Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[Guest]

On 1/23/2020 at 3:27 PM, roughing it said:

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

Well we have the advantage of seeing the words highlighted on screen as Guy says them. Might be more difficult if you are just listening to him and half focusing on what you're going to shop for.

[spiderpig]

On 1/22/2020 at 9:26 PM, suebee12 said:

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.

You  summed up my feelings exactly, suebee.  I usually enjoy this show as mindless, goofy entertainment, but I found the 3-week DDD/GGG arc really boring and spent more time looking at my online jigsaw puzzle than the Flavortown gimmicks.  Guess it's because I didn't care about most of the contestahts and their food was generally unappealing.

Plus I missed the nutty run around the store at the end of the show.

[jlc]

Last night there were athletes and judges pairings, and Carl was on. At first I thought "oh no, this is too sad," but then I realized that I was happy to see Carl again because he has always been one of my favorites. I was really missing him, but it was good to see him again, despite his being gone.

[Gramto6]

Another new Carl Ruiz episode tonight on GGG. Bittersweet to see him, but sad to know he is gone. I wonder how many more new episodes with him they have in the can?? I miss posted this on DDD sorry for the mistake.

Edited February 6, 2020 by Gramto6
typo

[suebee12]

I just watched the High budget game and really enjoyed it. Always thought that it was hard to use "cheap" ingredients, but expensive things are not so easy! Not being able to use the under $10 veggies was really hard...the one guy was smart to buy the whole basil plant but then he didn't use it as he should have. I was rooting for Billy the whole game and his meals looked yummy!

Can't wait for the Tournament of Champions to begin....hoping that Iron Chef Alex goes out early but probably won't happen!

[Gramto6]

Interesting twist. Those flavor enhancers that are low dollar but high flavor are hard to replace/substitute. This was one of the better challenges lately.

[jlc]

7 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I just watched the High budget game and really enjoyed it. Always thought that it was hard to use "cheap" ingredients, but expensive things are not so easy! Not being able to use the under $10 veggies was really hard...the one guy was smart to buy the whole basil plant but then he didn't use it as he should have. I was rooting for Billy the whole game and his meals looked yummy!

Can't wait for the Tournament of Champions to begin....hoping that Iron Chef Alex goes out early but probably won't happen!

"Iron Chef" Alex! What a joke she is. Not a single Iron Chef still uses that as part or their identity but her! Sad for her that that seems to be her only claim to fame.

[Yeah No]

On 3/1/2020 at 7:56 AM, jlc said:

"Iron Chef" Alex! What a joke she is. Not a single Iron Chef still uses that as part or their identity but her! Sad for her that that seems to be her only claim to fame.

Not to defend her, but she does own two successful restaurants in Manhattan and has hosted or judged on several FN shows, so she has a little more than just her Iron Chef title as a claim on fame.  Plus she was given the moniker "ICAG" by I don't know who and it stuck so that's how they introduce her all the time.  I don't even think she's responsible for that.  Although I always felt she was being hyped beyond what she deserved and felt like the fix was in for her to win "The Next Iron Chef" on that season she became an Iron Chef.  I used to hate her but now I've been beaten down into accepting her, just like Guy Fieri.  There's no escaping them so I'm like "whatever" anymore.

[jlc]

4 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Not to defend her, but she does own two successful restaurants in Manhattan and has hosted or judged on several FN shows, so she has a little more than just her Iron Chef title as a claim on fame.  Plus she was given the moniker "ICAG" by I don't know who and it stuck so that's how they introduce her all the time.  I don't even think she's responsible for that.  Although I always felt she was being hyped beyond what she deserved and felt like the fix was in for her to win "The Next Iron Chef" on that season she became an Iron Chef.  I used to hate her but now I've been beaten down into accepting her, just like Guy Fieri.  There's no escaping them so I'm like "whatever" anymore.

I agree the fix was in for her to win that season, but Guy Fieri gave her that ICGA nickname and SHE is the one who ran with it. She introduces herself as Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. She made the name stick and as a judge on other shows she can be rude and condescending. And when you watch her compete, she does not take criticism well - at all! Just think it is time for her to get off tv, just like Melissa D'Arabian!!!

 

[Yeah No]

15 hours ago, jlc said:

Just think it is time for her to get off tv, just like Melissa D'Arabian!!!

