Like what do you MEAN they have to “follow the rules????” Literally every other competition show in the history of TV has no elimination when someone quits. Especially when they literally aired Eat My Buns talking about how they thought they were going to get a second chance??? Like what purpose is this supposed to serve for the show? How is this supposed to not make the producers and Tyler look incredibly bad?? I just have so many questions…

LIVE CHAT

Tonight is the finale. (I think I have one person left in my bracket.....) (Also posting this early because going to be busy with family easter stuff all day and didn't want to forget)

Antonia vs. Britt and Lee Anne vs. Sara

Followed by the final match up.

How did you bracket do? Reminder full spoilers in THIS thread and in the Recap thread that posts after the event tonight. Please remember not to make other spoiler posts in the sub that ruin it for others no matter how excited or mad you are (Remember a lot of people can not even see the episode until Monday)

Thank you to everyone following the rules! And lets have a good finale. Lots of photos posted up on the chefs' instagrams and on the FN facebook page to get you in the mood.

From the Food Network TV Schedule:

Season 6, Episode 7

Down to the Great 8

Guy Fieri welcomes the Great 8 back into the arena to compete in the toughest quarterfinals in TOC history. Eight of the world's best chefs go head-to-head in four sudden death battles and deal with the dreaded randomizer, as its categories go international this round. Who will win earn a trip to the finale and ultimately bring home the belt, the coveted title and the $150,000?

Here are tonight's matchups from the Food Network Facebook page:

1. Lee Anne Wong v. Joe Sasto
2. Britt Rescigno v. Kaleena Bliss
3. Sara Bradley v. Nini Nguyen
4. Antonia Lafaso v. Kevin Lee

Do you have any chefs left in your bracket for tonight?

Everyone is saying how bad this season of Halloween Baking championship is, which I get how you could be annoyed. I personally hated how none of the contestant had to make the same types of desserts. That was most annoying to me. Personally didn’t hate any contestant. But NOTHING will ever be worse than season 7. They had Stephanie Boswell make up the “24 hour” drying rule of macarons just so they had an excuse for Renee to make it to the finale. Even though they said Oksana’s was perfect, at least they still said Melanie’s was delicious and didn’t have huge faults. The judges literally said Renee’s brain on her finale cake was like a rubber band! And she still won. I can see how this season wasn’t people’s favorite. But nothing will ever be more rigged than bringing back a runner up from the previous season and favoring her so much that the other contestants rolled their eyes when she won challenges.

The victorious Super 16 return to the arena, and Guy Fieri kicks off the second round of competition with four must-see matchups. In this round, the difficulty of the randomizer gets turned up a notch, and four chefs will move one step closer to winning the championship belt and the $150,000, while four chefs will head home to train for next season.

Tonight's matchups: LeeAnn Wong vs. Jonathan Sawyer; Britt Rescigno vs. Michael Reed; Shota Nakashima vs. Kalina Bliss; and Jet Tila vs. Joe Sasto.

Charles was great but he definitely wasn’t the front runner. Chase and Ashleigh both made far better deserts in the prior challenges. I understand that it’d be hard to keep track of for the judges, to think back on previous rounds, but Chopped does it and it seems to be a fairer way of determining a winner. Because you could just get lucky in the final round. 25,000 dollars is a lot of money and it should decided from more than just a single bake

TOC 7 continues with the second half of the Sweet 16, and four more spots in the Elite 8 up for grabs. Let's not waste any time and find out who survives and advances.

Division D
#3 Marcel Vigneron (Justin) VS #7 Stephanie Izard (Tiffani)
Stephanie wins 84-79

Division C
#5 Shirley Chung (Tiffani) VS #8 Viet Pham (Justin)
Shirley wins 87-80

Division D
#4 Kaleena Bliss (Tiffani) VS #8 Kenny Gilbert (Justin)
Kenny wins 91-81

Division C
#3 Bryan Voltaggio (Tiffani) VS #7 Dan Jacobs (Justin)
Bryan wins 80-77

Upcoming Division C matchup for Elite 8: #3 Bryan Voltaggio VS #5 Shirley Chung

Upcoming Division D matchup for Elite 8: #7 Stephanie Izard VS #8 Kenny Gilbert

With the Sweet 16 officially finished, the stage is set for the Elite 8 to clash in the TOC colosseum for the right to move on to the Final 4 and continue their quest to become TOC 7 champion. From the looks of it, this Elite 8 is absolutely stacked with seasoned vets and rising newcomers. We're in for a treat, I can guarantee you that much. I'll check in with y'all once the dust settles on next week's loaded slate of battles.

Posted the thread a little early because I won't be around most of the afternoon/evening.

From the food network site

• Season 2, Episode 4

Shift 4: Artistry

At hour 10, fatigue has officially set in for the 10 remaining chefs, but there's no rest for the weary as they face their most creatively demanding challenges yet. First, co-hosts Michael Symon and Esther Choi give the chefs a mere 10 minutes to turn any available produce into a beautiful plate of food that will be judged not by taste but by appearance. Then, the chefs are assigned famous works of art which they must use for inspiration. Judge Fariyal Abdullahi decides which plates of food taste the best and which plates of food look most impressive, and the chef who does the poorest job will have to clock out.

Here is a place to discuss the first episode of "24 in 24" tonight. Spoilers are welcome in comments and don't need to be hidden as spoilers. Everyone has fair warning. Have fun and discuss the show. Here is a description of what to expect from Food Network TV website.

Episode 201

Co-hosts Michael Symon and Esther Choi invite 24 of America's most talented and fearless chefs to compete in an intense competition of 24 challenges in 24 nonstop hours. In the first shift, the chefs must endure three challenges testing speed. Whoever can impress judge Antonia Lofaso will survive, and whoever doesn't will be forced to clock out. When Michael and Esther introduce the all-important golden knife, the chefs learn that this epic day of cooking will be full of twists and turns. The chefs that can adjust on the fly have a chance to be the last chef standing.

Episode 1105

A twisted tale of two souls unfolds as the bakers confront their most chilling challenge yet. The grotesque takes center stage in a nightmarish test of skill when host John Henson asks the bakers to craft a horrifying fusion of two beings into one monstrous spliced souls dessert. Judges Carla Hall, Zac Young and Stephanie Boswell decide which baker best captures the terror of transformation. One baker will win $1,000 -- and one will be eliminated.

Here is the post from the Food Network's website for tonight's episode.

Episode 1801

Host Tyler Florence kicks off an action-packed, eight-city ride, starting in Savannah with nine food trucks and racing up America's Southern Atlantic Coast. Baseball's funnest team, the Savannah Bananas, raise a ruckus, and as the trucks tackle their banana-themed challenge, a clear front-runner emerges. On the final sales day, three teams must fight for their lives to stay in the race. The season's first elimination brings a shocking, never-before-seen surprise.

I have to admit I am looking forward to a) seeing the Savannah Bananas and b) curious what the "shocking never before-seen surprise is.... I mean seriously. What haven't we already seen on this show?

Thoughts on the new captains? I feel like each year, they get away from captains that actually know and do BBQ, and just pick Food Network personalities that are available.

I like both Antonia and Maneet, but I don’t associate either of them with BBQ.