The Great Food Truck Race - General Discussion

[Pepper the Cat]

I think Senoreatas running out of food and having to close down was a positive sign. They were aelling so much they ran out of food!

Sugar got on my last nerve and I am so glad that she and her truck did not win. 

I am not a huge spice person but I think Senoreatas dish looked so much more appealing than the Mac and cheese.

Finally 60 bucks for food from a food truck? Are your freaking kidding me? My last meal out was 48 and that included 2 glasses of wine, a nice sand which with onion rings and a tip for the waitress. And I got to sit down and visit with friends for 2 hours.

[cameron]

 Not sure why they had the chef from Tijuana bring the chilies.  The carolina chili is grown in SC and the scorpion is from Mississippi.  TV drama at its best.

[Colorado David]

well i wasn't planning on watching the finale, but after reading here and seeing Sugar and her team lose made me come back. i'm not a big fan of senoreatas either - it feels like each challenge, they bent the rules and just made whatever they wanted (for which I think there should be penalties.)  

i don't care for pepper challenges, they are so subjective depending on the eater. it's almost like you have to err on the lesser is better side, otherwise risk blowing out your diner's palate. then you get dinged for not spicy enough.

LETS PLEASE ADD 'NO SELLING UNTIL THE PREP IS DONE' AS A RULE. these wait times p*ss me off - it's bad tv, i don't wanna watch people just standing around and complaining.

oh and sugar, a 30 second standing in place flapping around is NOT a song and dance, so stop selling it as that. it's just a yell and wave.

[bluepiano]

Adios to the "worst season ever," not the hottest. The entire season was like an argument for retiring this show. Nothing that we saw was even close to representing the actual business of food trucks. Shopping and budgeting have been eliminated from the show. All the ingredients they need for each challenge just magically appear in the truck.  And in the real world, no one will wait 30-40 minutes. I was talking last week with someone who runs a food truck. They said it is all about production and quick turnaround times. 

All the food in the finale looked mediocre at best. There's been a lot of dissing of Cheese's food in the forum, but I never thought Senoreatas was much better. They also heavily rely in prepackaged foods, like the "chicken" or "meat" substitute they use in most dishes. 

When Mahogany was preparing their shrimp dish, I thought I saw a bag of precooked shrimp laying by the stove. How can you make ceviche is the shrimp is already cooked? 

Did anyone else notice that the Senoreata's team leader kept referring to "Sugar" rather than Cheese Born with It when talking about their truck? Fitting I guess, because the whole season was really about the competition between those two giant egos.

The only way this show can rebound is if they return to having actual professional food trucks. I also feel like they need to figure out a way to limit the use of social media. This season was more of a social media competition than a food truck competition. Teams that are not social media savvy (like Eso and Southern Pride) have almost no chance, even with far superior food.

Edited July 25, 2022 by bluepiano

[evansmom10]

On 7/19/2022 at 11:36 AM, MartyQui said:

Her makeup isn't good enough.  I have a friend who competed...it's not just slapping foundation and false lashes on.  :)

Yea, it's a pretty terrible makeup job. Some of those on RDR, they are ARTISTS. 

[eelpout]

50 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

 And in the real world, no one will wait 30-40 minutes. 

outlier anecdote, there are seasonal food truck nights in San Francisco in an area called Fort Mason where lines are long and one can easily be waiting 30+ minutes for food. at least the trucks usually have the smarts to close their windows for a while when this happens and stop taking orders. Not to worry, one can buy a $23 glass of wine in a plastic cup to bide your time. It's San Francisco. :)

Quote

When Mahogany was preparing their shrimp dish, I thought I saw a bag of precooked shrimp laying by the stove. How can you make ceviche is the shrimp is already cooked? 

would you really want to be served true raw, ceviche shrimp from that truck? ;)

it would be great if someone from production from this season were (likely anonymously) to fill in the blanks of what the hell was going on here; from the contestants and locations chosen, to the logistics of and filming of the purchasing of food. but not likely to happen. :/

[evansmom10]

1 hour ago, bluepiano said:

Adios to the "worst season ever," not the hottest. The entire season was like an argument for retiring this show. Nothing that we saw was even close to representing the actual business of food trucks. Shopping and budgeting have been eliminated from the show. All the ingredients they need for each challenge just magically appear in the truck.  And in the real world, no one will wait 30-40 minutes. I was talking last week with someone who runs a food truck. They said it is all about production and quick turnaround times. 

