Guy's Grocery Games - General Discussion

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, suebee1212 said:

I do a bit of looking to see if I could find out what he was doing there and here is what I discovered.

 

https://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/celebrity-chef-sharing-story-of-beef/article_7fbce2f0-b9ff-11e9-a239-6f441dc2bcf6.html

Yeah, I saw that article but he was only there to judge a ten restaurant beef competition back in 2019.  It doesn't explain why he's living there now.  I'm figuring it has something to do with his wife being from there.

[mlp]

3 hours ago, suebee1212 said:

I do a bit of looking to see if I could find out what he was doing there and here is what I discovered.

I couldn't decide from that plus last night if Justin was just visiting or has moved there.  I'd be inclined to think visiting except for that canister of liquid nitrogen.  That isn't the kind of thing one's in-laws are apt to have on hand.  OTOH I can easily see Justin stashing it there for effect during the show.  🙂

I absolutely couldn't stand Justin when he was on NFNS but he grew up or something and now I'm happy to see him.  He's very bright and the other GGG regulars all seem to like him.

[Ashforth]

12 hours ago, mlp said:

I couldn't decide from that plus last night if Justin was just visiting or has moved there. 

I wondered if he and his wife decided to stay there to escape Covid-19 in New York. Sadly, now it's ravaging western states like South Dakota.

[LexieLily]

I just turned on the TV and saw what is apparently a rerun of last week's episode. Have we ever seen Guy cook before? He was cooking the games, a rerun of an old vegetarian episode. 

[Ashforth]

1 hour ago, LexieLily said:

I just turned on the TV and saw what is apparently a rerun of last week's episode. Have we ever seen Guy cook before? He was cooking the games, a rerun of an old vegetarian episode. 

I watched it, too. I think that Guy cooked alongside the contestants on a regular GGG episode (but didn't compete), but I don't know how long ago that was.

I enjoyed this. I liked the way they structured it and it was cool that Justin was there as a surprise to judge. I thought Hunter did a good job as "host" and showed more personality than usual. They all seemed to be having fun.

[FormerMod-a1]

I liked the "what would Guy make" version, too.  I hope they did more of those eps.  This week was back to delivery, but this time outside using grills.  

[mlp]

4 hours ago, aquarian1 said:

This week was back to delivery, but this time outside using grills.  

I was surprised when Christian won.  His cauliflower steak treatment was clever and it did look good but I would have preferred Justin's swordfish.  Elizabeth Falkner's topping looked really good but her tuna was clearly overdone.  I got a kick out of Christian's wife running out squealing.  She must have been lurking out of sight watching him the whole time.  🙂

[Ashforth]

11 hours ago, mlp said:

I was surprised when Christian won.  His cauliflower steak treatment was clever and it did look good but I would have preferred Justin's swordfish.  Elizabeth Falkner's topping looked really good but her tuna was clearly overdone.  I got a kick out of Christian's wife running out squealing.  She must have been lurking out of sight watching him the whole time.  🙂

Christian's wife was so excited! I felt kind of bad for her when he turned down $10K to take a chance on spinning the wheel. I was glad they ended up with more money. Justin cracked me up with his elaborate setup of equipment.

I've never warmed up to Elizabeth Faulkner. There's something about her that I find offputting but I can't identify what it is. Her tuna looked way overcooked. 

[jlc]

4 hours ago, Ashforth said:

never warmed up to Elizabeth Faulkner. There's something about her that I find offputting but I can't identify what it is. Her tuna looked way overcooked. 

I am the same way about her. She used to do a lot of the baking competitions on food network back in the day, and I could never "like" her. Something about her.

[mlp]

8 hours ago, Ashforth said:

I've never warmed up to Elizabeth Faulkner. There's something about her that I find offputting but I can't identify what it is.

Ditto.  I have never liked her either and I've never been able to say why exactly.  She used to be on many competition shows and never, as I recall, won.  Despite the kick-boxing.  🙂  I kept trying to read the tattoo on her right arm but the camera didn't stay on it long enough for me to make it out.

