Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[spiderpig]

Just finished the Judges Thanksgiving Dinner episode and it was the best GGG ever.  I was salivating over every single dish.

[jcbrown]

3 hours ago, spiderpig said:

Just finished the Judges Thanksgiving Dinner episode and it was the best GGG ever.  I was salivating over every single dish.

I loved it, too. Watched it yesterday and just recovered from the deleted shows on my TiVo so I can watch it again. I think the good relationship between (most of) the judges is one of the things that makes most of the episodes with them so fun to watch.

Edited to add that Melissa D'Arabian is a big exception to the above. And Catherine whatsherface, the blonde woman who is not actually a chef.

Edited November 16, 2018 by jcbrown

[suebee12]

Moved to proper thread!

Edited November 19, 2018 by suebee12

[jcbrown]

@suebee12, you may want to put spoiler tags on the results of the Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge in case there are others like me who haven't seen it yet. I didn't expect to get spoiled for that show in this thread. I agree with everything you said, though.

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, jcbrown said:

@suebee12, you may want to put spoiler tags on the results of the Ultimate Thanksgiving Challenge in case there are others like me who haven't seen it yet. I didn't expect to get spoiled for that show in this thread. I agree with everything you said, though.

Sorry, jcbrown, hanging head in shame! This was the only place I could think to put it. I also read the results online which is how I knew last names.

[suebee12]

Just watched the $12 challenge and boy were those chefs good! Who can think that fast? I did question steak for $3 dollars plus a little and shrimp for $3.11 but still they came up with some great sounding dishes! I liked all of the people on tonight and hope we get to see some of them again. I think the runner-up might have won if she had made a salad and had bread on the side but gee, they only had $12 so what could one expect? I did like how the winner saved some money back so she could get something additional after she had thought about it. When she had $4 left over, I wondered why she wasn't using all of her money but then she showed me. I even liked that the winner didn't have to run all over the store...wonder if that was due to her nerve injury? I was yelling, OreganO to her...even I got that one quickly! All in all, a very enjoyable show.

[mlp]

I enjoyed it too.  I think my favorite part though was seeing that Eric Greenspan finally shaved his awful black stubble.  I've always liked him but I found him hard to look at with all those whiskers on his double chins and neck.  He looks MUCH better.

[Jaded]

I liked that the episode came down to the two women. More often there's only one competing against three men and the show ends up being a sausage fest competition wise because the women usually get knocked off first. It was nice that the $12 was the only snag put upon them and there weren't any mandatory hinky ingredients that had to be used.

Edited December 21, 2018 by Jaded

[Jesse]

The running around for the $20K has always bugged me, so I always love it when they dispense with it! And Jamie (?) was so great at this game in particular!  But I bet Guy brings the other finalist back, because he was totally into her.

[roughing it]

Watched the DDD/GGG semi-finals? last night.  I did not want southern wrestlers/chefs to win.  I couldn't stand the wife's accent.  She called apples, "opples".  My husband asked, "What the hell are opples?"  Didn't know that was a southern thing.  Happy for team New Mexico, although I think they won more because of the other teams' mistakes than their own dishes.

[jcbrown]

On 1/10/2019 at 10:47 AM, roughing it said:

Watched the DDD/GGG semi-finals? last night.  I did not want southern wrestlers/chefs to win.  I couldn't stand the wife's accent.  She called apples, "opples".  My husband asked, "What the hell are opples?"  Didn't know that was a southern thing.  Happy for team New Mexico, although I think they won more because of the other teams' mistakes than their own dishes.

Just watching this now.  I honestly did not understand what she was trying to say. Opple waffles and chicken that she was not going to put in the fraaaaarrr served with coconut serp. They were the most annoying team, followed by the somewhat dim but affable mother-daughter team. I liked the team that went home first the best. I need good people on these episodes to try to offset the awfulness that is Robert Irvine.

Edited January 16, 2019 by jcbrown
I forgot about the serp

[roughing it]

The team that won (Colletti's ???) I thought were the weakest team of the 3.  But they are good friends with Guy, so...…. shenanigans??

[Jaded]

5 hours ago, roughing it said:

The team that won (Colletti's ???) I thought were the weakest team of the 3.  But they are good friends with Guy, so...…. shenanigans??

It seemed like it. I was surprised they won because like you I didn't think they were the ones who should have been chosen to win either.

Edited January 17, 2019 by Jaded

[Maverick]

Being a Friend of Guy never hurts you on this show.  The other team had no shot.  Aside from not being a Guy crony, they were gay. And those people just weird him out. 

[jcbrown]

I liked the two women the best on this episode, too. And though I can't cite sources at the moment, I have read that Guy is not the homophobe the interwebs purports him to be. I mean, he's friends with the godawful Robert Irvine and that is damn near unforgivable but I have read pieces quoting those who work with him that claim he is a good human being and not homophobic.

