Guy's Grocery Games
| Guy's Grocery Games | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Reality, Cooking, Game show |
| Starring | Guy Fieri |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 4 |
| No. of episodes | 51 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 Minutes |
| Production company(s) | Relativity Television |
| Release | |
| Original network | Food Network |
| Original release | October 20, 2013 – present |
| External links | |
| Official Website | |
Guy's Grocery Games (often nicknamed Triple G) is an American reality-based cooking television game show hosted by Guy Fieri on Food Network. It features four chefs competing in a supermarket grocery store ("Flavortown Market"), and there are special twists and challenges. There are 3 rounds, and one chef is "checked out" after each round. The last person remaining can win up to $20,000 in a shopping spree.
Format
The episode starts with Guy introducing 4 chefs and telling them the rules of the game. They each get their carts. Guy pretends to forget to tell them about the challenge. They have time ranging from 20 minutes to 35 minutes (usually 30 minutes) to shop, cook a dish and complete four platings (three for the judges and one "beauty plate") before time runs out. The judges are introduced by Guy during the first round. Images of "Flavortown Market" are shown before the first judging. During some rounds, a culinary quiz occurs in which a chef can get an advantage in the next round, e.g. a small head start, being allowed to get an extra item or shop in an extra aisle depending on the challenge. The winner gets to go on a $uper $hopping $pree where they get 10 items (1 from each aisle) that are worth $2,000 each, adding up to a grand total of $20,000.
Challenges
There are several types of challenges that can occur in each round. Below are some of them.
Aisle Down: The aisle containing a key ingredient to the assigned dish is sealed off by police tape. This is revealed when the chefs arrive at the aisle, followed by Guy announcing over the loudspeaker that the aisle is down due to a faked "disaster" in that aisle(e.g. a "power outage" in the refrigeration aisle, actually the lights being turned off in that aisle).
Express Lane: The chefs are limited to only 7 items and must confirm it by going through the "Express Lane".
Budget Battle: The chefs are given a limited amount of money to spend on items, and they must go ring up their items at the register to ensure they are within budget. Guy also gives them coupons to help them get some of the items.
Red Light Special: Guy will announce a "Red Light Special" on an item in the store, indicated by an adjacent sign and red light, and the chefs must incorporate that item into their dish. The item is usually an ingredient that is not traditionally used in the required dish.
Flip This Dish: Guy gives the chefs a list of ingredients for a dessert. Then he'll require the chefs to incorporate those ingredients into a savory dish(e.g. incorporating ingredients for a cherry pie into a steak dinner).
1 Ingredient Per Aisle: Round 3 only. The chefs are required to use only 1 ingredient from each aisle.
Keep It Sample: The Chefs must incorporate ingredients from sample tables located throughout the store in their dish.
Cart/Station Swap: Round 3 only. After the chefs grab their ingredients, Guy will make them swap carts or stations, requiring the chefs to work with their opponents ingredients.
Un-gredient List: A viewer submitted challenge. Guy will give the chefs a list of key ingredients for the assigned dish. However, the chefs are not allowed to use the ingredients on the list.
Grocery List: Each chef is given a list of usually 4 items. Each item on the list must be used in their dish. The items are not usually paired together, similar to the mystery baskets on Chopped.
Special challenges and episodes
In "Holly, Jolly Meals", there was a special box in the shopping spree that was worth $5,000 increasing the max total to $25,000.
"Moms Know Best" is a special Mother's Day challenge where 4 moms competed and Guy's mom made an appearance.
"Grocery Grillin'" was a special episode (dubbed Guy's Grocery Grilling Games or Quadruple G) for Food Network's Grilling Week where the contestants had to make grilled dishes.
In "Food Network Stars Take Over Flavortown", former Food Network Star winners Jeff Mauro, Aaron McCargo Jr., Melissa d'Arabian, and Justin Warner competed for charities of their choice. Aaron won with $20,000 and the runners-up' charities each got $3,500.
"Food Network All-Stars Take to the Aisles" has Chopped judges Marc Murphy and Alex Guarnaschelli, Iron Chef Cat Cora, and TV Host Marcel Vigneron competing. The winner was Alex with $18,000 and the runners-up each got $5,000 for their charities.
In "Grandma's Grocery Games", Guy's mother appeared on the show alongside the four Grandmas. The winner Celinda was able to take home $18,000 to her grandkids. Food Network employee and former Nickelodeon host Marc Summers served as a guest judge in this episode.
From November 30 to December 27, 2015, a 5 part "Tournament Of Champions" took place featuring 16 returning champions. Like most tournaments on Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen, the 16 chefs compete 4 at a time in 4 heats. The winner of each heat won a $20,000 Shopping Spree and returned for the finals for a chance to win a trophy and another $20,000 Shopping Spree for a total grand prize of up to $40,000.
Starting January 3, 2016, and continuing for 4 more episodes is a "Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives Tournament" featuring 16 chefs who have appeared with Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Like the Tournament Of Champions, 4 chefs played over 4 heats, with the winner of each heat earning a $20,000 Shopping Spree and returning for the finals for a chance at a trophy and another $20,000 Shopping Spree for a grand prize of up to $40,000.
Beginning April 3, 2016, and continuing for 4 more episodes is a "Redemption Tournament" featuring 16 former losing chefs seeking redemption and competing to win both a trophy and a grand prize of up to $40,000. Round 1 of heat 2 marked the 1st instance on the show where a chefs food was inadmissible from blood. To compensate, Guy gave the other 3 chefs the option to either eliminate the affected chef, or allow all 4 chefs to advance, resulting in a double-elimination for round 2. The chefs chose the 2nd option.
Notable Contestants
Lenny McNab, the winner of Season 10 of Food Network Star was in the Episode "The Ol' Switcheroo .