All the food in the finale looked mediocre at best. There's been a lot of dissing of Cheese's food in the forum, but I never thought Senoreatas was much better. They also heavily rely in prepackaged foods, like the "chicken" or "meat" substitute they use in most dishes. 

When Mahogany was preparing their shrimp dish, I thought I saw a bag of precooked shrimp laying by the stove. How can you make ceviche is the shrimp is already cooked? 

Did anyone else notice that the Senoreata's team leader kept referring to "Sugar" rather than Cheese Born with It when talking about their truck? Fitting I guess, because the whole season was really about the competition between those two giant egos.

The only way this show can rebound is if they return to having actual professional food trucks. I also feel like they need to figure out a way to limit the use of social media. This season was more of a social media competition than a food truck competition. Teams that are not social media savvy (like Eso and Southern Pride) have almost no chance, even with far superior food.

I believe you are referring to the "delicious high quality shrimp" frozen, from a giant bag, precooked? YUP

[Salacious Kitty]

16 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Thank goodness they lost and if the numbers Tyler told Senoreatas were true it wasn't close.

Tyler said that Senoreata made 9 thousand something and beat MCBWI by the largest margin in the history of the show, about 4k. I was glad to see Sugar sent packing. Just wish it had been sooner. 

[I Want My MBTV]

1 hour ago, bluepiano said:

Teams that are not social media savvy (like Eso and Southern Pride) have almost no chance, even with far superior food.

would it matter though?  Part of the reason Senorates was so successful with social was because most of the time the show was in or near LA which is where they're based.  Who/where  would ESO and Southern Pride have posted to be able to get customers when they're in a completely different state?   Otherwise I don't have too much of a problem with using social media as that does seem to be a major component of "real" food trucks otherwise you'd never know where they're going to be.   

I have a much bigger issue with the opening before being ready and that being now "strategy" that Tyler never complained to them about.  No way in heck would I stand around for nearly an hour waiting for something that looks like it came from Boston Market (no offense to Boston Market :-))  - don't even get me started on the ridiculous pricing!

[Salacious Kitty]

Regarding pricing, Sugar was sure they'd win by overpricing their offerings. Senoreata seemed much more reasonably priced. And they sold mammoth amounts of food. 

[Pallida]

16 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Regarding pricing, Sugar was sure they'd win by overpricing their offerings. Senoreata seemed much more reasonably priced. And they sold mammoth amounts of food. 

I’m not sure $5 for a single regular sized taco is reasonable, but it was definitely smart to break it down like that so they’d sell more units for the challenge. 

[bunnyface]

I came back just to peek and see who the winner was, although neither of those trucks are winners in my book.  I had already deleted the episodes from my VCR before the finale and now I've just deleted the entire show from being found and recorded.  I really enjoyed it when it started but it's just sad what it's become.  

[Colorado David]

and just to check my hearing, did Sugar refer the shrimps as 'skrimps'? I could swear I heard her say that. more annoying little tidbits.

yeah its kinda sad when the top two are just assembling dishes rather than making them. i suppose senoreatas did their salsas and maybe the sauces, but i'm thinking the Cheeses just assembled plates and made ZERO, pasta or sauces or otherwise.

