Fans of Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions” will want to tune in to Food Network on Wednesday as Oklahoma City chef Kevin Lee competes in a new competition, “Tournament of Champions: The Qualifiers,” as one of 16 chefs going head-to-head to win four coveted eighth-seed slots in the tournament bracket.
Lee, chef-owner of the recently revamped Birdie’s by Chef Kevin Lee, is no stranger to Food Network competitions, having competed on “Beat Bobby Flay,” “Alex vs. America,” “Guy’s Grocery Games” and “Superchef Grudge Match.“
“This one was definitely different, because a lot of the shows I’ve done in the past — I’ve done ‘Alex vs. America,’ I’ve done ‘Beat Bobby Flay’ — going against the bigger names, but it was me going on their show so, it’s a little different. This is literally going head to head with some of the best chefs that’s been around in competitions not just on Food Network, but from ‘Top Chef,’ there’s ‘MasterChef’ winners,” Lee said.
“There’s basically chefs who’ve won culinary competitions at every level that you could possibly think of when it comes to television and to just be amongst those groups, to be in the qualifier. I mean, I was definitely the underdog. It was very intimidating, but being a guy who likes to compete, it wasn’t my first rodeo.”