Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[Gramto6]

I hardly recognized  Melissa and was not that impressed with her cooking.  Are they dredging up "stars" to hopefully sell on the D+ Channel (and yes I know they pulled away from that advertising, (Discovery Plus not D+) but as far as I am concerned it is exactly right).

I'm not a Hunter fan in my opinion he has not earned his stripes in the business.  He is hanging on the fame of his father hoping to inherit his shows maybe even his restaurants if there are any left. I feel bad for Ryder, he is going to get the shirt end of that stick.

[Guest]

6 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

I'm not a Hunter fan in my opinion he has not earned his stripes in the business.  He is hanging on the fame of his father hoping to inherit his shows maybe even his restaurants if there are any left. I feel bad for Ryder, he is going to get the shirt end of that stick.

So Hunter gets the shows/restaurants, and Ryder gets Guy's shirts?

[Gramto6]

9 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

So Hunter gets the shows/restaurants, and Ryder gets Guy's shirts?

Typo $hit end!

ETA: In the long run the shirts may be worth more (ebay etc.) given the state of restaurants these days and TV can be fickle...

Edited January 11, 2021 by Gramto6

[KayVeeTeeVee]

On 11/19/2020 at 10:57 AM, springbarb said:

I didn't like him on Food Network Star, so now I just roll my eyes whenever he pops up. I don't even remember why I didn't like him, other than that he needed to button his shirts more.

Yes!  I can't stand him!  All those deez, dems, and dose.  I was raised in NJ and trust me, not every Italian talks that way.  Christian always looks SO unkempt - and those shirts and sweaters!  Ugh!  I would NEVER eat at one of his restaurants, thank you very much.  Never.  Seat me at a table for one - I enjoy watching Elizabeth Faulkner!

[KayVeeTeeVee]

On 1/6/2021 at 10:56 PM, Grizzly said:

Melissa and Catherine had really nice kitchens. It was fun seeing these judges cook for the first time.

If I have to hear Catherine say, "This is other-worldly" one more time . . . I counted three on one episode!  Learn a new phrase, please!

[Yeah No]

On 1/10/2021 at 2:27 AM, Maverick said:

 Yeah, color me shocked they pulled Melissa out of mothballs.  I had hoped to never see her again.  Tregaye is less surprising since post-acquisition Discovery tapped her to do a cooking show for OWN.  She's slightly more tolerable without her poppin' on fleek routine.  Slightly. 

Color me shocked too, I was starting to think Melissa had been banned from the network.  She hasn't appeared on any FN show since early 2017.  I know Guy and her have maintained a positive relationship since then.  I once saw photos of her family and him out together somewhere on their own time.  She's gotten even less tolerable if that's possible.

Tregaye seems to have grown up a lot since her FNS days, which is a good thing.

 

[Grizzly]

Apparently I was the only one who didn't know/was touched by Melissa's mother committing suicide. Since she wasn't hurting economically, was glad if she won, money would've gone to charity.

[Maverick]

 Melissa revealed her mother's suicide during Food Network Star.   It was a very awkward moment given she revealed while presenting at a festive party during a game show.   Up to that point she had given no indication of her mother's suicide but had talked about her mother in what some thought was contradictory.   I don't remember the specifics but there was something about essentially being raised by a Spanish speaking nanny and her mom being in the military.   She came across as a very disingenuous person and wasn't widely liked on that season which contributed to see people side-eyeing her. 

[emmawoodhouse]

I couldn't stand Melissa on her season of FNS. And to be honest, nothing she's done since has impressed me. 

[Grizzly]

I like Jet's backsplash.

[CrazyDog]

On 11/18/2020 at 10:46 PM, dvr devotee said:

Have to say, I think the first time I ever saw Petroni was as a judge on "Supermarket Stakeout" earlier this year (I think that show came out this year, but this year has been a decade, so at this point it could have come out in 2017), and he's grown on me faster than probably any TV chef personality ever before. I really enjoy him.

