Guy's Grocery Games: Supermarket Masters — Highlights from the Tournament | Guy's Grocery Games

Finale: Rushing to the Finish Line

"You will get to make this fantastic Italian dinner using the entire grocery store," Guy tells returning "super chefs" Gator, Tracey, Sammy and Tom in Game 1. But the chefs know better than to believe he doesn't have a catch. "Good luck in making this happen in 20 minutes or less," Guy blurts out just before saying 'go.' It's a game of Dinner Rush. "I just want to get my food fast," says Tracey, shopping in about three minutes.

Primo Pasta Not Without Critiques

Since there's no budget restriction, Sammy says "I'm just going to grab some primo ingredients," going all out on a dish of bucatini with Iberico ham, peas and mushrooms. With two minutes left, he divides the pasta among the bowls with his bare hands, and then grates parmesan over everything. "You need to get the parmesan tossed in the pasta," Marc advises him, noting that by not doing so there's a pool of fat in the bottom of the bowl.

Overshooting the Target

"This is you in your wheelhouse," Guy tells Tracey, watching her grill the veal chops for her vitelo tonnato dish. "It's like literally I'm an octopus," she explains of doing a number of things all at once for her dish, which includes a salad. But Marc questions her choice of making two components. "Let's make one dish properly and let's not try to make two," he says. He's pleased with the dish, but finds the salad overdressed.

One Simple Yet Significant Misstep

"Let's keep it simple, baby," says Gator, shopping for a chicken piccata with angel hair pasta. But when Guy stops by his station with questions, Gator sends him away. "I'm out of your world," Guy says, putting up his arms as he walks away from Gator's cooking station. Gator, however, makes one cooking misstep. "Rinsing pasta is not a good idea," Marc tells the chef, explaining the sauce doesn't adhere to the pasta. Gator checks out.

Blacklisted Ingredients

"I want you to bring the heat for a grilled seafood dinner," says Guy, revealing a game of Let It Roll. the chefs must use smoked mussels and a black ingredient. "There are a lot of black spices that I'd like to put on this dish," says Sammy, but after he rolls the last dice, it's out of the question, because the chefs are not allowed to shop in aisle 5, the spice aisle. He ends up utilizing black garlic and black radish to fulfill the color requirement.

Not the Time for Holding Back

"I don't want to be called out for hiding this ingredient," says Tracey, making a mousse with the smoked mussels. She spreads it onto grilled bread and then tops it with caviar to serve alongside her grilled head-on prawns. "Troy, are you peeling the peel off your prawns?" she asks the judge in the middle of presenting her dish. "You want me to eat the entire shell?" he asks. "I really do," she answers. "You cooked them perfectly," he says of the shrimp, and he finds she really transformed the smoked mussels.

Embracing the Funkier Side of Seafood

"The sauce I'm going for, it's funky, but I want it to be funky," says Tom, picking up canned smoked mussels to incorporate into a fire-roasted tomato sauce to go over squid ink pasta, lobster and scallops. But Aarti and Marc wonder why Tom's making pasta again, just like he did in Game 1. "You used the grill the most by far," Troy praises the grilled seafood, but he finds the smoked mussels overwhelm the dish so much so that "it tastes mostly of the sea," he explains. Tom checks out.

Springing Surprise After Surprise

"This needs to be a winner, winner, chicken dinner," Guy tells Tracey and Sammy in Game 3. But they only have four minutes to shop without carts. "We only have a roasting pan to shop with," says Tracey, who decides to make chicken under a brick with panzanella salad. "All I want to do is prepare a simple classic roasted chicken dinner," says Sammy. But just as the two chefs return to their cooking stations, Guy announces a Station Swap.

Technically Savvy

"All these root vegetables would make a good hash," says Tracey, looking at Sammy's ingredients. However, she's desperately missing a fat among his selection of ingredients. With the chicken breast, she decides on doing a paillard, pounding the meat thin so it cooks faster. "Giving yourself more surface area to season is great," says Troy, praising Tracey's decision to use the technique. Marc's only complaint is the dish is oily from the bacon.