2 hours ago, I Want My MBTV said:

I have a much bigger issue with the opening before being ready and that being now "strategy" that Tyler never complained to them about.  No way in heck would I stand around for nearly an hour waiting for something that looks like it came from Boston Market (no offense to Boston Market :-))  - don't even get me started on the ridiculous pricing!

exactly. unless you are completely out in the sticks and there are NO other options available, i'd never wait that long. heck if a fast food line makes me sit still longer than 5 minutes (eyeing you Mickey Ds), I'm bailing on the line and going somewhere else. my time is valuable, and you call yourself FAST food, so dangit it better come fast. i don't expect haute cuisine, but I expect expediency.

Edited July 25, 2022 by Colorado David

[Lurk]

Anybody want to try a Maybe Cheese dish....go to KFC. You can get a big ol' bowl for 5 bucks!

*KFC's probably tastes better.

[jcbrown]

My only happy thought at the end of this disaster season is maybe FN and its associated channels will stop airing the terrible commercial where the Senoreata with the scraggly mane squawks that she "will. not. be. defeated!" Her voice annoyed me throughout this season and that commercial distills it to its essential nails-on-a-chalkboard quality for me.

[Colorado David]

i just sincerely hope they rethink what they are looking for in teams, rather than very surface tv reality appeal. personality is fine, but not at the exclusion of decent food. variety in the team cultures is also always welcome, it's interesting and keeps us viewers more engaged.

[Maya]

MCBWI has made some disgusting looking food in the past, but cold shrimp ceviche on top of hot Mac and cheese puts them all to shame 🤮

[bluepiano]

10 hours ago, I Want My MBTV said:

I have a much bigger issue with the opening before being ready and that being now "strategy" that Tyler never complained to them about.  No way in heck would I stand around for nearly an hour waiting for something that looks like it came from Boston Market (no offense to Boston Market :-))  - don't even get me started on the ridiculous pricing!

The editors did actually leave in footage of one disgruntled customer saying he needed to get back to work and asking for a refund. A big part of food truck business is parking in industrial parks and outside office buildings to serve workers who don't have the time to sit in a restaurant. (When one is even available close by). So being able to turn out food quickly is essential, and the food has to be good as well, to get repeat business. 

[toodywoody]

13 hours ago, jcbrown said:

My only happy thought at the end of this disaster season is maybe FN and its associated channels will stop airing the terrible commercial where the Senoreata with the scraggly mane squawks that she "will. not. be. defeated!" Her voice annoyed me throughout this season and that commercial distills it to its essential nails-on-a-chalkboard quality for me.

I was waiting for someone to have a hair in their food since she could never tie up her hair. 

As far as the social media goes, I want them to go back to basics and not pick a food truck that has ties or has been near any of the cities they will be in. It gave team Hair an unfair advantage. I guess I never paid much attention until the end but for them to just user canned food to make food while this is how some people cook, I couldn't believe that people were lining up for their food. Some of it looked like dog food, especially the taco one at the end.  It looked like canned dog food and then there she was chopped it all up on the griddle with her hair all over it. There is no way not one piece of hair was ever in that food 

[Guest]

Regarding Evanice's (the lead Senoreata) hair: it has been stated by contestants on other cooking/baking shows that they are sometimes told by production to leave their hair down. Possibly to help distinguish people, possibly if someone's hair was particularly eye-catching, or to help with editing consistency.

So in this case, they might have told her to keep it loose because a: it was kind of eye-catching, and b: it kept that truck from being three women with dark hair pulled back in ponytails, and c: she was the "lead" for that truck so they felt she needed to stand out more.

If there's evidence of her having her hair loose in her regular operations outside the show, then it's on her, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt otherwise.

[potatoradio]

18 hours ago, Colorado David said:

yeah its kinda sad when the top two are just assembling dishes rather than making them. i suppose senoreatas did their salsas and maybe the sauces, but i'm thinking the Cheeses just assembled plates and made ZERO, pasta or sauces or otherwise

Exactly! Not to mention that every time Cheese (or Tyler) said something about how good their homemade mac and cheese was, I kept screaming (inwardly, mostly), "Well, it's Tyler's recipe so...." 