Edited January 18, 2019 by jcbrown

[suebee12]

Is anyone else watching Winner Cake All with little big head(and her girls?) It is evident that enough time is not given to the contestants to do a really great cake but some of the winners have had good cakes. The connection to GGG? Last night the bakers had to make a cake for the 250th episode of the show. Guy didn't pick out the winning cake but he sent Aarti Sequeria and his son Hunter to judge. Two of the cakes were decorated nicely but I think Hunter and Aarti picked the right cake. The best tasting cake didn't win because it fell apart. I felt so bad for that team but even if the cake hadn't fallen apart, I don't think it would have won because the decorating lacked a lot except for the "red light special" part. It will be fun to see if they include the party on the actual show!!

[mlp]

Guy is really working on making Hunter a TV presence isn't he?  I wasn't very surprised by his appearance on Winner Cake All because it made some sense but then Guy had him sit in as a judge on the regular show.  I don't like to see a kid barely out of his teens given equal status to legitimate chefs but, hey, he's better than Robert Irvine so there's that.

[HappyDancex2]

I’m really starting to enjoy this show.  I don’t when new episodes are on but I’m enjoying catching up on the blocks of programming.  Makes it a little difficult to comment on this forum though unfortunately.

[jcbrown]

12 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I’m really starting to enjoy this show.  I don’t when new episodes are on but I’m enjoying catching up on the blocks of programming.  Makes it a little difficult to comment on this forum though unfortunately.

I really like it too. It's not life-changing by any means but it's almost always a pleasant hour.

[mlp]

Quote

  I don’t when new episodes are on

Wednesday nights at 9E/8C.

[HappyDancex2]

I must be hungry and carb starved because the pasta round really made me starving!  I guess cheap equates to pasta forward dishes.  Is the chef who won FNS named Christian?  He cleaned up nicely from his previous appearances.  Aaron from a different episode did as well...they look less haggard for professional judges.  I prefer judges to be soap forward and grooming forward in their presentation.

Nice seeing Antonia back....she always gives TV worthy comments that aren’t just flavor forward.  

The chef who did fried chicken in the decadent dishes round actually said that since fried chicken was heavy he was going to lighten it up.  LOL  That’s stupid forward.  I’m going to steal the idea of star fruit aioli though.

Q’s bread pudding sounded awesome but the final product looked so greasy and cholesterol forward to me.  His name isn’t very letter forward though.

I’m going to copy the green curry technique that guy used because they were raving about his broth and his base was that Thai kitchen stuff you can buy anyplace.  Can you imagine if you could use actual mussels that were fresh forward instead of frozen forward?  The broth would be even more depth forward.

[mlp]

Quote

 Is the chef who won FNS named Christian?  He cleaned up nicely from his previous appearances.  Aaron from a different episode did as well...they look less haggard for professional judges.  I prefer judges to be soap forward and grooming forward in their presentation.

I was literally LOL at your entire post.  I was going to say the same thing about Christian.  I'm not sure what was different but he looked clean and well-groomed for the first time.  He still needs to wear a t-shirt though.  I also agree about Aaron May.  I've always liked him but he usually looked a bit rough.  The last time I saw him on a new episode, he had trimmed his beard and hair and looked ever so much better.

Robert Irvine seems to have toned down his act quite a bit.  If I didn't already loathe him, I would find him tolerable.

[HappyDancex2]

35 minutes ago, mlp said:

I was literally LOL at your entire post.  I was going to say the same thing about Christian.  I'm not sure what was different but he looked clean and well-groomed for the first time.  He still needs to wear a t-shirt though.  I also agree about Aaron May.  I've always liked him but he usually looked a bit rough.  The last time I saw him on a new episode, he had trimmed his beard and hair and looked ever so much better.

Robert Irvine seems to have toned down his act quite a bit.  If I didn't already loathe him, I would find him tolerable.

We have to be birds of a feather forward because I thought the same thing about Robert Irvine but just couldn’t capture the feels.  It seemed like someone hit him with an elephant tranquilizer dart and it was just enough to take the edge off.  

[Maverick]

I think Christian let his hair grow out, which makes him look more like a grown up and less like a retired grandpa roaming around in sweater. 

[HappyDancex2]

Does anyone know anything about Aarti?  She used to make a big deal about being diagnosed to have to maintain a gluten free diet and she’s clearly abandoned it.  I can’t find any info on why she decided to stop.  It supposedly was a medical diagnosed issue as she first explained it.  These diagnoses don’t usually have a “I think you are cured now” element to them.