Speaking of Melissa, does anyone know if she voluntarily left FN or was she let go?  I've been wondering.  I just took a look at her IMDB page and she made a few appearances on the Hallmark Channel in 2018 and 2019 on their "Home and Family" show.

[LexieLily]

Not sure whether to make a thread for it or not, but is anyone going to watch the Guy-hosted, March-Madness style Tournament of Champions starting tonight?

[jlc]

17 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Speaking of Melissa, does anyone know if she voluntarily left FN or was she let go?  I've been wondering.  I just took a look at her IMDB page and she made a few appearances on the Hallmark Channel in 2018 and 2019 on their "Home and Family" show.

Her daughter was on Kids Baking Championship and I heard or read somewhere that she got a lot of flack for that, and that is also when she stopped judging on triple g. I also remember once while judging with Richard Blais she made a comment about knowing what he meant by a comment and he told her no you don't.  I don't  think she made any comments that show. It was awesome. She was worse than ICAG if that is possible. 

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

Not sure whether to make a thread for it or not, but is anyone going to watch the Guy-hosted, March-Madness style Tournament of Champions starting tonight?

I am, already have it on my DVR calendar. I like quite a few of the chiefs but I think I will be rooting for Darnell! Have always liked him...of course, the pairings will make a difference!

 

****Just realized that Justin Warner and Adam May won't be on....wonder if they will judge?

Edited March 4, 2020 by suebee12

[jlc]

29 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

I am, already have it on my DVR calendar. I like quite a few of the chiefs but I think I will be rooting for Darnell! Have always liked him...of course, the pairings will make a difference!

 

****Just realized that Justin Warner and Adam May won't be on....wonder if they will judge?

I am rooting for Darnell too.  Big fan of his!

 

[LexieLily]

37 minutes ago, suebee12 said:

I am, already have it on my DVR calendar. I like quite a few of the chiefs but I think I will be rooting for Darnell! Have always liked him...of course, the pairings will make a difference!

 

****Just realized that Justin Warner and Adam May won't be on....wonder if they will judge?

According to the brackets, Darnell is up against Alex in the first round.

Are we supposed to know who Brooke Williamson is?

[suebee12]

9 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Brooke Williamson

She was on Top Chef and won one season.

 

Quote

According to the brackets, Darnell is up against Alex in the first round.

Maybe he can beat her?🤞🤞

Edited March 4, 2020 by suebee12

[LexieLily]

The full bracket is on the FN site if you wanted to see the match-ups before tonight.

[suebee12]

6 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Maybe he can beat her?🤞🤞

......and he did!!!!!!!!!!

[LexieLily]

I should not have come in this thread when I haven't watched yet. LMAO. But yay!!

Did you think all the bracket pairings were an even matchup?

[Gramto6]

13 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

I should not have come in this thread when I haven't watched yet. LMAO. But yay!!

Did you think all the bracket pairings were an even matchup?

Is there a thread for this show? I tried to search but no luck...

[LexieLily]

It just started tonight, so I don't think so. I guess someone can make one if they wanted to.

[suebee12]

I really liked how this tournament was designed. I especially liked the blind judging. Sometimes I truly think that chefs win because of their reputation! Not sure we really need Simon and Justin but since it is a blind judge, they are there to answer questions about the cook so maybe we do!

I went back and watched so I could compare the scores and boy did they vary!

Antonia vs Marcel

47    TASTE     45

28    EXEC      27

17    PRES      17

92   TOTAL     89

 

Eric    vs    Jet

37  TASTE  38

20  EXEC   22

15  PRES   16

72  TOTAL 76

 

Alex   vs  Darnell

37   TASTE  36

20   EXEC   22

14  PRES    14

71 TOTAL   72

So Marcel is actually in second place by scores, just not by bracket!!  Can't wait to see next week's rounds. And I noticed that Marcus won't  be judging then.

[crimsongrl]

Here you go: Tournament of Champions

[Ashforth]

On 3/3/2020 at 6:35 AM, jlc said:

I agree the fix was in for her to win that season, but Guy Fieri gave her that ICGA nickname and SHE is the one who ran with it. She introduces herself as Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. She made the name stick and as a judge on other shows she can be rude and condescending. And when you watch her compete, she does not take criticism well - at all! Just think it is time for her to get off tv, just like Melissa D'Arabian!!!