Set
Season 1 was shot inside of an actual grocery store, Field's Market in West Hills, California. For Season 2, the market was built in a 15,500 square foot warehouse in Santa Rosa, CA. It was built over two weeks and stocked with over $700,000 of food.[1] After each episode, the perishable items were donated to local food banks and local farmers; non-perishable items are being kept in the event Food Network orders another season beyond Season 3.
Episodes
Season 1
| No. in series | No. in season | Episode Title | Original Air Date | Episode/Production #[2] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Wild in the Aisles | October 20, 2013 | GK0103H |
| 2 | 2 | Frozen Feats | October 27, 2013 | GK0102H |
| 3 | 3 | The Ol' Switcheroo | November 3, 2013 | GK0106H |
| 4 | 4 | Surf's Up | November 10, 2013 | GK0104H |
| 5 | 5 | Feisty Fiesta | November 17, 2013 | GK0105H |
| 6 | 6 | Cart Your Engines | November 24, 2013 | GK0101H |
| 7 | 7 | It's Egg-cellent | December 1, 2013 | GK0109H |
| 8 | 8 | Five Star Frozen Feud | December 8, 2013 | GK0110H |
| 9 | 9 | Holly, Jolly Meals | December 15, 2013 | GK0112H |
| 10 | 10 | Game Day Rush | January 5, 2014 | GK0107H |
| 11 | 11 | Yes, Chefs Can | January 12, 2014 | GK0108H |
| 12 | 12 | Cart Wars | January 19, 2014 | GK0111H |
Season 2
| No. in series | No. in season | Episode Title | Original Air Date | Episode/Production #[3] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 1 | Moms Know Best | May 11, 2014 | GK0205H |
| 14 | 2 | Caught in the Middle | May 18, 2014 | GK0203H |
| 15 | 3 | Grocery Grillin' | May 25, 2014 | GK0208H |
| 16 | 4 | Cut the Cheese | June 8, 2014 | GK0209H |
| 17 | 5 | Free Samples | June 15, 2014 | GK0202H |
| 18 | 6 | Marshmallow Madness | June 22, 2014 | GK0305H |
| 19 | 7 | Produce and Cons | June 29, 2014 | GK0210H |
| 20 | 8 | If at First You Don't Succeed, Fry, Fry Again | July 6, 2014 | GK0312H |
| 21 | 9 | Cart to Table | July 13, 2014 | GK0304H |
| 22 | 10 | Weight for It! | July 20, 2014 | GK0211H |
Season 3
| No. in series | No. in season | Episode Title | Original Air Date | Episode/Production #[4] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 | 1 | Around the World in Three Carts | July 27, 2014 | GK0302H |
| 24 | 2 | Patiently Weighing | August 3, 2014 | GK0207H) |
| 25 | 3 | Food Network All Stars take to the Aisles | August 10, 2014 | GK0310H |
| 26 | 4 | Triple D Takes on Triple G | September 28, 2014 | GK0307H |
| 27 | 5 | Aisle of Terror | October 5, 2014 | GK0313H |
| 28 | 6 | Pasta La Vista, Baby | October 12, 2014 | GK0213H |
| 29 | 7 | Fan-Tastic Food | October 19, 2014 | GK0311H |
| 30 | 8 | Not Going to Budge It | October 26, 2014 | GK0308H |
| 32 | 10 | Thanksgiving Grocery Trot | November 9, 2014 | GK0306H |
| 33 | 11 | Aisle and Error | November 16, 2014 | GK0206H |
| 34 | 12 | Pressed for Time | November 23, 2014 | GK0301H |
| 35 | 13 | The Weighting Game | November 30, 2014 | GK0309H |
| 36 | 14 | Let Them Eat Toast | December 7, 2014 | GK0204H |
| 37 | 15 | Dashing Through the Aisles | December 14, 2014 | GK0212H |
Season 4
| No. in series | No. in season | Episode Title | Original Air Date | Episode/Production #[5] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 38 | 1 | Family Style: Kids Rule! | January 4, 2015 | GK0401H |
| 39 | 2 | Family Style: Sibling Rivalry | January 11, 2015 | GK0403H |
| 40 | 3 | Family Style: Food Feud | January 18, 2015 | GK0404H |
| 41 | 4 | Family Style: Kids' Choice | January 25, 2015 | GK0402H |
| 42 | 5 | Love is in the Aisle | February 8, 2015 | GK0411H |
| 43 | 6 | Something Spells Good | February 15, 2015 | GK0412H |
| 44 | 7 | Chefs Ham It Up | February 22, 2015 | GK0408H |
| 45 | 8 | Triple D Takes on Triple G...Again! | March 1, 2015 | GK0415H |
| 46 | 9 | Don't Skimp on the Shrimp | March 8, 2015 | GK0407H |
| 47 | 10 | James Beard Nominees on Triple G | March 15, 2015 | GK0414H |
| 48 | 11 | Music and Meatloaf | March 22, 2015 | GK0405H |
| 49 | 12 | Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner | March 29, 2015 | GK0406H |
| 50 | 13 | Chefs Take the High/Low Road | April 5, 2015 | GK0413H |
| 51 | 14 | Triple G a la No Cart | April 12, 2015 | GK0409H |
| ? | ? | Battle America! | ? | GK0410H |
References
- ↑ "Flavortown Market Built from Scratch: Guy's Grocery Games". Food Network. Retrieved 15 June 2014.
- ↑ "Guy's Grocery Games Episodes: Season 1". Food Network. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Guy's Grocery Games Episodes: Season 2". Food Network. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Guy's Grocery Games Episodes: Season 3". Food Network. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Guy's Grocery Games Episodes: Season 4". Food Network. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
External links
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