Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[scarletine]

Oh no...that's so sad. He's was always one of my favorites. Lost him FAR too young. 😞

[Yeah No]

I'm just heartbroken and in shock over the news about Carl's death.  He was an original, funny, and very talented.  It will be very hard to watch any reruns with him on them from now on.....

[libgirl2]

I always enjoyed watching him and his death was a complete shock. RIP. 

[LazyToaster]

Awwww, I'm so sad about Carl as well.  It seems like he was well liked by his fellow chefs.  

[Iboatedhere]

Because Twitter is constantly messing with my timeline and doesn't always let me see tweets as they're posted I didn't know about Carl's death until yesterday. I saw a Yahoo news story about how Guy dedicated Wednesday's episode to him and when I got home from work I watched it right away. 

It was a lovely tribute and you could really feel home much Carl had filming it. Everyone joking around about how much Chef Zach looked like Carl and then the zoom in on Carl's serious face watch Zach work as they went to commercial break along with the ominous music that played over it. Hilarious. As was Carl's "Hate it!" as he took his first bite of Zach's food. 

Carl always made me laugh on his show and as soon as I saw him as a judge or a contestant I knew it was gonna be a fun episode. 

[libgirl2]

2 hours ago, Iboatedhere said:

Because Twitter is constantly messing with my timeline and doesn't always let me see tweets as they're posted I didn't know about Carl's death until yesterday. I saw a Yahoo news story about how Guy dedicated Wednesday's episode to him and when I got home from work I watched it right away. 

It was a lovely tribute and you could really feel home much Carl had filming it. Everyone joking around about how much Chef Zach looked like Carl and then the zoom in on Carl's serious face watch Zach work as they went to commercial break along with the ominous music that played over it. Hilarious. As was Carl's "Hate it!" as he took his first bite of Zach's food. 

Carl always made me laugh on his show and as soon as I saw him as a judge or a contestant I knew it was gonna be a fun episode. 

I watched it too. It made me even sadder. 

[mlp]

I thought the show did a very nice job with the tribute before and after the episode, heartfelt but not maudlin.  Most of the chefs who judged alongside Carl weighed in on FB and they were all shocked and saddened.  Clearly, he was very well liked.

The guy who was dressed up like Carl was an absolute doppelganger.  The resemblance was almost startling.

[roughing it]

4 hours ago, Iboatedhere said:

Guy dedicated Wednesday's episode to him

I missed it...😪

[libgirl2]

1 hour ago, mlp said:

I thought the show did a very nice job with the tribute before and after the episode, heartfelt but not maudlin.  Most of the chefs who judged alongside Carl weighed in on FB and they were all shocked and saddened.  Clearly, he was very well liked.

The guy who was dressed up like Carl was an absolute doppelganger.  The resemblance was almost startling.

He was. I missed the beginning and when I tuned in he was being interviewed. I thought he was Carl! 

[LexieLily]

8 hours ago, roughing it said:

I missed it...😪

Me too, but I'm sure it will air again soon. 

Edited: I just found it On Demand. It's the Halloween episode.

Edited September 28, 2019 by LexieLily

[Yeah No]

Oh wow, thanks for the heads up about the tribute.  This episode is on my DVR and I haven't watched it yet.  I'll have to find the right moment to watch it.

[Gramto6]

They did a nice tribute to Call Ruiz on Guy's Ranch Kitchen this morning. I don't see a forum for that show.

[jcbrown]

1 hour ago, Gramto6 said:

They did a nice tribute to Call Ruiz on Guy's Ranch Kitchen this morning. I don't see a forum for that show.

Thanks for telling me. I have that one on my DVR (I actually really enjoy that show) but have not yet watched it.

[Yeah No]

I just watched the episode.  Wow, how creepy and sad with the Halloween theme and stuff like the skeleton with the shopping cart plus the "new improved Carl".  Yikes.  Maybe it's just me but I thought Carl was kind of subdued for him in this episode, plus when he was running at the end it looked like he was struggling to keep up, although that could have been because of the costume.  I'm probably reading into things after the fact.  I wonder how recently this was filmed.

[jlc]

Melissa D'Arabian is the most annoying judge EVER!!! I love this show, but hate when she is a judge.

[roughing it]

^^^ MD'A is my least favorite FN personality, by far.