I mean, good plug for Tyler's recipe, but come the eff on. 

[GiandujaPie]

I call BS on MCBWI winning both taste challenges. Their food always looks disgusting. Every dish is basically just pasta noodles with cheese dumped on top with some equally disgusting looking toppings. There is NO WAY that the shrimp "ceviche" with cheese on top was in any way delicious or appetizing. It was just Tyler and the producers trying to help them along by giving them the extra money in their till. They aren't able to control the sales challenges but they can control the taste challenges. 

Senoreata's did as well as they did because there just aren't too many vegan/vegetarian trucks or trucks that have vegan/vegetarian items on their menu.  

[Pallida]

I think it’s less that Cheese won the taste challenges and more that Senoreatas blew the taste challenges. They made an inedible hot dish and they didn’t even attempt to interpret the mac and cheese dish. They probably knew they didn’t need that money. 
 

Did they win any taste challenges along the way though? Other than their sauces, their food looked consistently unseasoned. 

[Maya]

2 hours ago, potatoradio said:

Exactly! Not to mention that every time Cheese (or Tyler) said something about how good their homemade mac and cheese was, I kept screaming (inwardly, mostly), "Well, it's Tyler's recipe so...." 

I mean, good plug for Tyler's recipe, but come the eff on. 

Every time they won a taste challenge, I thought to myself “Tyler sure loves his cheese sauce recipe!”

Edited July 26, 2022 by Maya

[seacliffsal]

3 hours ago, potatoradio said:

Exactly! Not to mention that every time Cheese (or Tyler) said something about how good their homemade mac and cheese was, I kept screaming (inwardly, mostly), "Well, it's Tyler's recipe so...." 

I mean, good plug for Tyler's recipe, but come the eff on. 

43 minutes ago, Maya said:

Every time they won a taste challenge, I thought to myself “Tyler sure loves his cheese sauce recipe!”

I soooo agree that every single time Tyler mentioned how much he loved their mac and cheese he was really complimenting himself as it was totally his recipe!  And, in fact, shouldn't that be disallowed?  I wouldn't be surprised if in future seasons (if there are any after this mess of a season) all of the trucks just use his recipes while they take orders an hour before they are ready to serve food while accosting passers by.  It will be interesting to see whether more and more contestants employ more and more circus acts in order to attract attention (jugglers, fire-eaters, unicycles, magicians, etc.).

As for the final two-mac and cheese with different toppings and congratulating oneself for being so creative? Traditional recipes with just changing out real meat for plant-based meat and then congratulating oneself for being so creatively plant-based?  Really?  At least some of the earlier eliminated trucks actually changed up their recipes and, well, I guess that's why they were eliminated.  

Edited July 26, 2022 by seacliffsal

[Catfi9ht]

1 hour ago, Pallida said:

They made an inedible hot dish and they didn’t even attempt to interpret the mac and cheese dish.

I agree Senoreata did not even attempt to try to interpret mac and cheese's recipe. However, Tyler told both teams to "light me up" which in past episodes and seasons is Tyler speak for "make it really, really spicy". I don't fault for Senoreata for making a spicy dish especially since they got knocked for not making a spicy enough dish in the first challenge.

As others have pointed out, Tyler's "friend" delivering the peppers made no sense with regards to the challenge or the episode. I can't stand both teams and I think this season was craptastic, but the spicy challenge was some BS filler so the show could edit the final episode how they wanted.

[Salacious Kitty]

Senoreata has only gained about 2000 new followers since I checked their IG page last week. Only about 24k. Maybe they have a larger following on Twitter?