Fine Tuning the Levels

Sammy feels he can still pull off his original vision with Tracey's ingredients, but then Guy offers the chefs the choice of two more minutes of cooking time or two more ingredients. Sammy chooses to grab yams, and Tracey is able to grab bacon for her hash. With little time to roast chicken thighs, he decides to deep fry them. He's not pleased with his yam puree and keeps reseasoning it. "This chicken is perfect," Aarti tells him, but she finds the dish too salty.

The Supermarket Masters Champion

"We've had round after round of pitch-perfect dishes from them," Aarti says as the judges begin deliberation. "Now we've got to find the tiny little things that will send them home," adds Troy. Guy announces Tracey has won the tournament, and Sammy checks out. Tracey advances to the shopping spree, where each clue is worth $5,000 each. She earns $20,000 in addition to her champion title. "To win it on my cooking skills, it just feels really, truly amazing," she says.

Part 4: Puzzled by the Grocery List

"Is that something burning?" Guy asks the chefs after revealing they'll be playing a game of Grocery List in order to cook their high-end, old-school dinners. "Oh, no, that's you guys all thinking real hard," he adds, commenting on the chefs' reactions. "Iceberg lettuce, 1980s is calling; it wants you to come back," jokes Mark of the required ingredient. The chefs must also use barbecue chips, frozen corn and something form aisle 7.

Riffing on Tradition

Mark grabs dry-aged strip steaks, conceptualizing a wedge salad and baked potato side, traditional in its appearance but modern in the flavors he intends to use to bring it "into the 21st century," he says. He makes a corn puree, and he decides to drop the barbecue chips in it. Marc picks up on the old-school feel, praising the sauce, but Aarti says she can't taste the barbecue chip flavor.

Boozing Up Soup

Deciding on fried shrimp and corn chowder, Tom first gets started on his soup, using white wine to add fruity flavor. But as soon as he's added it, he realizes it won't cook out in 30 minutes. "Once you commit, you can put it in, but it's not coming out," he says. The judges love his shrimp and grilled lettuce, but Aarti picks up on a "funky backbone" in the soup.

Too Bold for Her Own Good

"I refuse to go home because I've underseasoned," says Stacie. But the salmon jerky she grabbed in aisle 7 has made the sauce for her seared scallops way too salty, so she purees the iceberg lettuce into the sauce, hoping the lettuce will "cut down the excess salt," she explains. Aarti praises her for cooking scallops. But Marc feels there is too much salt in the dish. Stacie checks out at the end of the round.

Egg-stra Challenges

Guy asks the chefs to make a super sandwich in Game 2 without any restrictions, except, he reveals, it's a game of Lunch Rush, which means they have 15 minutes to shop and cook. "That's a kick in the guts," says Tom. The first thing that pops into his mind is a croque madame. But when it comes to frying his eggs, he keeps breaking the yolks. Marc ends up receiving an underdone egg that he's not happy about.

Not-So-Superfluous Sandwich

"I want to shop smart," says Myisha, deciding to pair her pear and Gorgonzola grilled cheese with tomato soup. For her, smart means grabbing canned pears and canned tomatoes to maximize her time. "A super sandwich does not need to have a million ingredients," she explains of her minimalistic decisions. "I'll eat that all day," Marc says of her sandwich, but Aarti feels it should be more substantial. Myisha checks out.

Dealing a Dual Fusion

"You're dressed like you're dealing in Vegas," Guy tells Mark as he reveals Game 3 is Wild Card. The chefs draw for their fusion dish and they get poutine with a Caribbean flavor. "I don't ever cook Caribbean food," says Mark, but he thinks he can't go wrong with a jerk chicken direction. He also grabs green plantains for his fries, but peeling them causes him more trouble than he expected.

Spicing Up and Cutting Down the Richness

"I want to make it visually poutine," says Tom, grabbing ground lamb to create a rich gravy that he plans on spicing up for a Caribbean flavor. Like Mark, he grabs plantains, however, ripe ones. Tom also picks up some tropical fruit for a slaw. "It's so rich that it's covering up the spices," Tom says, disappointed that the lamb is fattier than he hoped, so he throws in more spices.