I have to admit at the time I thought she was jumping on the bandwagon.  If that turned out to be the case then I’m irritated.  Watching her eat globs of bread and pasta while judging this show makes me wonder every single time.

[HappyDancex2]

I'm watching the Global Games episode and it seems like Korean cooking is kimchi and gochuchang and Mexican cooking is red and green sauces.  I think the timed food cooking competition nature of these shows just boxes everyone in to basic strong flavors.   I must be watching too many cooking competitions because now I look at those cans of chipotle in sauce at the grocery store and wonder if I should keep a can in my pantry at all times LOL

The food looked delicious though.

[HappyDancex2]

I’m calling BS on Rocco not winning the Frutti De Mare round.  That technique was awesome...totally stealing that.  Never thought of being able to do that for a smaller meal.

loved Alex salting the buns too...she is so smart and talented.  That woman loves Japanese mayo too LOL

There is fake gluten free Aarti eating tons of gluten again....yeesh 

Eric greenie Greenspan is fun to watch but he sweats too much.  Good TV personality though.  

The look on Rocco’s face when Antonia emptied the karo syrup into the vita mixer for her ice cream was hilarious.  As was Guys when Greenie emptied the entire bottle of maple syrup into his canned bacon syrup.

[Jaded]

I didn't mind the winners of this latest episode. It was nice to see that the women weren't the first to go which seems to happen on this show more times then not. My favorite part though was the look on Carl's face when he realized that it was his team who were being sent home first. It was absolutely glorious. 
 

 

Edited April 18, 2019 by Jaded

[stitcher73]

I watched a show from 2017 (Ithink) yesterday ;  is Justin Warner transitioning?  He was wearing pink glasses and had his hair slicked back in sort of a bouffant.  

[mlp]

Quote

  is Justin Warner transitioning? 

I very much doubt it.  He's married and he's always been on the kooky side.  I think he just does stuff like that for effect.

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I very much doubt it.  He's married and he's always been on the kooky side.  I think he just does stuff like that for effect.

I have grown to really like Justin! He seems to be a great chef and he does a lot for the area in NY that he has his restaurant. And his excitement when he won the tournament he was in on GGG was so much fun!  One thing I am glad that he has "dropped" is the lip coloring he used to do...that was a bit over the top for me!!

[mlp]

Quote

I have grown to really like Justin!

I have too.  I couldn't stand him when he was on FNS and when he was making the rounds right after he won.  When he matured and I paid more attention to him, I realized that he's highly intelligent with a sense of humor.  I'm happy to see him now.

[jcbrown]

I was surprised to enjoy the moms episode that aired last night. I don't like the slightly patronizing tone some FN often takes to the mom/grandma shows but I thought Guy did well with the tone on this one.

I love Damaris and Jet as judges, so that helped a lot.

[suebee12]

2 hours ago, jcbrown said:

I love Damaris and Jet as judges, so that helped a lot. 

I have also loved Michael Voltaggio on the shows he has been on. He says nice things but does point out what was lacking in such a nice way, you don't mind. I still kinda' cringe at his tattoos but try to overlook them.

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, suebee12 said:

I have also loved Michael Voltaggio on the shows he has been on. He says nice things but does point out what was lacking in such a nice way, you don't mind. I still kinda' cringe at his tattoos but try to overlook them.

I feel exactly the same way about his tattoos and I also think he's a good judge. I just get such a kick out of Damaris' dorky enthusiasm and Jet's sense of humor.

[Yeah No]

On 5/6/2019 at 4:13 PM, suebee12 said:

I have grown to really like Justin! He seems to be a great chef and he does a lot for the area in NY that he has his restaurant. And his excitement when he won the tournament he was in on GGG was so much fun!  One thing I am glad that he has "dropped" is the lip coloring he used to do...that was a bit over the top for me!!

Last I heard he closed his Brooklyn restaurant in 2015 and couldn't find anything on any new one.  But I've grown to like him too in spite of his quirkiness.  Lately he's been helping develop recipes for the Ninja Foodi and has been a part of at least one of their infomercials.  I own the Foodi and love it, BTW.

Regarding seeing Damaris on this most recent episode, I agree, it was good to see her and wish we saw more of her on FN.

[suebee12]

56 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Last I heard he closed his Brooklyn restaurant in 2015 and couldn't find anything on any new one.

I guess when he mentions his restaurant, it is the past tense...I did find this interesting interview with him:

http://www.grubstreet.com/2015/10/justin-warner-interview.html

[suebee12]

Wow, it has been a bit dead around here recently! Last night's show was a really good one...Hero Chefs...All of their food sounded so good...even things I don't like, like hominy. I grew up in the Richmond area so I was rooting for Jason, but they all had great back stories and any one of them winning would have been good! Love the idea of Jon Bon Jovi's restaurant, hated the fires in Paradise and all of the trouble in Puerto Rico that caused these chefs to have to fight to have food available for people who are so needy and in some cases starving. Glad that Guy gave the "losers" a donation also. You might not like him but he has a good heart and tries to help when he can.