[Gramto6]

24 minutes ago, mlp said:

Ditto.  I have never liked her either and I've never been able to say why exactly.  She used to be on many competition shows and never, as I recall, won.  Despite the kick-boxing.  🙂  I kept trying to read the tattoo on her right arm but the camera didn't stay on it long enough for me to make it out.

Ditto here too, there is just something offputting about her. She may well be a good chef but personality wise there is just something I don't like about her.

[Yeah No]

2 hours ago, mlp said:

Ditto.  I have never liked her either and I've never been able to say why exactly.  She used to be on many competition shows and never, as I recall, won.  Despite the kick-boxing.  🙂  I kept trying to read the tattoo on her right arm but the camera didn't stay on it long enough for me to make it out.

I've never disliked her but find her to be one of those introverts with a personality fit for a library, not television.

And I say that as a card-carrying introvert that hates it when introverts get misread as snobs or cold fishes when it's just that they don't show everything on their sleeves.  I'm not like that myself, but I understand the problem.

I think she's probably a lovely person but she's just not great from a TV perspective, nor would I probably want be her close friend in real life.  And yeah, I admit she mildly annoys me.

I seem to remember her winning something once (and I think it might have been GGG) and almost falling over because I had never seen her win anything else.  I can't remember the specifics now, though.

[mlp]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

And I say that as a card-carrying introvert that hates it when introverts get misread as snobs or cold fishes when it's just that they don't show everything on their sleeves.

You may be right.  I'm an introvert myself and would probably come across as very reserved if I were on TV because it would never occur to me to squeal or scream or jump up and down.  Whatever Elizabeth Falkner is, I respond to her like I do to Brooke Williamson - off-putting and I can't explain why.

[joanne3482]

I like Elizabeth. I've always liked her no-nonsense attitude. 

I find it interesting that they are actually winning the money for themselves. Usually when the celebs do these shows they're winning for charities. I know the restaurant world is in a crisis right now and celeb restaurants are being hit, but knowing there's probably more than one mom and pop restaurant about to lose their livelihood in each of their cities gives me pause that they win the 20k for themselves. 

On 10/30/2020 at 11:06 PM, mlp said:

I couldn't decide from that plus last night if Justin was just visiting or has moved there.  I'd be inclined to think visiting except for that canister of liquid nitrogen.  That isn't the kind of thing one's in-laws are apt to have on hand.  OTOH I can easily see Justin stashing it there for effect during the show.  🙂

 Based on last night's episode cooking outside, he seems to live there now. He just mentioned that he and his wife decided to leave NY. They spent a year living in their motorhome and now they've settled in a house. 

[Ashforth]

6 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

I find it interesting that they are actually winning the money for themselves. Usually when the celebs do these shows they're winning for charities. I know the restaurant world is in a crisis right now and celeb restaurants are being hit, but knowing there's probably more than one mom and pop restaurant about to lose their livelihood in each of their cities gives me pause that they win the 20k for themselves. 

They're losing their own restaurants and livelihoods, too. Most restauranteurs aren't rich (even those who FN promotes as "celebrity chefs") and don't have huge savings to fall back on. The profit margins are slim in the best of times. These are the worst of times and will be for months or more to come. 😢 

[Maverick]

 GGG switched to the celeb chefs playing for themselves instead of charity a few years ago, well before the pandemic.  The chefs have varying degrees of success and fame.  Damaris and Justin aren't making bank on their Food Network "fame" and haven't even parlayed it into other opportunities like top tier FN personalities.   It's not as cringe worthy when they play.  But when you have an Alex G--who has a lucrative contract with FN--or a Marlarky--who while coming off as a nut bar has a restaurant empire--it's a little more eyebrow raising. 

[Grizzly]

Justin is my favorite chef in the Guyverse. I always thought he didn't get enough respect just because he doesn't own his own restaurant.

[chessiegal]

29 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Justin is my favorite chef in the Guyverse. I always thought he didn't get enough respect just because he doesn't own his own restaurant.

