Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[Gramto6]

48 minutes ago, schnauzergirl said:

From what I've seen in the promo, Ryder wanted to skip the Family Road Trip altogether.

May be the smartest one of the bunch!! He's watching Hunter getting sucked into the "family business" and doesn't want anything to do with it. Guy impresses me as someone who will steam roll over anyone to get his way.

[Catfi9ht]

Now that the insufferable prick Scott Conant has appeared on this show the last two episodes, I'm not sure if I'll continue to watch this show regularly.

Sure, Hunter is a doofus and has no charisma but at least he doesn't treat everyone like trash and talk down to them like Scott.

Up until now, I really like the vibe Guy puts out on his shows. Scott's personality is the antithesis of everything I like about Guy's shows.

I'm really disappointed.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm watching some reruns, and the one with the super hot foods with Carl Ruiz, Troy Johnson, and Aaron May as judges is hysterical.   Carl and the milk to put the fire out is outrageous, and Aaron sits there not even sweating is funny too.   It was so funny when Guy unveiled the fish tank full of milk, and Carl ran over to it with straw.    Aarti getting eliminated because her food wasn't hot was bizarre too.  Beau, Justin Warner, Antonia and Aarti were such good competitors for this.  Antonia standing there smiling while the judges have flaming mouths is so funny.

Then, the hottest food on Flavortown 2.0 for the April Fool's tribute to Carl is so adorable too.     I think the chefs were Antonia, Justin, Aaron, and Aarti again, but Damaris was on this too.  Guy pranked the judges by making them compete too, so Damaris thought she was going to be a judge, and then cooked instead. The April Fool's joke show as a tribute to Carl was so heartwarming.   The competitors like Damaris saying how much Carl meant to them was wonderful.    Unfortunately, they didn't rerun this one today.   

I think the Carl episode with the super hot dishes, and the tank full of milk is one of my favorites, and the April Fools episode as tribute to him is another favorite. 

Edited July 2, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Gramto6]

My heart breaks a little every time I see a rerun with Carl in it. Kind of glad I missed this one, though I remember it well!

[HyeChaps]

Christian as co-host and Hunter as a judge!

Up is down and down is up!

[mlp]

4 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Christian as co-host and Hunter as a judge!

I thought Christian did just fine.  Hunter isn't qualified to judge working chefs IMO so I get annoyed seeing him in that position.  I wonder if Guy is planning to back away from some episodes of GGG because he seems to have a lot of irons in the fire and he's thinking of bringing on Christian as a sub.

[Catfi9ht]

39 minutes ago, mlp said:

I thought Christian did just fine.  Hunter isn't qualified to judge working chefs IMO so I get annoyed seeing him in that position.  I wonder if Guy is planning to back away from some episodes of GGG because he seems to have a lot of irons in the fire and he's thinking of bringing on Christian as a sub.

That's what was thinking about Christian subbing as host in place of Hunter. I thought Christian was green in places especially regarding to using his hands, but it looked like he just needed more practice. I didn't watch Food Network Star so I don't know if he was better or worse on that. 

I wish they would talk about the prices of ingredients more on this show. I have no idea how much those truffles were, or any of the fancier ingredients the contestants brought, but most of the ingredients seemed really pricey.

[FormerMod-a1]

I don't love Christain, in general, so I'd rather he not host or sub.  :-/

[FormerMod-a1]

Guy Fieri is doind a fundraiser for Justin, and it looks incredible!  Wish I could go.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cgh7b73pk4J/

It's expensive as all get out, but look at the lineup! 

Quote

Join 10 of America’s Greatest Chefs at Guy Fieri’s home in Northern California wine country for a culinary demonstration, instruction, premium wine, Santo Tequila and amazing food to help raise money for Chef Justin Sutherland’s medical bills and surgeries”.

Participants:

• Hunter Fieri
• Maneet Chauhan
• Rocco Dispirito
• Amanda Freitag
• Antonia Lofaso
• Aaron May
• Christian Petroni
• Aarti Sequeria
• Jet Tila
• Michael Voltaggio

[Salacious Kitty]

Out of that list of participants, one of those things is not like the others (and got top billing). 

[LexieLily]

Just now, Salacious Kitty said:

Out of that list of participants, one of those things is not like the others (and got top billing). 