[mlp]

10 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

Glad that Guy gave the "losers" a donation also. You might not like him but he has a good heart and tries to help when he can.

I don't like Guy's DDD persona or his appearance but I do enjoy GGG.  I know that he was personally affected by the fires in California and that he did a lot to help both responders and people who were burned out.  I really liked the part at the end where the judges were loading up carts full of stuff for the winner to take back to help feed fire victims.

[jcbrown]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I don't like Guy's DDD persona or his appearance but I do enjoy GGG.  I know that he was personally affected by the fires in California and that he did a lot to help both responders and people who were burned out.  I really liked the part at the end where the judges were loading up carts full of stuff for the winner to take back to help feed fire victims.

I really enjoy this show and I loved this episode. I wondered if Guy met the chef who won when they both were serving food to the first responders and evacuees from Paradise during the Camp Fire, as I know he was up there helping, too.

[suebee12]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

I don't like Guy's DDD persona

I cannot watch DDD. The only time I have watched it was when a diner in the next town north of us was on it. I truly do not understand why someone wants to watch other people eat and Guy shovel food in his mouth but one of my best friends think that DDD is great. I like how GGG has some aspects of Supermarket Sweep plus the fun of watching mostly good cooks cook. I also like the judges most of the time and it is interesting to hear their comments.

[spiderpig]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:53 AM, mlp said:

I don't like Guy's DDD persona or his appearance but I do enjoy GGG.  I know that he was personally affected by the fires in California and that he did a lot to help both responders and people who were burned out.  I really liked the part at the end where the judges were loading up carts full of stuff for the winner to take back to help feed fire victims.

Call me sentimental (no one else does) but I love the way Guy doesn't eliminate charitable people in his rounds and gives them all a donation to their cause.  And when he said "We don't need to have the run for the money - here's $20k"

Then all the judges loaded up carts for the hungry.  I was in tears and I am about as badass as you can get.

[zillabreeze]

I love this show.  So few left that actually focus on food instead of producer driven drama!

The judging is interesting to me, too as I usually pick up a little tip here and there.

The only time I groan out loud is when I see Robert Irvine show up.  He's just a turd in the punchbowl and I'll never understand why Food Network keeps trying to make him a thing.

[suebee12]

9 hours ago, zillabreeze said:

The only time I groan out loud is when I see Robert Irvine show up.  He's just a turd in the punchbowl and I'll never understand why Food Network keeps trying to make him a thing.

I totally agree. I know he is one of Guy's friends but please spare us! BTW, did all episodes of Kitchen Impossible air? I didn't watch it but it seems as though it just disappeared...and not too soon in my opinion!

[zillabreeze]

4 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

did all episodes of Kitchen Impossible air?

I guess.  They kept trying to tweek the formula and it just fell flat. 

Restaurant's dated, Robert spits food out like a toddler, Robert screams like a toddler, Robert makes one dish that is nothing special, Robert uses a sledge hammer to show off his 'roided arms, paint gets slung around, everyone sings "Hosanna Roberto", six months later resto goes belly up anyway.   

What's not to love?

[Jaded]

Restaurant Impossible is coming back this Summer apparently.

[zillabreeze]

8 minutes ago, Jaded said:

Restaurant Impossible is coming back this Summer apparently.

Ugh.  On my TV,  the  restaurant makeover thing is done.  There were so many for a time (and hotels), that I burned out on all of them.  Now, I notice John Taffer has run out of bars and gone into the marriage makeover business🤔.  I think the well has run dry.

Whatever the appeal of Irvine is supposed to be, I don't get it.  

[mlp]

Quote

Restaurant Impossible is coming back this Summer apparently.

I've been seeing a lot of previews for it with women crying and begging for Robert to come and help them.  Barf.  Robert has been more tolerable than he used to be the last couple times I saw him on GGG but I still loathe him.  I barely tolerate the commercials.  No way will I be watching the show.

[zillabreeze]

2 minutes ago, mlp said:

I've been seeing a lot of previews for it with women crying and begging for Robert to come and help them.

When they do those deep kitchen steam cleans and buy new equipment, that's pretty spendy.  I guess if your resto is already swirling the drain, that sort of thing could help even if you have to sell.

Same goes for paint, floors, furniture, etc.

Here's my problem.  If you had to have some meathead gym rat tell you on national TV that rat shit and rotten food are bad... Kinda not trusting you enough to go eat there after the cameras leave either.  

[LexieLily]

https://people.com/food/chef-carl-ruiz-dies/