[Colorado David]

52 minutes ago, Salacious Kitty said:

Senoreata has only gained about 2000 new followers since I checked their IG page last week. Only about 24k. Maybe they have a larger following on Twitter?

maybe. and maybe i've seen the equivalent of their tostados at taco bell a million times. i dunno how this team won, i'm seeing nothing above baseline texmex cuisine. attaching plant based does zero for me. any mex restaurant i've been to seems miles above this level. and not being a foodie snob -  I grew up in texas, tried many many different tex mex places - there's this and then there's above board, and you can taste the above level effort. unless there's a secret ingredient going on here, i'm not seeing the elevation. ditto mac n cheese, if i can duplicate it, it is NOT elevated. it's just sappy more convenient from a truck. 

i'm not hating on them, i just wish for the show we choose higher level trucks to make it interesting. variety, spice of life, differences. i can find a dozen texmex trucks close to me, twice that in chinese restaurants with decent take out. italian is somewhat different truck wise. Greek, Hawaiian are different. waffles while not different is unusual, so that's good. let's see a gyro greek truck next time!! or russian, or heck if it's possible a truck that does spit based meat. thai food. norway food, now we are talking seafood. more african based food, their food looking banging. dumb old Boston chowdah area food. variety. am i wrong?  heck, go with the times, ukranian food to support refugees. locally we have Cupbop, which is Korean cup food - fantastic, not expensive, not really fancy, tasty as all get out and always a bit busy. BRANCH OUT. 

Edited July 26, 2022 by Colorado David

[bluepiano]

1 hour ago, Colorado David said:

maybe. and maybe i've seen the equivalent of their tostados at taco bell a million times. i dunno how this team won, i'm seeing nothing above baseline texmex cuisine. attaching plant based does zero for me. any mex restaurant i've been to seems miles above this level.

They weren't even supposed to be doing Mexican. They claimed to be a Cuban food truck, with a vegan spin on traditional Cuban food. But you're right, I've eaten a lot of Cuban food, and many of their dishes seemed more Mexican than Cuban, with their reliance on tacos and tortillas. There are a number of classic Cuban dishes, and I don't remember them doing a creative vegan interpretation of any of them. 

5 hours ago, GiandujaPie said:

Senoreata's did as well as they did because there just aren't too many vegan/vegetarian trucks or trucks that have vegan/vegetarian items on their menu.  

And they also had the advantage of being in Southern California beach towns, with a large population of health-conscious people, who even if they're not vegan/vegetarian look to cut down on their meat consumption. I don't think a vegan food truck would've had quite the same advantage in some other parts of the country. 

Between being based in LA and capitalizing on the vegan fad the whole season was kind of stacked for Senoreatas.

[Colorado David]

just to help a naïve eater, define dishes tween mexican and cuban please? not raising arguments here, i just honestly want to know, as i don't.

[bluepiano]

2 hours ago, Colorado David said:

just to help a naïve eater, define dishes tween mexican and cuban please? not raising arguments here, i just honestly want to know, as i don't.

Cuban cuisine, like that of other Caribbean islands that were settled by the Spanish (Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico) blends Spanish cuisine with African (due to the slave population) and native tribal cooking. For reasons that could probably best be answered by a cultural anthropologist, Mexico and Central America, though also settled (conquered) by the Spanish, did not seem to incorporate the Spanish influence and their cuisine developed along a different path. (Funny, the frizzy haired leader of Senoreatas said several times that Cuban food does not use hot spices or peppers, though she seemed to often use those in her recipes).

Years ago, I knew someone of Cuban heritage who ran a Cuban restaurant. What really drove him around the bend is when someone came in and asked why there weren't any tacos on the menu. 

[Chyromaniac]

4 hours ago, bluepiano said:

There are a number of classic Cuban dishes, and I don't remember them doing a creative vegan interpretation of any of them.

At the very least I believe they consistently had a Frita sandwich on their menu.  I want to say their primary quesadilla was Cuban inspired as well.  Beyond that, I won’t disagree that their menu items fluctuated based on factors like the challenge parameters - but I feel like they stuck pretty close to their core identity. As always, Ymmv.

On 7/25/2022 at 9:54 PM, Colorado David said:

i just sincerely hope they rethink what they are looking for in teams, rather than very surface tv reality appeal. personality is fine, but not at the exclusion of decent food. variety in the team cultures is also always welcome, it's interesting and keeps us viewers more engaged.