Guy must be considering himself as one of the '10 Greatest Chefs' and not Hunter...right?

[FormerMod-a1]

Well, it is taking place at Guy's house, so...  Hunter's house too?  and should be top?  

I like Hunter just fine (UPO, I know) but I do agree he's not one of the top chefs in the country, however he associated with the Fiery empire, so... I guess it's expected.

[Salacious Kitty]

Sorry not sorry, but I am not paying top dollar to see undeserved nepotism at work. I've seen Hunter's food on the ranch kitchen show, and I wasn't impressed. A mediocre home cook could make his fare. Can't say the same for Voltaggio or Jet. 

[Catfi9ht]

Ever since the GGG episode with Antonia and her daughter at home aired, I've been a big Antonia fan. Now that I've gotten to see more of her personality, she seems funny and fun, and she knows good food without being a snob about it.

People on the TOC board were saying good things about Antonia's new show, Beachside Brawl. I need to remember to watch it.

Also, it's probably more expensive to put together, but I hope we still get at home GGG episodes every so often. I loved seeing the chef's homes, families, etc. We got to see more of their personalities and they seemed more relaxed since they were home.

[Salacious Kitty]

@Catfi9ht, Beachside Brawl aired its finale last Sunday. I don't have D+, so I don't know if you can see it there.

[kirklandia]

On 7/28/2022 at 9:11 AM, Salacious Kitty said:

@Catfi9ht, Beachside Brawl aired its finale last Sunday. I don't have D+, so I don't know if you can see it there.

If you have cable, it's available on demand.

[HyeChaps]

1.  After all this time, how can contestants not realize when Guy does his 3, 2, 1, Go shtick?

2.  Why choose plates with no rims so food rolls off or drips over the edge?

[eclectcmoi]

3. And choose plates that don't enhance what's placed on them?  Isn't plating and presentation part of the judging? 

[Leeds]

On 8/9/2022 at 8:28 AM, eclectcmoi said:

3. And choose plates that don't enhance what's placed on them?  Isn't plating and presentation part of the judging? 

It depends what episode it is . . .

[FormerMod-a1]

So happy to see a new episode last night!  Home cooks this time, however. I felt bad that 2 of them got like 10-11 in taste.  I was shocked to see scores that low.  They are usually nicer with the home cooks.  That said, they applied the scores fairly and it wasn't a huge span between most of them, but the one guy kind of blew them away.  (Wish I could remember their names, lol)

[kirklandia]

"Artesian-style" tacos. My favorite.

[Grizzly]

Bless your heart, Damaris Phillips, for thinking lasagna is 5 star.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Bless your heart, Damaris Phillips, for thinking lasagna is 5 star.

I appreciated her open contempt for snooty small portions at some upscale restaurants, though 😆

I also enjoyed possibly the slowest, calmest shopping sequence ever seen on this show, courtesy of Damaris and her high heels. She was being cautious!

(and shallow note: she looked mighty fine in that dress, though I've always thought she was cute as hell)

Edited January 12, 2023 by tracyscott76

[CrazyInAlabama]

On last night's reruns, they had two different seasons episodes of the Carl Ruiz April Fool's shows.    Everyone was saying such nice things about Carl, and the pranks Guy played were so funny.   The 2020 one I guess is the original, and it was so touching.   However, the poor judges having to suffer through the extreme heat of all of the spicy dishes was kind of hard to watch at times. 

I was surprised that Troy Johnson won one episode, and with pork chops, that he's lost with before.  

[Catfi9ht]

I cherish all the episodes about and with Carl. He was so funny and talented and seemed like a really nice person. He was gone WAY too soon, but I'm thankful that we got to know him a bit through Guy's shows.

[Yeah No]

Speaking of the older episodes and Carl, I find that the newer episodes are not as much fun as they used to be, perhaps in part because of the absence of Carl, but it just seems like Guy has lost some of his sense of fun with the show too in the past year or more.  I can't put my finger on it.  He used to have a lot of regulars on and funny banter back and forth and now not so much.  I feel like the change roughly started when they moved to the new set.  I have about 5 episodes backed up on my DVR because I'm missing the "old days" on this show.  It's to the point where I'd almost rather watch older episodes than new ones.  If I didn't already see so many of them, I probably would.

