Jersey-born chef Britt Rescigno takes home another win on Food Network's 'Champions'

On March 24, New Jersey-born chef Britt Rescigno took on chef, restaurateur and "Chopped " judge Marc Murphy on Food Network's Tournament of Champions" — and won.

Her dish of butter-braised halibut cheeks with pumpkin puree, braised kale and brown butter-toasted pumpkin seeds earned 84 points to Murphy's 80 for his pumpkin and black truffle bucatini with butter-poached halibut cheeks.

"Never in my life did I think that I would be going against Marc Murphy. He's one of the top chefs in New York City," said Rescigno, who was raised next to her grandparents' New Gretna restaurant, Allen's Clam Bar, and developed a following cooking in restaurants on Long Beach Island. "But it's my time."

The two competed in the third cook of the night, following battles between chefs Amanda Freitag and Tiffani Faison, and Carlos Anthony and Jet Tila (Freitag and Tila won).

More: Dentato's Clam Bar will start 2024 season in new home on Seaside Heights boardwalk

The bracket-style competition challenges chefs to cook with randomly assigned ingredients, equipment and cooking style. The "Randomizer" challenged Rescigno and Murphy to prepare a New Year's Eve dinner-themed dish using halibut cheeks, pumpkin and an immersion blender.

"It's a fantastic Randomizer," Rescigno said. "New Year's Eve dinner, it's elegant, and that's just kind of the food I love to cook."

To drive home the theme, she used champagne in her sauce, and finished the dish with caviar.

Judges Lorena Garcia, Rocco DiSpirito and Jonathan Waxman enjoyed Murphy's dish, but said they would have liked more pumpkin and acid.

More: Freehold NJ hot dog eating contest: Challenge yourself at Jersey Freeze this July 4th

Garcia said Rescigno's dish showed "a tremendous amount of technique" and had a complex and delicious sauce.

"It's a masterpiece of flavor, technique, ingredients," said DeSpirito, who added he found the dish a bit salty.

"I think they really understood my flavors," Rescigno said. "They really understood the whole dish."

Rescigno's win means she'll cook next against Freitag, a chef, cookbook author and "Chopped" judge also raised in New Jersey.

"Her reputation proceeds her — she's so good," Freitag said of Rescigno during Sunday's episode.

More: Grab and go healthy food at The Blonde Shallot, opening new location soon in Sea Girt

To get to this point in the competition, Rescigno — an executive chef-turned-traveling supper club owner who won "Chopped" and bested Bobby Flay on Food Network's "Beat Bobby Flay" with her mother's recipe for chicken and dumplings — beat James Beard award-winning chef Jonathon Sawyer earlier this season.

This is Rescigno's second season on the show. She was a contestant on season four, when she cooked her way from an eighth-seed position to the final four before ultimately losing to Chef Maneet Chauhan in the semifinals.

"This is everything. All this year, I'm cooking for my life," Rescigno said after this weekend's win. "To be able to win ... it's literally going to change my life."

"Tournament of Champions" airs at 8 p.m. Sundays on Food Network.

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 our Jersey Shore Eats newsletter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Food Network: Britt Rescigno wins on Tournament of Champions 2024