I really like Christian as well. He may not be as polished as some of the other chefs, but I enjoy his personality, and I'm glad he's getting some additional appearances. I also love Justin Warner. He's mellowed a lot from his more obnoxious days. He won me over awhile back when he competed (coached?) on some episode with kids, and ended up paired with a seriously talented kid chef, who was a total mini Justin, and cooked some really creative food. Justin was kind of in awe of him.

I watched the pandemic GGG last night for the first time, and liked it well enough. It does crack me up watching the chefs describe their own food though.

Love that Jet won!

I used to like Antonia more than I do now. She was fine last night, but she can come across as really negative and arrogant at times.

Sounds like Beau has been in the bottom a few times though? Aww. Poor guy cannot string a pasta necklace.

[Grizzly]

I hate how Troy is always the whipping boy. The chefs all made some good looking dishes. I wanted to eat the mac n cheese and the pizza. And then Bobby killed it with his sandwich. He's always easy to root for.

[Grizzly]

What is going on with Rocco? He is puffed up like the stay puft man. He's known for healthy cooking, so this makes no sense.

[mlp]

When I first looked at Rocco, I wondered if he has been on Prednisone or something but then I could see it's not just his face.  He looks like he's gained a lot of weight despite his preaching about healthy eating.  (If it turns out he's really not well, I'll feel bad for saying that.)

[FormerMod-a1]

He's always struggled with his weight.  I think he initially lost a bunch of weight after his first time on TV (and had an attitude change, too).  And has had some noticeable ups and downs since (like most people).  This may be more than he's been in a while, though.  I'm sure, like many of us, the pandemic has impacted his weight. 

ETA: Just did a quick google, it wasn't right after his first TV show, but a few years later. 

[Gramto6]

Yeah, I wondered of it was Covid weight gain too.

[Maverick]

 Steroids like prednisone don't just make your face full.   For many people they amp up your appetite, which is hell on your waistline.   If he decided to do healthy food and it worked for, that's great.  But he was always so pretentious and condescending about it.  Of course I think that's the way he is in general, which is why I've never liked him.   He strikes me very much as one of those people who thinks whatever he's into at the time is the bestest thing ever and everyone should be doing the same thing he does and you're an idiot if you don't.  

[mlp]

12 hours ago, Maverick said:

 Steroids like prednisone don't just make your face full.   For many people they amp up your appetite, which is hell on your waistline. 

That's very true.  Or he's just gained weight during the pandemic like so many others.  Could be either or both.  I'm sure I don't know.

I'm not crazy about him either.  He's fine on GGG and seems to get into the spirit of that show but when he's been a judge on Chopped he's been, as you said,  pretentious and condescending.  He has a reputation for being a fine chef.  I wonder how he acts towards employees in a kitchen when he's not on camera.

[Yeah No]

8 hours ago, mlp said:

That's very true.  Or he's just gained weight during the pandemic like so many others.  Could be either or both.  I'm sure I don't know.

I'm not crazy about him either.  He's fine on GGG and seems to get into the spirit of that show but when he's been a judge on Chopped he's been, as you said,  pretentious and condescending.  He has a reputation for being a fine chef.  I wonder how he acts towards employees in a kitchen when he's not on camera.

I agree about Rocco.  I don't think his weight gain is pandemic related.  I thought it might be that too but I recently saw him on a couple of pre-pandemic shows where he looked the same.  I've been trying to find something out about it but there's nothing online addressing it at all.  If not for you here on the board talking about it no one would even know what I was talking about, LOL.

[Yeah No]

I have to admit I'm growing bored with this version of the show.  I pick and choose which eps I watch and right now there are more I don't watch than I do watch.  I really miss the grocery store aspect of the show and especially the tasting.  I hope it goes back there soon although I'm not holding my breath.

[mlp]

I prefer the grocery store version too but I think they're doing a good job of keeping the show going with this version.  They've changed the games and so on regularly and I'm not even minding Hunter very much.  The voyeur in me definitely likes a peek into the chefs' home kitchens.  I also like that prizes go to restaurants because they're all struggling.

[FormerMod-a1]

On 3/4/2021 at 8:27 PM, mlp said:

a judge on Chopped he's been, as you said,  pretentious and condescending

I think the Chopped producers ask this of their judges.  All of them seem smug and condescending on that show, but where you see them elsewhere they are more laid back and easy going. 

