Guy's Grocery Games

Guy's Grocery Games
Genre	Reality, Cooking, Game show
Starring	Guy Fieri
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	4
No. of episodes	51
Production
Running time	60 Minutes
Production company	Relativity Television
Original release
Network	Food Network
Release	October 20, 2013 (2013-10-20) – present

Guy's Grocery Games (often nicknamed Triple G) is an American reality-based cooking television game show hosted by Guy Fieri on Food Network. Each episode features four chefs competing in a three-round elimination contest, cooking food with ingredients found in a supermarket grocery store ("Flavortown Market") as Fieri poses unusual challenges to them. The winning chef can collect up to $20,000 in a shopping spree bonus round.

Format

In each round, Guy assigns a dish and issues a challenge to the chefs. Then they have 30 minutes to shop for ingredients from the market, prepare, and plate their dishes. The chefs must cook their dishes and complete four platings (three for the judges and one "beauty plate") before time runs out. At the end of each round, the judges taste and evaluate the dishes and select one chef to be "checked out" - eliminated from the game with no winnings. The judges are introduced by Guy during the first round. The judges sat on two judging tables, one near Aisle 1 when the chefs are shopping and cooking and one near Aisle 9 during judgings and eliminations.

The winning chef advances to the bonus round, "Guy's Shopping Spree," in which he/she has two minutes to find one specific item in each of the market's 10 aisles and put it in his/her cart. The chef may pass on an item and return to that aisle later if time allows. Each item found is worth $2,000, for a potential top prize of $20,000.

Chefs must be 18 years or older to appear on the show.

Challenges

A wide variety of challenges are used in the game, typically involving restrictions on ingredient number/type. Examples include:

Aisle Down: The aisle containing one or more key ingredients is blocked off by police tape, but the chefs do not discover this until they arrive at the aisle.

Budget Battle: The chefs are given a limited amount of money to spend on items and must ring up their choices at a cash register to confirm that they are within their budget. They are given coupons to help them save money on certain items.

Cart/Station Swap: Round 3 only. Once the chefs have their ingredients, Fieri orders them to swap carts or stations, so that each must use the other's ingredients.

Culinary Quiz: On some episodes, Fieri reads a series of clues to an item in the market. The first chef to bring back that item wins an advantage for the next round, such as a head start or exclusive access to certain aisles/items.

Express Lane: The chefs may use no more than seven items and must go through the market's express lane checkout to confirm that they have not exceeded this limit.

Flip This Dish: Fieri gives the chefs an ingredient list for one type of dish, then requires them to incorporate those items into a different type (e.g. using cherry pie ingredients in a chicken dinner).

Grocery List: Each chef is given a list of items that must all be incorporated into that round's dish. The items are typically not prepared together, similar to the mystery ingredient basket on Chopped, another Food Network cooking competition show.

Keep It Sample: The chefs must incorporate ingredients from sample tables located throughout the store in their dish.

Musical Carts: Round 3 only. The chefs must go to a crazy cart when the music stops, leaving the one they have started packing and use the crazy cart by the end of shopping.

No Carts Allowed: The chefs may use only the ingredients they can carry by hand in one trip through the market.

One Ingredient Per Aisle: Round 3 only. The chefs may use only one ingredient from each aisle from 10 to 1.

Red Light Special: During the round, one item in the store is marked with a sign and a flashing red light, and the chefs must get that item and incorporate it into their dish. The item is typically not associated with the assigned dish, such as beef jerky for a dessert.

Time-Out: Used when pairs of chefs are competing. One chef in each pair must leave the station and write instructions for the other on a chalkboard, without speaking.

Un-gredient List: The chefs are forbidden to use any of the ingredients on a list given by Fieri.

Special challenges and episodes

In "Holly, Jolly Meals", a special box could be picked up in the bonus round for an additional $5,000, bringing the top prize to $25,000.

"Moms Know Best" was a Mother's Day challenge in which four mothers competed and Fieri's mother made a guest 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.[1] 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. 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 #
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 #
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 #
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 #
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
52	15	Battle America!	April 26, 2015	GK0410H

External links

• Official website