[mlp]

On 3/31/2023 at 1:33 AM, Yeah No said:

I find that the newer episodes are not as much fun as they used to be,

I know what you mean.  However, I just watched this week's show with Joe Sasto, Malarkey, Beau and Shirley (meh) and it was fun.  I like Joe and Beau and Malarkey is such a maniac he makes me laugh.  

I always enjoyed the run through the store at the end but most people now take the check.  I actually don't blame them.  Running and trying to spot things has to be hard but it's more fun to watch.

[Yeah No]

On 4/1/2023 at 10:34 PM, mlp said:

I know what you mean.  However, I just watched this week's show with Joe Sasto, Malarkey, Beau and Shirley (meh) and it was fun.  I like Joe and Beau and Malarkey is such a maniac he makes me laugh. 

That's good to hear!  I like them too, although Joe Sasto and Malarkey don't seem to be so loved over on the TOC thread.

[mlp]

21 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

I like them too, although Joe Sasto and Malarkey don't seem to be so loved over on the TOC thread.

I've noticed that.  I liked Joe when he was on Top Chef although I thought he'd grow out of the Snidely Whiplash mustache.  Instead it sort of became his brand.  He has tamed it down a bit.  Malarkey acts like a nut case but he's really a well-respected chef and business man, happily married with children.  I think he's one of the good guys but a lot of people don't look past his goofy act.

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, mlp said:

I've noticed that.  I liked Joe when he was on Top Chef although I thought he'd grow out of the Snidely Whiplash mustache.  Instead it sort of became his brand.  He has tamed it down a bit. 

I always think of Super Mario when I think of Joe.

[eclectcmoi]

I enjoyed the latest episode with Joe, Beau and Malarkey, even with his antics.  Shirley though... she really bugs.  Tiffani was practically fawning all over her. 

Spoiler

Really glad to see Beau win.  Haven't seen that happen in a while. 

 

[Grizzly]

21 hours ago, eclectcmoi said:

I enjoyed the latest episode with Joe, Beau and Malarkey, even with his antics.  Shirley though... she really bugs.  Tiffani was practically fawning all over her. 

  Hide contents

Really glad to see Beau win.  Haven't seen that happen in a while. 

 

I wonder why Beau isn't in TOC. He was the only one from that whole cast who wasn't. And the only chef who wasn't giving his winnings to charity. Need a loan, go to Bank of Guy.

[hiisa]

Every time I think of this show--without fail--is one of the early episodes they played No Carts Allowed and they showed some guy strolling through the aisles balancing all of his stuff on a cookie sheet. Clearly following the letter of the law and not the spirit of the law. I don't remember if Guy or the judges said anything but I think the guy snarked about how dumb everyone else was. And the next time they played that game that display of cooking supplies was gone

[FormerMod-a1]

There's going to a 5 week celebrity chef edition and it's featuring chefs that haven't been on before.  The have all done TOC, though.  I'm still looking forward to it. 

Guy Fieri Sets Five-Week Celebrity Chef Edition of ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ at Food Network (EXCLUSIVE)

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, aquarian1 said:

There's going to a 5 week celebrity chef edition and it's featuring chefs that haven't been on before.  The have all done TOC, though.  I'm still looking forward to it. 

Guy Fieri Sets Five-Week Celebrity Chef Edition of ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ at Food Network (EXCLUSIVE)

Too bad Leah Cohen's not in there, since she was just on the most recent TOC with most of those people. I'd like to see how she would do on GGG.

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, aquarian1 said:

There's going to a 5 week celebrity chef edition and it's featuring chefs that haven't been on before.  The have all done TOC, though.  I'm still looking forward to it. 

Guy Fieri Sets Five-Week Celebrity Chef Edition of ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ at Food Network (EXCLUSIVE)

That is a strong field of chefs.  Will look forward to it!  

[kirklandia]

4 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

5 week celebrity chef edition

SH😍TA!

[eclectcmoi]

Emily who was in the most recent episode with the auction game is competing in Antonio Lofaso's Beachside Brawl.  She's on Brian Malarkey's team. 

[Guest]

29 minutes ago, eclectcmoi said:

Emily who was in the most recent episode with the auction game is competing in Antonio Lofaso's Beachside Brawl.  She's on Brian Malarkey's team. 

