Adam Greenberg, of Sparrow Pizza Bar in West Hartford and Tacobarn in Newtown, is a contestant on Guy Fieri’s ‘Tournament of Champions.’

By Ronni Newton

It’s March – the season where “bracketology” is a word in common use – but while West Hartford chef Adam Greenberg may also be watching college basketball, there’s another bracket that’s at the top of his mind.

Greenberg, currently the executive chef at Sparrow Pizza Bar in his hometown of West Hartford as well as the recently-opened Tacobarn in Newtown, has proven success in Food Network competitions – four times a winner on “Chopped,” he “beat Bobby Flay,” and he was also on “Guy’s Grocery Games” and Alex vs. America. Prior to returning to Connecticut, Greenberg had opened the acclaimed restaurant Coconut Club in Washington, DC, but it closed amid to the pandemic.

This season, he’s putting his toolbox of skills to the test against other previous winners on the seventh season of Guy Fieri’s “Tournament of Champions” – a bracket-style competition taking place on the Food Network.

“It’s the biggest Food Network show of the year,” Greenberg said in an interview with We-Ha.com. Fieri hosts the show.

Because there are so many talented chefs involved this year, the competition started with a qualifying round on Sunday, Feb. 15, with 16 chefs vying for the final eight positions in the main bracket – which features a total of 32 chefs in four divisions. Greenberg was thrilled to receive a bid without having to go through a play-in round.

Greenberg is a No. 6 seed in Division B, and his first opponent is No. 3 seed Kevin Lee. According to his official bio on the Food Network, Lee has “appeared in a number of Food Network competitions, including Alex vs. America and Beat Bobby Flay. He’s also won Guy’s Grocery Games. Kevin has previously competed in Tournament of Champions and currently owns two restaurants in Oklahoma City. In 2025, he became a James Beard semifinalist for ‘Best Chef: Southwest.'”

To make it even more interesting, the top seeds in each division are “food world icons,” and their identity is kept a mystery until they enter the arena – a physical arena in California where the show was filmed before a live audience of about 300 people.

“Every battle will be head-to-head; every spin of the randomizer will keep competitors on their toes and viewers on the edge of their seats, and every dish is make-or-break. After eight weeks and 31 grueling head-to-head battles, one talented chef will win it all and be crowned champion, taking home the coveted Tournament of Champions belt and a $150,000 cash prize,” states a press release about the program provided by the Food Network.

“It’s true bracket-style. Win and you move on, lose and you go home,” said Greenberg. “I’m humbled to be asked to be on it,” he added.

Episodes air every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on the Food Network, and are streamed the following day on HBO Max and Discovery+. With the qualifying round completed in February, the Tournament of Champions premiered on March 1, but the first round takes place in several episodes. Greenberg’s first round competition will air on Sunday, March 8.

“Coming from West Hartford, it’s a big deal for me,” Greenberg told We-Ha.com. Many of the chefs are from major markets, but the visibility he has gotten helps put the town on the map. Resident Tyler Anderson, owner of the award-winning Millwright’s in Simsbury, has also had success in food competitions, most recently as runner-up on BBQ Brawl last summer, Greenberg noted.

“To get to represent these restaurants, my town, it’s just awesome,” said Greenberg.

In each episode, “the randomizer” dictates what each chef needs to use in preparing their dish. The choices can be a protein, produce, piece of equipment, style, or a wild-card option. The chefs are scored based on taste (50%), use of the randomizer (30%), and plating/presentation (20%), Greenberg explained.

“It’s a blind judge show,” he said. “They are honestly just going by what is put in front of them.” The judges have no idea who cooked what, but after the scoring they do get to see the chefs’ reactions.

“The competitions are so fun to be a part of,” he said, but it’s not just about winning or losing. He said it’s just as much fun is being around so many great chefs, including Fieri.

“Guy Fieri is the nicest human ever,” Greenberg said. He spends time in advance with all of the contestants, and really gets to know them. “You feel the energy,” he said.

“He always says, ‘Go be memorable,'” Greenberg said of Fieri.

“Year after year, chefs up their gameplay and strategy, so we need to constantly raise the stakes to keep the competition next level,” Fieri said in a statement. “This year, we put four industry icons in the top seed, immediately putting targets on their backs for the win-hungry competitors. And that alone is the secret ingredient for the most epic season yet.”

In addition to Greenberg and the four mystery entrants, other competing chefs include Adam Sobel, Britt Rescigno, Bryan Voltaggio, Carlos Anthony, Claudette Zepeda, Dale Talde, David Viana, Jet Tila, Joe Sasto, Jonathon Sawyer, Kaleena Bliss, Karen Akunowicz, Kevin Lee, Lee Anne Wong, Marcel Vigneron, Nini Nguyen, Sara Bradley, Shirley Chung, and Tobias Dorzon.

“’Tournament of Champions’ has been Food Network’s top-rated series for five years running and each season we up the ante making the competition more intense than the last,” Betsy Ayala, Head of Content, Food, Warner Bros. Discovery, said in a statement. “With the surprises we have in store this season and the extraordinary level of talent competing, we can’t wait to share this next-level, high-adrenaline competition with viewers.”

The final battle will take place on Sunday, April 19.

Women have been the winners the past six seasons, said Greenberg. Could that change this year? Greenberg can’t say a word.

According to the Food Network press release, “Fans can join the conversation on social platforms using #TournamentOfChampions to chat with the chefs and get sneak peeks before every episode. And across Food Network’s Facebook and Instagram, find an insider’s look at the competition, as well as all-new videos with Guy, the competitors and the judges every week. Get to know the competitors, keep up with the latest TOC news, read winner interviews and more on FoodNetwork.com.

And no matter the result of Tournament of Champions, Greenberg is part of another Guy Fieri-hosted competition – “Flavortown Food Fight.” It was filmed a few weeks later in front of a live audience on the “Flavortown” set a few hours outside San Francisco. That program premiered March 4, and Greenberg’s episode will air on April 1, and look for more information to come as the date nears.

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