[HyeChaps]

Rocco is relaxed and fun when he is on the show where they cook at Guy's ranch.

[emmawoodhouse]

2 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

I think the Chopped producers ask this of their judges.  All of them seem smug and condescending on that show, but where you see them elsewhere they are more laid back and easy going. 

On Chopped, the judges are purposely looking for flaws in a dish. That would predispose them to be assholish towards the contestants. Judging is much more relaxed on GGG. 

[mlp]

I'm watching the retrospective on last year's Tournament of Champions and I see that Rocco had already gained quite a bit of weight that far back.  I have no memory of that registering at all but it's obvious.

[Yeah No]

4 hours ago, mlp said:

I'm watching the retrospective on last year's Tournament of Champions and I see that Rocco had already gained quite a bit of weight that far back.  I have no memory of that registering at all but it's obvious.

I saw that too and realized that this past year went by very quickly and I guess I just didn't realize it had been that long since he gained weight.  I think I also saw him on a GGG in Flavortown Market last year too.

Speaking of Flavortown Market, I just read in my local paper that Guy is opening a new concept takeout/delivery only restaurant that operates out of the kitchens of local Bertucci's.  It's called "Flavortown Kitchen".  One of them is in my town.  The fare is typical Guy stuff - burgers crammed with mac and cheese and his own "famous donkey sauce" (whatever that is), honey barbecue chicken wings, etc.  In other words, fattening and not very healthy.  It reminds me of the stuff he sold in his failed restaurant in NYC that I went to when it first opened and didn't like.  I'm wondering how long before this fails too since it's only getting 2 stars after almost 150 Google reviews.

[Maverick]

 I ate at one of Guy's restaurants in Vegas and it was ok.  Nothing special.   What I was most surprised by was the first time I tried to go, it was at 10:30 on Saturday night and they were only serving bar food.  They stopped serving dinner at 10.  I was like, seriously?  You stop dinner service at 10 on a Saturday?  In Vegas?   Yeah, that's out of bounds there, Guy.   

 Now is probably not the best time to start a takeout only restaurant.  I know people have been eating out, but a lot haven't or haven't much and are sick of being stuck at home eating take out.   

[Yeah No]

52 minutes ago, Maverick said:

 Now is probably not the best time to start a takeout only restaurant.  I know people have been eating out, but a lot haven't or haven't much and are sick of being stuck at home eating take out.   

He should have done this a year ago.  When it gets warm out people are going to be dining outdoors and not looking for more takeout.  My area does need more takeout options, though, but I wish this was a better option.  I'm not going to rush to order any of Guy's food any time soon, especially after reading the reviews and remembering my own similar experience with his food.  On the other hand it could only help Bertucci's since I know they were hurting even before the Pandemic.

[Grizzly]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Speaking of Flavortown Market, I just read in my local paper that Guy is opening a new concept takeout/delivery only restaurant that operates out of the kitchens of local Bertucci's.  It's called "Flavortown Kitchen".  One of them is in my town.  The fare is typical Guy stuff - burgers crammed with mac and cheese and his own "famous donkey sauce" (whatever that is), honey barbecue chicken wings, etc.  In other words, fattening and not very healthy.  It reminds me of the stuff he sold in his failed restaurant in NYC that I went to when it first opened and didn't like.  I'm wondering how long before this fails too since it's only getting 2 stars after almost 150 Google reviews.

Yeah, the local restaurants in my state aren't happy about it. They're calling it a cash grab that will hurt the small, local restaurants. I say there's nothing wrong with variety. Most people will try it once because of the name and then forget it. I looked at the menu and none of the food appeals to me. But sign me up for the desserts!

[mlp]

Re Flavortown Kitchen - If the pictures are any indication of quantity, it looks pretty expensive.  Of course, I'm basing my opinion on what I'm used to in the Midwest and the take out places are in California so, maybe not.  The desserts do look yummy.

[Maverick]

40 minutes ago, mlp said:

The desserts do look yummy.

 Which is ironic because Guy always makes a point of how he doesn't like sweets/dessert.  