I thought Justin did have a restaurant that went bankrupt. Not that a restaurant not making it is unusual. It's a tough business.

[Maverick]

 So Damaris is on a Home Delivery episode with Christian and Voltaggio--both of whom have already been on this format and won big.  Gee, I wonder which of the 3 of them is going to win.  Hmmmm.

[dvr devotee]

@Maverick, those were exactly my thoughts when I saw who was competing, but thought "well, maybe they'll surprise me!" Nope. Though that turkey impression was pretty incredible.

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 very much like the at-home setting and getting the chance to see what these chefs consider must-have items for their own kitchens. I know they won't be able to make this format last forever (at least not without expanding the pool of cheftestants/judges), but this is the one show where I'm really not at all missing the pre-pandemic version.

[Ashforth]

There are good and not good things about the FN chef favorites cooking at home for GGG. Safety in the time of pandemic = good. Seeing the chefs at home = good. Judging a category of how their creations taste when the judges literally cannot taste the food = bad. Bad as in idiotic.

Why aren't they using non-FN celebrity chefs? I grow weary of seeing the same FN-contracted chefs as both contestants and judges. I guess FN needs to fulfill their contracts. As @dvr devotee said, FN needs to expand the pool of cheftestants/judges. For me, this is quickly getting old.

[springbarb]

9 hours ago, 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 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.

[Yeah No]

Well, I miss the pre-pandemic version because the whole point of the show that makes it different from any other cooking competition is the supermarket element.  Otherwise it's just like a more relaxed "Chopped".

2 hours ago, Ashforth said:

There are good and not good things about the FN chef favorites cooking at home for GGG. Safety in the time of pandemic = good. Seeing the chefs at home = good. Judging a category of how their creations taste when the judges literally cannot taste the food = bad. Bad as in idiotic.

Why aren't they using non-FN celebrity chefs? I grow weary of seeing the same FN-contracted chefs as both contestants and judges. I guess FN needs to fulfill their contracts. As @dvr devotee said, FN needs to expand the pool of cheftestants/judges. For me, this is quickly getting old.

I'm thinking they're not using unknown chefs because it's harder to teach them how to handle the photography and other TV presentation-related elements than it is to use people that are experienced at appearing on TV.  But I agree with you, it is getting old and I predicted that right away.  If they could figure out a way to use non-celebrity chefs that all lived in the same area they could have their food boxed and couriered over to judges that live in the same area for a real tasting.  More than a few of the show's judges live in California so I don't see why they couldn't feature local chefs and then have their food sent to the local judges for a tasting.  It all wouldn't take place live, obviously, but they could splice the judging part in later.

[suebee1212]

After last night I would love to try Voltaggio's cooking! He comes up with such imaginative dishes! All I can say about Petroni is that he needs to learn to make his dishes "pretty". I know that they are rushed but his plates always look rushed. And what the heck did he shake all over his plate? Paprika? Just plain paprika? Damaris is a good cook and I like her style of cooking but I really don't like things covered in other things, like those poor brussel sprouts were...not for me!

[dmeets]

Christian is obnoxiously manic on a good day, but he seemed... not sober this episode, to the point where I was worried he was going to injure himself. All the weird faces are nothing new for him, but he seemed to be slurring and using more nonsense words (the apple-i-ness of the apples) than usual.

Edited November 25, 2020 by dmeets

[Brookside]

On 9/17/2020 at 12:03 PM, Grizzly said:

Celeb chef budget battle. Michael Voltaggio wore baggy, leather pants! How skinny is that dude? 

 

Skinny as hell, yes, and leather trousers on anyone should be forever banned, but I thought he actually looked relatively healthy.

 

On 10/30/2020 at 5:01 PM, suebee1212 said:

I do a bit of looking to see if I could find out what he was doing there and here is what I discovered.

 

https://www.bhpioneer.com/local_news/celebrity-chef-sharing-story-of-beef/article_7fbce2f0-b9ff-11e9-a239-6f441dc2bcf6.html

Has Justin Warner never read "Fast Food Nation"?