Thanks for the heads-up. I might have to watch it knowing that, even if Malarkey is there. I really like Emily, even though she kinda half-assed her waffles in this brunch challenge. 

[Grizzly]

20 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

That is a strong field of chefs.  Will look forward to it!  

Probably taped at the same time as TOC. 

[Salacious Kitty]

3 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Probably taped at the same time as TOC. 

Different locations. TOC tapes in LA, and GGG tapes in NoCal near Guy's residence.

[Gramto6]

46 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Different locations. TOC tapes in LA, and GGG tapes in NoCal near Guy's residence.

They easily could have taped one of the shows and then moved all those participating/and crews of the other show to the second location to film it. Not a huge distance between locations.

[Salacious Kitty]

9 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

They easily could have taped one of the shows and then moved all those participating/and crews of the other show to the second location to film it. Not a huge distance between locations.

That's presuming they have the same production crews. They may, but if they're different, it might actually be easier to film back to back with equipment already in place.

[Yeah No]

On 6/30/2023 at 3:44 PM, Salacious Kitty said:

That's presuming they have the same production crews. They may, but if they're different, it might actually be easier to film back to back with equipment already in place.

I'm thinking these days they would do anything to save money so whatever the cheapest thing to do is, that's what they'll do.  If they have many of the chefs coming from different parts of the country it's cheaper to do both shows while they're in California and if it's cheaper to use the same crew, they'll do that too.

[Yeah No]

On 4/1/2023 at 10:34 PM, mlp said:

I know what you mean.  However, I just watched this week's show with Joe Sasto, Malarkey, Beau and Shirley (meh) and it was fun.  I like Joe and Beau and Malarkey is such a maniac he makes me laugh.  

FYI I just caught up with this episode on my DVR and I remembered your post about this.  I agree, it was a fun episode, more like the earlier seasons.  I'm still behind about 10 episodes though.  I'll catch up sooner or later.

[Catfi9ht]

Really enjoyed the behind the scenes episode that aired last night. I wish other shows did that more. 

Showing behind the scenes would give people a better understanding about how many people and cameras are around all the time and how intimidating it is. I think it would give folks more empathy for the people on these shows.

[Gramto6]

4 hours ago, Catfi9ht said:

Really enjoyed the behind the scenes episode that aired last night. I wish other shows did that more. 

Showing behind the scenes would give people a better understanding about how many people and cameras are around all the time and how intimidating it is. I think it would give folks more empathy for the people on these shows.

I really enjoyed it too! Regularly we might catch a glimpse of one camera man following a contestant through the store, but this really gave us a behind the scenes view of what the whole thing is like. Yikes! Can you imagine the stress of all that along with competing? Don't think I could ever do anything like that. 

[Catfi9ht]

I wanted to add that I didn't realize the hero shot at the beginning of each contestant's introduction was filmed on a really tall ladder. Based on the perspective in the shot, I feel like I should have. I'm sure they were in some sort of safety harness, but the height of that ladder was really intimidating to me.

Also in 2020, there was a different behind the scenes episode where they showed different information like the "321 go" start we see during an episode is actually a fake start. Here's a link to the episode in IMDB. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12800808/

If you haven't seen it and liked the latest one, I recommend it because it gives different behind the scene glimpses that are also interesting.

[Catfi9ht]

I'm a little behind on the episodes and just finished the episode where Christa Ludke, Aaron May, Michael Voltaggio, and Brian Malarky thought they were going to judge but have to cook instead. Oh! And Guy makes Hunter cook which I haven't seen before so that was nice. 

Here's the episode since my description wasn't great. https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/guys-grocery-games/episodes/all-star-double-whammy

Anyway, I popped in to say that I love Michael Voltaggio's mind. It's so unique and it's so interesting. His dishes were heads and shoulders above anyone else's. Honestly, the competition isn't even close; he's that talented to me.

Also on this episode, he mentioned he has one daughter in med school and another starting college which blew my mind. He doesn't look old enough (to me) to have kids that old.

I wish Michael Voltaggio had his own cooking show. I would watch the shit out of it.

[Maverick]

 So did Wendy lose her job to makes way for Hunter?   Thanks a lot, nepotism!