I get that they tried to sell Maybe Cheese as a comeback story or learning process, but it just made the show look bad to have a team on who seemingly had no idea how to cook.  Couple that with Salsa Queen, and it really feels like the show is in trouble, casting wise.  I don’t know that bringing on established food trucks would make the show any more interesting- and would any of them even want to?  If you’re a successful food truck, do you really want to put your regular business on hold for a month or so, to drive around looking for parking and shout at pedestrians like a carny?  Probably not.  So if this show is going to continue, I think we’re going to stay with unestablished teams- just hopefully not as raw as this season.

[Hellga]

I think that this show has been going the way of most other Food Network shows - not about food anymore, but about putting on a freak show.  Unfortunately for a couple trucks that actually DID try to compete on food quality.  I totally get the importance of online and social networking to food truck success to build up initial awareness - but then most of food businesses probably do rely on regulars more than on trialers, so it's important to provide quality food, fast and inexpensive.  While the key to winning on this show is to overhype and overprice to get one sale in one city and move on never to be seen there again.  Totally different paradigm...  I disliked Cheeze truck more than Senoreata so I am happy they didn't win but I wouldn't eat at either one because I am not paying $20-30 for a weird dish I have to wait 40+ minutes for and have to eat on the go.  

Glad to see ESO are open in a permanent location in Morristown...  I do see a show in Morristown once every couple years - maybe I will try their product.  I usually order my pasta sauces from a small family-owned business in Brooklyn but maybe these guys are good too...

Edited July 27, 2022 by Hellga

[HyeChaps]

Finding a parking spot is my least favorite part of this "competition".

What a waste of time.

[Gramto6]

5 minutes ago, HyeChaps said:

Finding a parking spot is my least favorite part of this "competition".

What a waste of time.

Full disclosure, I could only get through the first episode. I just read here to see what was going on. I would rather see them grocery shop than looking for a parking spot.

[bluepiano]

I was at an event last night with a food truck. Pretty basic fare. Hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches. The highest priced item on the menu, a pulled pork sandwich, was $10. And the food came out fast. 

[xaxat]

22 hours ago, HyeChaps said:

Finding a parking spot is my least favorite part of this "competition".

What a waste of time.

My theory is that it is producer managed and they are not actually finding a parking spot. Or at most they are competing to find a spot that has been previously designated by FN. A lot of cities have regulations on where and when you can set up a food truck. And yet the trucks in the show manage to find prime spots near the beach, breweries etc. that they can just pull into and there are no other non-FN trucks in sight.

As for the finale, meh. 

[cameron]

6 minutes ago, bluepiano said:

I was at an event last night with a food truck. Pretty basic fare. Hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches. The highest priced item on the menu, a pulled pork sandwich, was $10. And the food came out fast. 

Have eater at the different food truck in DC and nearby Virginia.  None of them charged the prices shown on this show.

[Starry-Eyed]

We have a lot of food trucks in my area, and there are definitely things I could order that would be over $20 bucks, but those would be meal combos, with fairly hefty servings. When I get shawarma from the Egyptian truck for lunch, I always save half for lunch the next day.

[GeorgiaRai]

I actually liked when, in earlier seasons, they'd show teams planning & researching locations - partnering with a local bar, getting permission from retail stores, etc. - then seeing if it panned out as expected.  I also liked watching them plan/shop based on their budget, expected crowds, etc.  I prefer that to the personal drama and the obnoxious pursuit of customers.  I preferred the old road trips to staying in one location - especially if the location is home turf for certain teams and unknown territory for others. 

It seemed several FN shows this season had pre-destined finalists from very early on - Worst Cooks Celebrity, Spring Baking Championship, & now GFTR.  Or maybe I'm just cynical.

[Catfi9ht]

38 minutes ago, GeorgiaRai said:

It seemed several FN shows this season had pre-destined finalists from very early on - Worst Cooks Celebrity, Spring Baking Championship, & now GFTR.