[dvr devotee]

I'm watching the "Home Sweet Home" episode, where Voltaggio, Maneet and Elizabeth Faulkner are competing. In the first round, Voltaggio put his pig-shaped cookies on a silicone sheet on a pan, but then put a silicone sheet on top of the cookies as he put it into the oven. I've never seen that done before, and I'm tempted to try it now. 

Edited December 4, 2020 by dvr devotee
Because autocorrect thought I meant Maneater was competing...

[Ashforth]

On 11/28/2020 at 12:41 PM, Brookside said:

Has Justin Warner never read "Fast Food Nation"?

I guess one has to make money where you can. I'm no expert, but I do think that there are variables in regard to ethical production of beef and other food products. 

4 hours ago, dvr devotee said:

I'm watching the "Home Sweet Home" episode, where Voltaggio, Maneet and Elizabeth Faulkner are competing. In the first round, Voltaggio put his pig-shaped cookies on a silicone sheet on a pan, but then put a silicone sheet on top of the cookies as he put it into the oven. I've never seen that done before, and I'm tempted to try it now. 

I don't know whether I saw this episode, but overall, I don't like this format. How the hell are the judges scoring on taste when they can't taste the food? In addition, why are they featuring the same FN "celebrities" as contestants in episode after episode? Is FN doing this to fulfill contractual obligations? It ought to be just as easy to send the boxes of ingredients and give the rules of the games to people who would usually be chosen to compete on the show. It probably has to do with production i.e. having crews to film instead of someone just using Zoom, but I still think it sucks.

[FormerMod-a1]

Taste is scored based on how well the contestants describe and "sell" the taste, AND It's worth the smallest amount of points.  I forget the exact points maximums, but it's analogous to the other categories being up to 20 each and taste being 10 .

[Ashforth]

Yeah, I get how the show is selling the scoring, but I still think it's stupid.

[mlp]

I agree that judging taste based upon a description by the person who cooked the dish leaves something to be desired but, overall, I'm enjoying the show.  I like the relaxed atmosphere and I especially like seeing the chefs' home kitchens.  I'm not even minding Hunter too much.

Justin really overdid the ghost peppers.  There was nothing fake about his reactions.  Yike.  Maneet's "sandwich" looked interesting but not like something I'd want to eat.  Marc's patty melt looked really good.  Apparently, the judges were of the same opinion.  It was kind of odd that Guy read the clues backwards to someone who is dyslexic.  Marc didn't have a problem with it though.

[Ladybird]

On 10/13/2014 at 5:28 PM, nottopbravo said:

There will never be enough fact checkers availible to keep track of the sob stories on these shows.  The worst offender is "Undercover Boss" where everyone had one.  They can't all be true.

 

 

On 10/12/2014 at 9:01 PM, cooksdelight said:

Beau: "Are we judging the story or are we judging the food?"

I really, really feel for both of them, but you can't tell me her story didn't play a part in her winning. He gave her his advantage by letting her have the chocolate. Missing the birth of his son, for crying out loud! She turned in a barely-baked cake, they weren't wild about her first dish. She's a food stylist and a culinary school grad and she can't find work that would make more than $20,000 last year? I do wish the best for her and her family. I just don't want to have it shoved in my face.

I'm really tired of sob stories. This one did it for me.

ETA: I sometimes wonder how true these stories are. I think one day it's going to come out that Mary Jane went on national TV and told everyone she was broke and sick, and then find out she's living in a really nice house, with a really nice car, above her means. Not broke.

 

On 10/12/2014 at 9:10 PM, Thalia said:

I agree cooksdelight, (and I also wish her the best).  When the contestant said it was her turn to support her husband "the way he had supported [her]," my first thought was:  No.  He supported you by working at a job.  You are spending a day in a studio and hopefully winning a contest.  

 

It would have been more interesting to see her try and do something w/o the chocolate.   She had some good ingredients.  

 

On 10/13/2014 at 1:49 AM, NikSac said:

 

I was actually super excited to hear this. Finally!!