[Jaded]

Quote

A spokesperson from the Maryland Department of Health confirmed that the celebrity chef star died in his sleep, last month after succumbing to atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which occurs when there is a buildup of fats, cholesterol and other substances in the arteries and restricts blood flow. He was 44.

Additionally, the Department of Health listed his death as natural and ruled out any foul play.

Carl Ruiz's Cause of Death Revealed

[Yeah No]

On 10/16/2019 at 2:22 PM, jlc said:

Melissa D'Arabian is the most annoying judge EVER!!! I love this show, but hate when she is a judge.

She hasn't been a judge on GGG since early 2017 or anywhere on FN.

On 10/16/2019 at 8:04 PM, Jaded said:

Carl Ruiz's Cause of Death Revealed

The strange thing about this is that on the day this news came out I was thinking about Carl and decided to see if there were any updates on his cause of death, then saw articles about it only 2 hours old!

[scarletine]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

She hasn't been a judge on GGG since early 2017 or anywhere on FN.

I seem to recall that she was a judge just last season. And I agree that she's a miserable person, and I can't stand it when she appears. She's always such a wet blanket. 

[chessiegal]

6 minutes ago, scarletine said:

I seem to recall that she was a judge just last season. And I agree that she's a miserable person, and I can't stand it when she appears. She's always such a wet blanket. 

I don’t watch the competition shows but it sounds like she still looks like she just ate a fart and has a stick up her arse. 😁

[jlc]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

She hasn't been a judge on GGG since early 2017 or anywhere on FN.

The strange thing about this is that on the day this news came out I was thinking about Carl and decided to see if there were any updates on his cause of death, then saw articles about it only 2 hours old!

Same thing happened to me. I was thinking about what happened and would they tell what happened. And I open up the forums and went to ggg and there it was. It is so sad what happened, and his poor wife. Imagine waking up and finding your husband passed in his sleep. What a tragedy for this awesome family.

[Yeah No]

11 hours ago, scarletine said:

I seem to recall that she was a judge just last season. And I agree that she's a miserable person, and I can't stand it when she appears. She's always such a wet blanket. 

I watch every episode of the show and I didn't see her at all last season.  IMDB agrees.  The last regular episode she appeared on was in Feb. of 2017.  She later appeared for two episodes in a judges tournament that aired in Nov. of 2017 but she hasn't been on the show at all since then.  They show a lot of repeats of older episodes so that's where she's appearing.  And she was on a lot of episodes.

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, jlc said:

Same thing happened to me. I was thinking about what happened and would they tell what happened. And I open up the forums and went to ggg and there it was. It is so sad what happened, and his poor wife. Imagine waking up and finding your husband passed in his sleep. What a tragedy for this awesome family.

I know, I admit it gets to me too.  A close friend of Mr. Yeah No and mine almost died at the same age from a similar kind of heart attack but was very lucky that he was around a lot of people when it happened and was rushed to the hospital in minutes.  If it's that bad they don't have a lot of time to save the person.  I shudder to think of what it would have been like for his family and friends to have lost him 15 years ago.  Carl was such a funny, real, likable guy, so full of life.  It hurts.

I don't know why, maybe it's because I'm getting older but Carl's death has made me more concerned about my own health.  I have a physical scheduled in November and will make a point of asking for the kind of screening that can check for clogged arteries.  All my heart screenings so far have come out A-OK but it looks like you can never be too careful.

[srpturtle80]

Just watched the super spicy episode. I just loved it but it was also so sad to watch Carl. He made me laugh so much and was my favorite judge. Can’t believe he’s gone. 😞

[suebee12]

22 hours ago, jlc said:

It is so sad what happened, and his poor wife. Imagine waking up and finding your husband passed in his sleep.

Carl was not married. He and his wife(Marie Riccio) are divorced.

[jlc]

3 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Carl was not married. He and his wife(Marie Riccio) are divorced.

I did not know that! I thought he was happily married. He talked about his wife and kids in one of his early ggg visits, and he and his wife were together on the first DDD show. So sad he was divorced.

[Gramto6]

Cant't find a forum for Guy's Ranch Kitchen...this morning's show was marked New in my guide. And there was Karl "The Cuban" Ruiz...I guess there must be many shows in the can filmed before he died...but it hurts my heart to watch them with no post script at least "In Loving Memory".

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Cant't find a forum for Guy's Ranch Kitchen...this morning's show was marked New in my guide. And there was Karl "The Cuban" Ruiz...I guess there must be many shows in the can filmed before he died...but it hurts my heart to watch them with no post script at least "In Loving Memory".

