Chef David Viana keeps cooking on Food Network’s ‘Tournament of Champions’

Chef David Viana cooked his way to another win on Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions” on Sunday, March 23.

Viana, of Judy & Harry’s in Asbury Park, Lita in Aberdeen and Heirloom Kitchen in Old Bridge, went into the second episode of the bracket-style cooking competition as the eighth seed. He was up against first seed Tobias Dorzon, an NFL player-turned-chef who owns restaurants 1123 and Huncho House in Maryland.

The cooking show challenges chefs to prepare a dish with randomly assigned ingredients, equipment and cooking style. Viana and Dorzon, who has competed on the show before, were given quinoa, fennel and mussels. They needed to incorporate searing and a milk frother into their cooking.

“I’m a fan of TOC, watched every season. I watched Tobias grow into a (No. 1) seed right before my eyes,” Viana said. “I’m really feeling the pressure of creating flavor that the judges are going to remember.”

He prepared mussel toast with coconut curry and caramelized fennel and quinoa. Dozon made fennel-roasted mussels in seafood broth with pancetta and fennel quinoa.

“He’s going for a very high-end take on mussels,” commentator and chef Justin Warner said as Viana plucked steamed mussels from their shells and stirred them into his sauce. “Mussels are a food for every man when they’re in the shell, but to take them out of the shell, that’s some next-level cooking,”

Judges Marcus Samuelsson, Nancy Silverton and Charlie Palmer agreed.

“This is a dish that we need Charlie Palmer to pay the bill for,” Samuelsson joked. “This is fancy. This is high end and fancy and really elegant, and the detail is brilliant.”

“Honestly, I would gladly pay the bill for this dish because I think it’s that spectacular,” Palmer said.

The judges awarded Viana’s dish 91 points out of 100. Dorzon’s received 85 points.

With the win, Viana moves into the show’s Sweet 16. He will cook next against Chef Sarah Bradley, with whom he competed on season 16 of Bravo’s “Top Chef.”

“I’m beyond excited, and I want to cook again,” Viana said.

Sarah Griesemer joined the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey in 2003 and has been writing all things food since 2014. Send restaurant tips to [email protected], follow on Instagram at Jersey Shore Eats and subscribe to her weekly newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Food Network: Chef David Viana keeps cooking on TOC