 

I was also pretty confused by that one contestant saying it fulfilled her bucket list 3 times over or whatever she said just to meet Guy. I've met him. I liked him quite a bit. But Bucket list?  No....

 

On 10/13/2014 at 5:28 PM, nottopbravo said:

There will never be enough fact checkers availible to keep track of the sob stories on these shows.  The worst offender is "Undercover Boss" where everyone had one.  They can't all be true.

I was very sad to see Chef Daniel go because this ladys husband lost her job. He just missed the birth of his baby being there and he was very very nice to her. This is a sob story contest and I don't like it. It's unfair.

[Taeolas]

As usual, Food Network Canada is about half a year behind new episodes, so I don't know how GGG@Home is actually going. But if most of the contestants are Food Network Chefs, then I could see them able to get a taste category working just from descriptions. These Chefs should be experienced with tasting on TV and getting the description of the taste across to viewers. (Remember that's one of the things Next Food Network Star always stressed being able to do well). Were the contestants normal chefs, then the taste category wouldn't make sense because Joe or Jane Random Chef who isn't used to TV can't really be expected to have the taste description skills to properly compete against someone who's been on TV for a bit. 

[eyesopen]

On 12/4/2020 at 7:54 PM, mlp said:

I agree that judging taste based upon a description by the person who cooked the dish leaves something to be desired but, overall, I'm enjoying the show.  I like the relaxed atmosphere and I especially like seeing the chefs' home kitchens.  I'm not even minding Hunter too much.

Justin really overdid the ghost peppers.  There was nothing fake about his reactions.  Yike.  Maneet's "sandwich" looked interesting but not like something I'd want to eat.  Marc's patty melt looked really good.  Apparently, the judges were of the same opinion.  It was kind of odd that Guy read the clues backwards to someone who is dyslexic.  Marc didn't have a problem with it though.

I like GGG Delivery format too.  It's ok and enjoyable at times.  Sometimes, I'll a little tired of seeing a judge-chef that already played recently, but overall they rotated the judge-chefs well for variety viewing.

Even Justin in the heat of time pressure put in too much hot hot ghost peppers.  I've been liking Indian foods in recent years so I'll look up her sandwich.  Indian food has a very large varied selection of vegetarian dishes, so I hadn't known that one until now.  But Marc's patty melt look very good too.  Mouth watering...I can't do what Marc did reverse all that backward said clues.  😵

[Grizzly]

Never saw Duff on GGG before so that was a nice twist. And we got to learn some stuff about 🕎 so even educational. But was there some tension between Duff and Aaron? Couldn't tell if that was good natured ribbing or not. Nice Eric showing off his family. And Duff is going to be a dad! He is going to have so much fun with that.

[mlp]

I enjoyed the Hanukkah show a lot.  All three chefs are very competitive but they were clearly having fun.  I'm tickled for Duff that he's going to be a father.  Eric has a couple very good-looking sons.  Aaron lost weight a year or so ago and looked healthier.  It looks like he's put it all back on and then some.  I like him so I hope he isn't having health problems.  I'm always happy to see Jonathan Waxman.

[eyesopen]

On 12/17/2020 at 11:57 AM, Grizzly said:

Never saw Duff on GGG before so that was a nice twist. And we got to learn some stuff about 🕎 so even educational. But was there some tension between Duff and Aaron? Couldn't tell if that was good natured ribbing or not. Nice Eric showing off his family. And Duff is going to be a dad! He is going to have so much fun with that.

I agree.  I do know from other aired episodes they seem to be friends.  Who on Food Network hasn't appeared on GGG?  Maybe quite a few still.  Those others are probably busy with their own shows and other work.  I'm surprised some Chopped judges have appeared.  Chopped is great but an elite FN show, and GGG is great, but pretty casual, so seeing some of the Chopped judges appeared on GGG feels a surprise for me.  I can't imagine Marcus S. competing on GGG.  I wish Marc would win a GGG competition.  I wish Greenspan would win a GGG competition.  I'm sure a few more wishes...