He was also a judge on the most recent episode of GGG.  I wasn't expecting him to be on so many episodes after his death.  It is hard to watch them now....😢

[Gramto6]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

He was also a judge on the most recent episode of GGG.  I wasn't expecting him to be on so many episodes after his death.  It is hard to watch them now....😢

That's right, I forgot about that.  It is hard to watch...

[Gramto6]

Oh dear another Carl Ruiz appearance. So sad....

Edited December 5, 2019 by Gramto6

[libgirl2]

15 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

Oh dear another Carl Ruiz appearance. So sad....

He was on a lot. And yes, it makes me so sad too. 

[Yeah No]

On 12/4/2019 at 9:21 PM, Gramto6 said:

Oh dear another Carl Ruiz appearance. So sad....

I watched it.  Broke my heart.  Now we know they film these episodes far in advance.  I hate to think this way, but I do wonder how close to his death this was filmed and if he will be in any more new episodes.

[Maverick]

 I'm sure we'll see him for a while.   Some episodes can take almost a year to air.

[Gramto6]

37 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 I'm sure we'll see him for a while.   Some episodes can take almost a year to air.

That's what makes me so sad. Yes, we will probably be seeing him in new shows for a while. I just wish they would post an "in memory of" after each of these new shows just to honor him. Freaking acknowledge his death!

Edited December 6, 2019 by Gramto6

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

That's what makes me so sad. Yes, we will probably be seeing him in new shows for a while. I just wish they would post an "in memory of" after each of these new shows just to honor him. Freaking acknowledge his death!

FN dedicated the first episode that appeared after his death to Carl with a written lead-in saying that he would want us to see it, but the way they did it made me think that there were no more left after that.  Meanwhile we have seen him in new episodes at least 2-3 times after that with no warning or dedication.  At least when Tony Bourdain died CNN publicized the fact that it was going to air what was already filmed from his new season so we were prepared for it down to the number of episodes and where they were filmed.  Plus I think there were written lead-ins to each episode, especially the ones where there was no narration because Tony died before he could do the voiceovers.  I think FN should have at least done something similar with Carl's GGG episodes.

[srpturtle80]

It really made me sad to watch, especially when he was talking about how if he won he was going to take his mom on a vacation with the money. 😭😭

[Taeolas]

Judging from what Riverdale did, it seems the practice for dealing with the death of a cast member, is to have a memorium statement in the first episode after the death (or the first ep featuring the cast member after death). And then in the new season after they've had time to process everything, there will be a suitable memorial episode for the character. 

In Carl's case, I suspect it will be the next major Tournament of Champions; and I suspect Guy will name the trophy in Carl's honor. 

I do agree it's a bit rough to still see 'new' eps with him starring in it. The holiday one, what hit me about it was his "I will never cook with eggnog again" (I think it was). Sadly that ends up being true. (Otherwise you can be sure Guy would have had a future challenge with Carl and eggnog as a mandatory ingredient I'm sure)

[Gramto6]

And again another new episode with Carl Ruiz on Guy's Ranch Kitchen. I wonder if they did a New Year's show too? 😢 Makes my heart sad every time I see these new shows...

Edited December 14, 2019 by Gramto6
typo

[Yeah No]

On 12/14/2019 at 12:36 PM, Gramto6 said:

And again another new episode with Carl Ruiz on Guy's Ranch Kitchen. I wonder if they did a New Year's show too? 😢 Makes my heart sad every time I see these new shows...

Thankfully it looks like they didn't do a New Year's episode with Carl.  We haven't seen him in a while - maybe there aren't any new episodes left with him in them.  I hate to say it but I'm hoping we don't see any more because it is just too sad.  I'm wondering when we're going to see episodes filmed after his death.  Maybe it was just me, but Guy and the judges seemed a little more subdued in the most recent episode.  I'm probably reading into it, but that's what I do.  😥

On a happier note, I just loved chef "Gigi" and would love to see him face off against Walter Potenza (I think that's his name)!

[suebee12]

2 hours ago, Yeah No said:

On a happier note, I just loved chef "Gigi" and would love to see him face off against Walter Potenza (I think that's his name)!

I agree! That show will be a "hoot"!