The Part 4 Champion

"I wish it had more jerk seasoning," Troy says of Mark's chicken. And Marc points out that the plantains are too dry to enjoy. "It looks like Caribbean poutine," says Aarti, impressed with Tom's dish — and that's exactly what he was going for. She praises his choice of lamb, but Marc finds there's too many spices. Mark checks out for his unsuccessful plantains. Tom earns $10,000 and the last spot in the finale.

Part 3: Meatless Steakhouse Dinner

"I just want to skip the games," Guy tells the four chefs, sending them off to shop for a Steakhouse Dinner without revealing any gameplay. But as soon as they turn the corner into the meat aisle, they realize it's a game of Aisle Down. "I'm thinking luxury seafood," says John, grabbing lobster and shrimp for a risotto. He immediately gets the rice into a pressure cooker with chicken stock. "I didn't see any wine," Marc points out to his fellow judges, worried the dish will lack acidity and flavor.

Playing on the Edge of the Rules

"Thank goodness we can still use fish," says Tracey, who goes for the meatiest kind she can find: swordfish. She also wants to incorporate foie gras into her dish, except it's located on the edge of the meat section, which is obviously off-limits. "Look at the line," Guy tells her after she grabs the item, but Tracey shows him that the caution tape is outside of the line. "I will actually say she is right," Guy concedes.

Not Showing Some Skin

"If you're going to serve the skin, make sure you give them crispy skin," Guy tells Michael, who has chosen to cook salmon. But as he's plating he decides the flesh side, which he's seasoned with paprika and aleppo pepper, looks prettier, so he plates it skin-side down. "You are a spicy, bold man, and that translates on this dish," says Troy, loving the heat. But Aarti is disappointed the skin is rubbery.

Unprecedented Plating Excuses

"I totally messed up," says Tracey, realizing after time is called that she plated only three — instead of the required four — dishes. "I haven't seen this one before," Guy says, worried what the judges will think. Tracey claims she meant the dish to be served family style. But Troy, who got the empty plate, is not buying it: "On the kindness of Aarti, who shared her meal with me, I was able to taste your dish. And it is excellent," he says. Despite the glaring mistake, Tracey's safe. John checks out.

Cleverly Disguising the Burrito

Guy informs the remaining chefs that they'll be making an upscale lunch. "But first, we have to go to the temple of doom," he says, presenting the Food Pyramid. The chefs must use a frozen burrito, shop with $23 and utilize a wok. "That was nice," says Kate, unfazed. Unlike her competitors, she decides not to go in an Asian direction, using the burrito to thicken her black bean soup, which Marc praises.

Too Low-Brow of a Direction

"I'm not really an upscale dude," says Michael, finding the game a real challenge. "I've lived and worked in Singapore and Thailand," Michael says, comfortable with using a host of Asian ingredients and techniques, so he grabs chicken thighs to make a stir-fry. But with time counting down, Michael plates his noodles very sloppily. Marc compares the dish to takeout, not finding it upscale at all.

Ingenious Idea Lacking Execution

"What the heck am I going to do with this burrito?" Tracey wonders. But inspiration strikes, and she decides to slice it into rounds, which she will crisp up to make bean cakes for serving alongside her calamari salad. "This is not a shy dish," she says of her unusual direction. Unfortunately, she doesn't drain her marinated squid long enough before stir-frying it in the wok. And Troy calls her out for that fact, calling the calamari "nude" because it lacked a proper sear. Michael ends up checking out.

Getting Even with the Odds

Guy reveals that to cook their Winner's Dinner in Game 3, the final two chefs must flip for odd or even aisles. After Kate flips and gets odd, Tracey hopes for the same, but she gets even, which means she can't shop in the produce aisle. "I can't remember what's in every aisle," says Tracey, so she decides to make the most of the meat and dairy sections to create a childhood favorite, pasta carbonara.

Challenging Herself with a Risky Move

Thinking of the theme of the game, Kate can't get the saying "winner winner chicken dinner" out of her head, but she has no access to aisle 10, the meat section. So she settles on using tofu to make deep-fried fingers. The last time she was on the show, Kate won with a gluten-free pizza dough, and Guy wonders if she can she do it again. "I'd rather lose by taking a risk than playing it too safe," she says.