This. On a recent episode of some FN show she wore a T-shirt emblazoned with "ICAG" and I get needing branding to make money, but that is a tired schtick. And she seems pretty much like a jerk. And her food tastes good, when it does, because she drowns it in butter or other fats.

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, Ashforth said:

This. On a recent episode of some FN show she wore a T-shirt emblazoned with "ICAG" and I get needing branding to make money, but that is a tired schtick. And she seems pretty much like a jerk. And her food tastes good, when it does, because she drowns it in butter or other fats.

Speaking of the ICAG title, when Guy introduced her on "Tournament of Champions" there was no mention at all of her Iron Chef title.

On 3/4/2020 at 5:48 PM, suebee12 said:

****Just realized that Justin Warner and Adam May won't be on....wonder if they will judge?

Justin Warner is a "floor reporter" along with Simon Majumdar.  No sign of Aaron May.

[Yeah No]

On 3/4/2020 at 4:07 PM, jlc said:

Her daughter was on Kids Baking Championship and I heard or read somewhere that she got a lot of flack for that, and that is also when she stopped judging on triple g. I also remember once while judging with Richard Blais she made a comment about knowing what he meant by a comment and he told her no you don't.  I don't  think she made any comments that show. It was awesome. She was worse than ICAG if that is possible. 

Interesting....I don't watch the baking championship so I didn't know her daughter was on it.  I wonder why she got flak for that.  I did a quick search and found a strange quote from her about how she lost a job to someone else.  I wonder what that was.

Here's the quote from this article she wrote called "Losing is Hard":

Quote

Just last week, I lost a job that went to someone else. My daughter Valentine wasn’t accepted into a prestigious ballet program.  My other daughters’ (Margaux and Oceane) soccer team lost their big, final tournament.

 

[jlc]

28 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Interesting....I don't watch the baking championship so I didn't know her daughter was on it.  I wonder why she got flak for that.  I did a quick search and found a strange quote from her about how she lost a job to someone else.  I wonder what that was.

Here's the quote from this article she wrote called "Losing is Hard":

 

When was this article written? 

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, jlc said:

When was this article written? 

There's no year given.

[Ashforth]

I'm cross-posting this in multiple threads and if I get banned, this is the hill I'm willing to die on because this may literally be a matter of life or death:

Tom Colicchio is out front in publicizing that the need to feed our nation's children during the COVID-19 crisis is even more critical than it quietly is every "normal" day. With schools closing because of the pandemic, millions of kids in the U.S. will lose their primary source of nutrition. https://www.sheknows.com/parenting/articles/2174246/coronavirus-children-school-lunch/

Not only that, millions of people, especially in the service industry, are going to lose their incomes and may be faced with going hungry.

If you can afford to, please donate to your local food bank. You can save lives with a $5 donation.

[CrazyDog]

What a lovely tribute to Carl. Fun, crazy, chaotic, and with tears too. He seemed like such a wonderful spirit. Glad for the winner too!

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, CrazyDog said:

What a lovely tribute to Carl. Fun, crazy, chaotic, and with tears too. He seemed like such a wonderful spirit. Glad for the winner too!

Delightful GGG tonight with dear friends of Carl.  Loved all of the little descriptions of their relationships with him.  Great, great camaraderie and clearly a very close group of FN “family”.  Carl was such a beloved guy and it’s apparent how much they all adored him and miss him.  And I was delighted with the winner!!  Terrific ending to a jovial, fun tribute to Carl.  

Edited March 26, 2020 by MerBearHou

[Koalagirl]

The tribute to Carl was one of the most genuine, heartfelt tributes I’ve ever seen a tv show do.  You could see how much they hurt but rose way above being maudlin, which Carl wouldn’t have wanted, and gave quite an entertaining show.  

[jlc]

10 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

The tribute to Carl was one of the most genuine, heartfelt tributes I’ve ever seen a tv show do.  You could see how much they hurt but rose way above being maudlin, which Carl wouldn’t have wanted, and gave quite an entertaining show.  

I agree 100%. The show made me laugh, smile, cry, and best of all, it made me remember a really great guy. I am such a Guy Fieri fan now because of this really touching tribute to his friend Carl. Thank you Guy, I really appreciated this. 

[Ashforth]

Aww I went to bed early and missed it. Looking forward to the rerun.

[mlp]

16 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

The tribute to Carl was one of the most genuine, heartfelt tributes I’ve ever seen a tv show do.  