Did anyone else watch a show that came on later that was from Season 1, Episode 8. I watched to see how many changes have been made! Of course, the final game was one where they didn't have an order to go in, just find the ten items! The freezer section really changed....the items were all behind doors, no open freezers. Also Guy didn't try to fool them with the 3-2-1 Go segment. Of course, there was Melissa D'Arabian to make folks happy! And a very slim Beau MacMillian and Richard Blais. I really liked the winning contestant, Chief Mark, a firefighter playing for charity! He won because the judges felt he "played the game" best but he still had interesting food. I think I will watch for more of the really early seasons because it is a "stripped" down version!

[mlp]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

On a happier note, I just loved chef "Gigi" and would love to see him face off against Walter Potenza (I think that's his name)!

Me too!  As soon as Guy started his sentence about bringing the guy back, I knew he was going to say Walter.  I hope that happens.  I get a huge kick out of Walter.  

I watched the old show with the handsome, blue-eyed fireman too.  He was probably my kids' age but he was very nice to look at.  🙂  

I think my favorite cook who has been on several times, besides Carl, is Panini Pete.

[Maverick]

17 hours ago, suebee12 said:

The freezer section really changed....the items were all behind doors, no open freezers.

The first season was filmed in a real grocery store.   After the show was picked up after that, they constructed a purpose-built grocery studio in a warehouse.   It would have been too costly to construct and stock such a large set before they knew the show was going to be successful.  

[Showthyme]

Some of the games are fun but GGG has gone off the deep end. The handcuff challenge is just stupid. 

[Jaded]

7 hours ago, Showthyme said:

Some of the games are fun but GGG has gone off the deep end. The handcuff challenge is just stupid. 

Guy and Ellen both get these looks of joy in their eyes when they spring crazy games/challenges on people that really gets annoying over time. I was into watching GGG for quite awhile after avoiding it for years. I quit watching more then a couple months ago because the challenges continued to get so out there. I like seeing what kind of dishes the contestants create with usually limited ingredients over the things like the handcuff stuff you mentioned.

[spiderpig]

Well, we've made it through 3 eps of DDD vs GGG and many of our old non-favorites were back like Philip Man-Bun Lee.  And the self-proclaimed Cheese Queen (who decided to make mac 'n cheese and forgot to shop for macaroni.)  She's the blonde with the perpetual rictus grin that is the stuff of nightmares.

The finale is next week and fortunately most of the weirdos failed to qualify.

[mlp]

On 1/16/2020 at 11:34 PM, spiderpig said:

The finale is next week and fortunately most of the weirdos failed to qualify.

I've had the feeling that the Thai woman and Christa (sp.?) have been set up to win from the beginning.  I'd like to think that this show doesn't play favorites but I'm not so sure.  Christa has been on as a judge and Guy seems to get a big kick out of the Thai woman.  I don't like either of them.

[spiderpig]

5 hours ago, mlp said:

I've had the feeling that the Thai woman and Christa (sp.?) have been set up to win from the beginning.  I'd like to think that this show doesn't play favorites but I'm not so sure.  Christa has been on as a judge and Guy seems to get a big kick out of the Thai woman.  I don't like either of them.

I kinda wondered about the DDD/GGG pairings.  It seemed like the dingbats were attached to some capable competitors that they managed the drag down, leaving us stuck with some undeserving teams.

[jlc]

On 1/20/2020 at 2:38 PM, mlp said:

I've had the feeling that the Thai woman and Christa (sp.?) have been set up to win from the beginning.  I'd like to think that this show doesn't play favorites but I'm not so sure.  Christa has been on as a judge and Guy seems to get a big kick out of the Thai woman.  I don't like either of them.

Well, you called that right. I am very disappointed because I thought the other team worked together. Christa did all the cooking and Jazz made a spicy sauce. That did not deserve to win,  at least not to me. 

[suebee12]

2 hours ago, jlc said:

I've had the feeling that the Thai woman and Christa (sp.?) have been set up to win from the beginning. 

Me, three! In the first round, Jazz and Christa were the two that were told that their crispy potatoes were mushy ...but they were fine. I liked Bobby and his partner and thought they should have gone through. J & C's fish and chips really looked unappetizing to me...if I have fish and chips I want fried fish and real true chips....and no curry for me thank you. I was really unhappy with this tournament and did think it was already decided before it even started. I usually like the tournament play but not this one.

[roughing it]

3-2-1 GO people!! How difficult is it to comprehend??  After all this time!!  3-2-1 GOOOOOOO.  Sheesh.