The Part 3 Champion

Carbonara expert Marc finds Tracey's untraditional dish well-done, but he's disappointed that the bucatini is undercooked. "Fried is the only way to enjoy tofu," Troy tells Kate about her dish, but he wishes she would have used a protein like shrimp instead. Kate ends up checking out, and Tracey earns $10,000 and a spot in the finale.

Part 2: Scaling the Game

"I want you to celebrate coming back to Triple G and give the judges your hometown comfort," Guy explains of Game 1, but there's a twist; it's a game of Watch Your Weight. "Five pounds?" Lewis questions after Guy reveals the limit. "Usually in my household one plate is 5 pounds," says Gator, who clocks in perfectly under the limit with his shrimp and grits ingredients.

Forced to Go Meatless

AJ, whose Bolognese ingredients weigh over 5 pounds, has no choice but to give up his ground beef. "Hopefully I'll get that beefy flavor out of just the mushrooms," he says. But AJ overcooks his fresh pappardelle, and he's worried about what Marc will say. "It was cooked way too much," Marc says of the pasta.

When Size Matters

"I purposely leave the meat kind of big," Lewis explains of using stew meat for his ragu. But with less than 30 minutes to cook his dish, Lewis leaves the ragu on the stove until the last possible minutes. "You coaxed a lot of flavor into this dish," Marc explains, but dicing the meat would have helped tremendously, he adds. Lewis checks out.

Going Gaga Over Store Samples

"You must include two of these sample table items in your late-night guilty pleasure," Guy explains of the rules in Game 2, Keep It Sample. AJ, Lisa and Gator have a choice of hot dogs, string cheese, jarred pears or blue corn tortilla chips. "I kind of have to take a step back and go to my dark place," says AJ, who's used to cooking healthy firehouse food.

Two Isn't Always Better Than One

While working on her "tricked-out" mac and cheese with kale and kimchi, Lisa decides to also make dessert. "I'm going to try and use all these samples," she says, turning the tortilla chips into a base for individual pear crisps. "I just wish you would have edited a little bit and just given us this," says Troy, feeling that the mac and cheese is great but that the crisp doesn't belong.

Making the Messiest of Burgers

"I think burger," says Gator of his guilty pleasure, and he grabs ground lamb, which Guy questions in being guilty enough. But it's Gator's assembly that draws notice: He has string cheese stuffed in the patties, a pear aioli and crushed tortilla chips. "There's a lot going on here," says Marc. And Troy agrees, saying, "It doesn't look pretty, but it tastes good."

Last-Minute Dough Doubts

"AJ is now just rolling out pizza dough," Marc points out to his fellow judges as the clock shows 11 minutes left in the round. AJ's grilling pizzas, but with the high heat of the grill, they look like they're cooked on the outside, but AJ is worried. "There's a good chance my pizza dough is not cooked through," he says. Although the judges call his toppings good, the dough isn't cooked, and AJ checks out for it.

Bowling for Their Shopping Aisles

"I want you to serve up a plate that says Mexican fiesta," Guy tells Lisa and Gator, before revealing the two chefs must bowl for their allowed aisles. Unfortunately, the two don't have the best of luck down the lane. But with Guy's help, they're able to utilize aisles 1, 5, 7 and 9. Both chefs decide on utilizing the frozen-food aisle for fish.

Clever and Not-So-Clever Cheese Alternatives

Without access to the dairy aisle, Gator grabs avocados to simulate the richness of cheese and makes a guacamole topping for his enchiladas. Lisa, who is making halibut tostadas, has an aha moment when she sees boxed mac and cheese: She decides to use the fake cheese packets. "As I'm putting that cheese down, I'm thinking, 'What are you doing?'" she says, second-guessing herself while plating her dish.

The Part 2 Champion

"It doesn't necessarily look like a fiesta," says Aarti of Lisa's dish, "but there are pockets of flavor here that scream fiesta." But the judge calls Lisa out for adding the cheese, saying, "It undoes all the great work you did." Conversely, Marc thinks Gator's guacamole topping was a smart idea in place of cheese; Gator earns $10,000 and a spot in the finale.