I don't necessarily agree the finalists were pre-destined in those shows. However, the editing in these shows was really sloppy to the point where there were inconsistencies and sometimes outright mistakes for the challenges or contests.

My guess is there's been turnover at FN and there were alot of new people behind the scenes which led to the obvious mistakes and inexperienced treatments the contestants received.

Last season had the "new" food truck that immediately had a huge grease fire and the poor contestant losing part of an ear to frostbite. This season had Tyler giving a recipe to a truck and having them use it, "mystery judges" that judged the trucks' food in plain sight of the contestants and all the other nonsense folks pointed out from week to week.

There's been some serious mismanagement the past couple of seasons on this show and others which is sad.

[Colorado David]

...waiting on top chef to return, so i have a somewhat ok cooking show to watch.....well and then there's padma, and tom's got nice eyes....gail is ok as long as it doesn't become the chesty show with her....and i did like the guest judges. 

[hula-la]

On 7/30/2022 at 12:25 PM, Colorado David said:

...waiting on top chef to return, so i have a somewhat ok cooking show to watch.....well and then there's padma, and tom's got nice eyes....gail is ok as long as it doesn't become the chesty show with her....and i did like the guest judges. 

I just posted about the next season in the Top Chef thread. 

[seacliffsal]

I found it interesting that Tyler did not present any challenges in which they had to incorporate a specific cut/type of meat into their food.  Instead, every challenge was one in which the Senoreatas could use plant-based products.  So, maybe they were the chosen ones from the beginning.

[Salacious Kitty]

15 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I found it interesting that Tyler did not present any challenges in which they had to incorporate a specific cut/type of meat into their food.  Instead, every challenge was one in which the Senoreatas could use plant-based products.  So, maybe they were the chosen ones from the beginning.

There was one challenge in which the teams got to select meat based on how fast they slid down a sand dune. Of course there was a plant based option that production knew no other team would touch. I remember this challenge because ESO came in last and lost out on chicken (they settled for pork).

Edited August 1, 2022 by Salacious Kitty

[seacliffsal]

1 hour ago, Salacious Kitty said:

There was one challenge in which the teams got to select meat based on how fast they slid down a sand dune. Of course there was a plant based option that production knew no other team would touch. I remember this challenge because ESO came in last and lost out on chicken (they settled for pork).

You're right-I had forgotten that, but I still think that in prior seasons there wouldn't have been a plant-based substitute as an option.

[Salacious Kitty]

2 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

You're right-I had forgotten that, but I still think that in prior seasons there wouldn't have been a plant-based substitute as an option.

I don't recall any plant based options in past seasons.

[Starry-Eyed]

I very specifically remember another team who chose not to do a challenge at a penalty because they were so committed to being meat-free

[seacliffsal]

It is interesting to think about how teams approach the various challenges.  Winning the small award for a challenge could actually work against a team that may have sold more units of their original offerings instead of taking time to create and sell a specialized challenge option.  The Senoreatas won even though Sugar's team "won" all of the challenges and challenge money.  It also seems that there isn't a "standard" for meeting the criteria of the challenges (I mean, really, just putting a "challenge" topping on mac and cheese?).  So, choosing to not participate in a challenge may not be a major setback.

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

It is interesting to think about how teams approach the various challenges.  Winning the small award for a challenge could actually work against a team that may have sold more units of their original offerings instead of taking time to create and sell a specialized challenge option.  The Senoreatas won even though Sugar's team "won" all of the challenges and challenge money.  It also seems that there isn't a "standard" for meeting the criteria of the challenges (I mean, really, just putting a "challenge" topping on mac and cheese?).  So, choosing to not participate in a challenge may not be a major setback.

Waffle Love in their season made a point not to do the challenges, or if they did they never took them seriously or tried too hard, because they knew their standard waffles would make them more money. Tyler got so pissed at them that they never tried with the challenges and still won most cities.