[Maverick]

Seriously, what the duck is Malarkey on?

[chenoa333]

I cannot stand chef Alex Guarnachelli. And yes, I know I misspelled her last name. She comes across as someone who thinks much too highly of herself.

[eyesopen]

On 3/17/2021 at 9:42 PM, Maverick said:

Seriously, what the duck is Malarkey on?

He is pretty hyper isn't he.  And that shark fin mohawk and those bright frame glasses, ee yi.  But that's kinda ok.  I'd rather have his blinding light hyper physical and emotional impressions than other judges' peeping out snugness and arrogance.

12 hours ago, chenoa333 said:

I cannot stand chef Alex Guarnachelli. And yes, I know I misspelled her last name. She comes across as someone who thinks much too highly of herself.

It's kinda justified as she's accomplished a lot.  Her own restaurant, some cookbooks, a great deal of esteem from other chefs, the prestige of Chopped, especially that.  Having that prestige is like being given Michelin star.  She's been at the top for a long time, so she's gotten a swell head.  There are other swell heads at FN worse than her.  As long as she's not too obnoxious, I can put up with her.  I like the notes I take from her about making good Italian food.

I've gotten burned out from all of Guy Fieri's shows.  Ugh.  I watch now only 1-2 of any of his shows a month.  If I totally burn out on something, I end up not touching it for another 5 years.

[LexieLily]

I remember everyone liked the episode last year, as did I, so thought I would mention it that tomorrow is the second annual Tribute to Carl Ruiz - April Fool's Episode. (Delivery: At Home.) 

[Grizzly]

18 hours ago, LexieLily said:

I remember everyone liked the episode last year, as did I, so thought I would mention it that tomorrow is the second annual Tribute to Carl Ruiz - April Fool's Episode. (Delivery: At Home.) 

They just reran the first one Monday night. I had been planning on watching something else but it stopped me in my tracks.

[Grizzly]

Have to admit April Fools part 2 was not as good as the original. Mostly because of the covid stuff. I didn't understand why Guy and Hunter didn't eat the round 2 dishes.

[FormerMod-a1]

37 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

I didn't understand why Guy and Hunter didn't eat the round 2 dishes.

I was curious about that, too.  I did enjoy the episode overall, it was nice having a few of them together again.  Ready for them to find a way to film the regular way again whether due to vaccine rollout and restrictions lifting or creative ways to meet all the requirements like Chopped did, or like what they're doing for Tournament of Champions. 

[Grizzly]

I love Guy. I would defend him against all-comers. But even I find it a little weird how he gushes over the chefs' wives. They're all pretty. Marcus's wife is absolutely stunning. I get this is his form of teasing his friends but it's a little uncomfortable.

[suebee1212]

Just finished watching last night's show and it was quite obvious that Mrs. Malarkey has had way too much botoxing and fillers done! I think she was once a really pretty woman but decided she didn't want to age. Her face now looks like it cannot move and is somewhat misshapen from "plumping" her lips. Maybe it is just me but I think you should be proud of of a wrinkle or two! I always think of the mess that Priscilla Presley face is now and remember what a beautiful woman she used to be....sigh, all for the seaching of youth!

Boy does Antonia's daughter look just like her!

Now on to the cooking. This would be fun if someone really tasted the food. They can tell you how wonderful it tastes but I really wonder if it is really all that wonder? And am I they only one who wondered about the "tie" score? The exact   same score? Just like on TOC but at least that food was tasted. I definitely would have wanted Antonia's food!

One last thought. I love, love, love Justin Warner. He can cook but has such a great personality. Didn't think so when he was first on but he is almost funny and fun to watch,

[dvr devotee]

To me, Chantal Malarkey was a dead ringer for Debbie Mazar. But she seemed like a really ungraceful loser. However, I would've absolutely chowed down on the Marlarkeys' second dish. Every thing that went into the dish, as Brian cooked each item and explained what he was doing, I was like "oooh, yes, what else?" And I'm never particularly excited about the food he makes.

And, yes, Xea looks A LOT like Antonia.

Was 89 the highest total score we've seen on any of the GGGAH episodes?