 

On 12/17/2020 at 12:52 PM, mlp said:

I enjoyed the Hanukkah show a lot.  All three chefs are very competitive but they were clearly having fun.  I'm tickled for Duff that he's going to be a father.  Eric has a couple very good-looking sons.  Aaron lost weight a year or so ago and looked healthier.  It looks like he's put it all back on and then some.  I like him so I hope he isn't having health problems.  I'm always happy to see Jonathan Waxman.

I agree, Duff on being a new daddy soon.  Sigh, Aaron not keeping off the weight.  Greenspan needs to bring his down too, to be obviously healthy and long lived.  I recall some episodes whether Carl Ruiz looked thinner.  Sigh, he went too soon.

[Koalagirl]

I enjoyed the Chanukah episode a lot. It’s a holiday that has been very under-represented in the tv cooking sphere so kudos to GGG!

[Ashforth]

Watching a rerun of a 2019 episode with FN Celebrity chefs. They have to cook a three course meal and - red light special - use regular or vanilla Oreos in each course. 

At one point Beau McMillon added some of the cookie to one of his dishes, turned to the camera and said, "at that point, my integrity left my body." At least that what I think I heard. I laughed so hard! As it turns out, this is one of those celebrity contestant episodes that make me wish I could taste the food.

[Grizzly]

Always enjoy seeing Darnell. He's so tall, the cameraman had a tough time getting him in the frame. All the chefs had good size kitchens. Amber lives in a nice area of CT and her kitchen was fabulous. I think Amber and Darnell suffered from not describing their dishes too well.

[Ashforth]

17 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Always enjoy seeing Darnell. He's so tall, the cameraman had a tough time getting him in the frame. All the chefs had good size kitchens. Amber lives in a nice area of CT and her kitchen was fabulous. I think Amber and Darnell suffered from not describing their dishes too well.

Darnell was pretty much my gift from Santa for this year. Call me, Darnell! 😍

[HyeChaps]

Didn't Darnell win the Thanksgiving competition last year?

[Grizzly]

2 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Didn't Darnell win the Thanksgiving competition last year?

Yes he did. That's how Alex knew how good he was in Tournament of Champions. She said she didn't mind losing to him.

[Ashforth]

Guy's documentary about the restaurant industry:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/restaurant-hustle-2020-all-on-the-line

I wonder how Maneet's Nashville restaurants were affected by the Christmas Day bombing?

Edited December 28, 2020 by Ashforth

[emmawoodhouse]

19 hours ago, Ashforth said:

Guy's documentary about the restaurant industry:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/restaurant-hustle-2020-all-on-the-line

I wonder how Maneet's Nashville restaurants were affected by the Christmas Day bombing?

Someone posted a discussion thread for this show in the Specials Forum. 

I haven't heard about Maneet's restaurants. How close are they to the bombing site?

[Grizzly]

After watching the special, I understand why Christian Petroni's wife was so excited when he won the GGG outdoor grilling episode.

[FormerMod-a1]

Here's a link to the documentary in the Specials forum.

[Grizzly]

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

[mlp]

Oh lord, Melissa and Tregaye at the same time.  Shudder.  I have to admit that Tregaye was personable but I don't think she has any real expertise.  Her puppy is darling.  I did envy Melissa her spice drawer.  I wish I had room to do that.

I love Troy Johnson so I wish he'd have won both rounds.  His dinner wasn't as "high end" as Kathryn's but I'd much rather eat what he prepared than a plate full of puree.  

I was watching the clocks and noticed that the one behind Guy never changed so apparently it's just a decoration.  The one in Kathryn's kitchen said a little after 10 am when they started and I think it was about 1:40 at the end.  That gave me an idea of how long it takes to film this show.

Simon has gone overboard with his weight loss.  He looks positively cachectic.

[Maverick]

 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. 

 As if having Hunter on this show isn't bad enough, now Guy is having him as a guest chef on Guy's Ranch Kitchen.   Please, make him go away.  He has zero charisma and I'll never buy chefs like Jonathan Waxman salivating over his cooking.