Yes, that's exactly what I thought.  It was obvious that all these people are genuinely friends and truly cared about Carl.  Everything rang true.  Carl would have enjoyed it.

I was glad Troy won too.  

[suebee12]

56 minutes ago, mlp said:

I was glad Troy won too. 

Me, too. Plus I was happy Justin's dish won! I like him lots and lots!! I do not do hot food, and my mouth was burning just watching the poor judges with their eyes running and almost unable to speak. OUCH!!

[spiderpig]

^^^What everybody else said about Carl's April Fool show.  Smiled through the tears.

[kcrabtree06]

23 hours ago, mlp said:

Yes, that's exactly what I thought.  It was obvious that all these people are genuinely friends and truly cared about Carl.  Everything rang true.  Carl would have enjoyed it.

I was glad Troy won too.  

I feel like Troy actually winning for once was the only appropriate way to end a Carl Ruiz April Fool’s Day theme episode.

[Gramto6]

23 hours ago, kcrabtree06 said:

I feel like Troy actually winning for once was the only appropriate way to end a Carl Ruiz April Fool’s Day theme episode.

Laughter and sadness, all in all a very uplifting show. So needed in this time of chaos.

[Ashforth]

For anyone else who missed it, or wants to watch it again, it's on at 5 pm Central time (in about 10 minutes).

[MerBearHou]

I just watched the GGG Carl Tribute show a second time and it was just as delightful as the first time.  What a gem of an episode and a loving, fun-loving tribute to their friend, Carl.  I enjoyed every single person on this GGG and so loved seeing their great humor and friendships and respect for their buddy.

[Brookside]

Can anybody tell me whether Carl Ruiz pronounced his name "Ruez" (like Guy Fieri does) or "Ruiz" (like everyone else does)?

[RealityCheck]

Love him or hate him, you have to give Guy Fieri credit for his sense of responsibility during disasters.  Guy Fieri is helping restaurant employees impacted by COVID-19.

[jlc]

1 hour ago, RealityCheck said:

Love him or hate him, you have to give Guy Fieri credit for his sense of responsibility during disasters.  Guy Fieri is helping restaurant employees impacted by COVID-19.

I agree! He always steps up to help, and then he will spotlight on a future show to help them even more!!! I really love him for that!

[jcbrown]

This was a amazing episode and I really needed it.

[springbarb]

Was watching an episode of this and Guy had his son Hunter come out and be a judge for the last round. I like Guy well enough, but I really wish he'd stop trying to make Hunter happen. It seems that the kid is legitimately interested in food and I guess becoming a chef, but I'd be annoyed if I went on GGG and the final round had Hunter as a judge. I also don't really like to see him on DDD, though I don't mind the "At home" clips with Guy and Hunter commenting on old episodes.

[jlc]

30 minutes ago, springbarb said:

Was watching an episode of this and Guy had his son Hunter come out and be a judge for the last round. I like Guy well enough, but I really wish he'd stop trying to make Hunter happen. It seems that the kid is legitimately interested in food and I guess becoming a chef, but I'd be annoyed if I went on GGG and the final round had Hunter as a judge. I also don't really like to see him on DDD, though I don't mind the "At home" clips with Guy and Hunter commenting on old episodes.

On one of the new DDD shows I think last week, Hunter actually said that one day this show would be his! Really??? I was kinda mad about that, because he is not as qualified as his dad to judge food, and did he graduate from Culinary School? I think i read somewhere that he dropped out 

[springbarb]

Yeah, I saw that and had a similar reaction.

[suebee12]

I know that Guy is quite generous with the northern CA area and helping with food, so every time I see the giant grocery store they have, I wonder if he donated everything in it to help people. I know they give away the perishables but how about all the other stuff that people could use right now.

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, suebee12 said:

I know that Guy is quite generous with the northern CA area and helping with food, so every time I see the giant grocery store they have, I wonder if he donated everything in it to help people. I know they give away the perishables but how about all the other stuff that people could use right now.

My understanding is the grocery store is a tv set. In the beginning they were using a real grocery store, but it was too disruptive to the store, so they built a set. If they gave the food away, they wouldn't have a set. The question is, how many episodes are in the can before they had to stop production because of the pandemic? Will FN hang on to the set until they can film again? It's not up to Guy, it's up to FN and the production company.