[eclectcmoi]

I could barely watch and FFD through a lot of the most recent episode.  I love Aarti Sequeira, but her husband's antics were so distracting and beyond annoying.  Then add in Chris Petroni and his schtick and it was more of a "look at me, look at me" competition, rather than a cooking challenge.  

Edited April 26, 2021 by eclectcmoi

[mlp]

For the first time, I turned an episode of this show off unwatched.  Cannot stand Melissa.  Cannot stand Tregaye.  I don't mind Catherine but she's not compelling enough to make me sit through an hour of Melissa emoting about everything and Tregaye's yelling and atrocious grammar.  Sorry Guy.

Edited May 6, 2021 by mlp
correct something

[Yeah No]

I don't know why this show isn't finding a creative way to work around the Covid restrictions already.  So many other shows have, now even "Chopped" and Guy's other shows.  I admit I haven't watched it in months now because I'm tired of the no-tasting and no shopping.  This is supposed to be a show about shopping in a "grocery store" and for all this time it hasn't been about that plus no tasting.  At least make a makeshift pantry outdoors so they can choose the food then have judges taste it.  Then I would probably watch.

[mlp]

12 hours ago, Yeah No said:

This is supposed to be a show about shopping in a "grocery store" and for all this time it hasn't been about that plus no tasting.  At least make a makeshift pantry outdoors so they can choose the food then have judges taste it.  Then I would probably watch.

I agree that the boxes of ingredients aren't the same as shopping in an actual store but I think they've done a good job with the different format and I've enjoyed it.  I like seeing the chefs' home kitchens and sometimes their spouses or other relatives.  I also like the camaraderie they all have.  I don't even mind Hunter on this show.  

[Yeah No]

On 5/6/2021 at 2:38 PM, mlp said:

I agree that the boxes of ingredients aren't the same as shopping in an actual store but I think they've done a good job with the different format and I've enjoyed it.  I like seeing the chefs' home kitchens and sometimes their spouses or other relatives.  I also like the camaraderie they all have.  I don't even mind Hunter on this show.  

I didn't mind it up to a point but it got monotonous for me after a while.  I've already seen enough of these people's kitchens and families.  My major interest was always the games and shopping aspects in addition to the cooking and tasting.  Plus there was a certain fun aspect from them being in person with each other which just doesn't translate to this format so well in my opinion.  In many ways I'm finding it forced and unnatural.  Most of what they're doing now I can see on other shows.  If I want to see them cook from a box I can watch "Chopped", LOL.  That's the main reason I wanted to watch this show instead of "Chopped" - no box and fun shopping, LOL.  I actually find myself watching reruns of this show from before the pandemic because I never watched all of them so many are new to me.

I'm also probably one of the only people left that actually watches Rachael Ray's daily show and I'm tiring of her "at home" version as well and find myself fast forwarding through a lot of it and only watching those guests and recipes that interest me the most.  One show I did like the "at home" version of was "The Kitchen".  In fact like a lot of people I actually preferred that version to the in-studio one!  But that show never did have much more than recipes in it and even remotely the cast could still interact well with each other, and in many ways they were a lot less obnoxious and loud at home than in the studio, which was actually a GOOD thing.

Edited May 8, 2021 by Yeah No

[Maverick]

 O.M.G.   WTF is up with Marc Murphy?  Either he has some crappy camera/lighting equipment at home or someone hit his face with a sandblaster.  Get that dude a visit from the Geek Squad stat.  

[kirklandia]

1 hour ago, Maverick said:

 O.M.G.   WTF is up with Marc Murphy?  Either he has some crappy camera/lighting equipment at home or someone hit his face with a sandblaster.  Get that dude a visit from the Geek Squad stat.  

By contrast, Amanda looks like she has been spending the pandemic relaxing at a very nice spa (which I'm pretty sure she hasn't).

[Maverick]

 Yes, I forgot to mention Amanda looked fabulous.  Whoever did her hair for this show should be her stylist on Chopped. 

[Grizzly]

Marc was also pretty cranky, he criticized every dish except Aaron's second burger. Figured that was a good sign that Aaron was winning. The belly flop was hysterical. I thought the hat matched his pants well.