Part 1: Bring Your ABC Game

"This is really the one where you're going to have to bring your A game," Guy says, introducing the chefs' first game. "You bring your B game, well, that just won't cut it," he adds, slyly revealing that they're playing an ABC game. Guy pulls a P, so everything the chefs shop for in order to cook their upscale dinner must begin with the letter P.

Too Many P's Lead to Problems

"Pastry starts with P," says Jordan. "But you know what? I'm not in a pastry challenge," the former pastry chef adds. "Sounds like you've got more time than anybody else in the world," Guy says sarcastically after Jordan lists all the P ingredients he's using in his dish. But Jordan eventually loses track of time, and he ends up overcooking his chops and forgetting to serve the jus.

Out-of-the-Box Pasta Creativity

"I'm going to try to, like, deep-fry the pasta," says Darnell, hoping to set himself apart from the pack. And since everyone's decided to grab pork chops, he, instead, goes for pancetta to serve as the base for his ragu. "It's got a really nice crunch," Troy says of the pasta. "It's still got some of that al dente bend," he adds. But Marc calls it an appetizer, not a dinner.

Taking a Chance with a Surprise Payoff

With 19 minutes left, Sammy puts his double-cut pork chops on the grill and still has polenta to think about. "Just so you know, those worry me," Guy points out about the size of the chops. And as time ticks away, they're still raw inside, so Sammy has no choice but to slice them in half and put them back on the grill. "Here's another P word," says Aarti after tasting the offering. "It's a near-perfect dish."

Disappointing Omissions

"I cannot believe how many different components you made," Aarti tells Jordan, impressed by his cooking. But she and the other judges are disappointed his jus didn't make the plates. Aarti questions Samantha's purpose for using prosciutto, because it didn't get crispy, as Samantha had hoped, and the dish desperately needed texture. The judges decide to send Jordan to the checkout.

No Getting Around the Market Rules

In Game 2, Guy asks for a tricked-out pizza made on a $12 budget. Sammy uses on-sale items to buy what he needs for a Mexican pizza. But when Sammy tries to buy a couple of garlic cloves, Guy's not having it. Sammy ends up putting back the garlic, green onions and tomatoes to come in under budget. He goes back for them later, after returning unused pizza dough.

Not Enough Money, Not Enough Time

"Did I drop my envelope?" Samantha asks when she gets to the checkout lane to pay for the ingredients for her veggie pizza. "I don't want to go back, wasting time," she says, frustrated. Luckily for her, Guy finds it. At her station, one of the first things she does is start parbaking her mini pizza crusts. But with time ticking away, she has no choice but to fill them before the dough is baked enough.

Giving Pizza a New Identity

"Dude, you have an imagination bigger than you are tall," Guy tells Darnell, when he hears the chef is planning to cook pizzas in a waffle maker. But a new inspiration takes Darnell down a different road, and he ends up making pizza parfaits in jars. "I want to take risks," he says, also using the smoking gun to add flavor. "It's crazily inventive," says Troy, who's surprised the rounds of dough didn't get mushy.

Reaching Pizza Perfection

"Perfectly brown," Troy says of Sammy's pizza, and Aarti finds the pico de gallo really balances the dish. Going back for the onions and tomatoes really helped. Troy reveals to Samantha that he was worried about her dough, because it could have been underdone, but Samantha's trick of filling the crusts with the pans on the grill ensured the pizzas kept cooking. "That was the best pizza round we've ever seen on the show," Guy reveals.

Three Head Into Game 3

The judges can't find it in themselves to send anyone to the checkout. Guy reveals all three will cook Asian takeout in Game 3, which features the High/Low Wheels that give the chefs rack of lamb and candy bars. "When I think Asian, I think tiny little cuts of meat," says Samantha. "I don't think huge rack of lamb." She thinks egg rolls will be the right move, with the candy bars going into a dipping sauce.

Curry in a Hurry

"I often get Indian food," says Sammy, deciding he's going to go with what he's more familiar with. He grabs tons of ingredients, including herbs and spices, for his curry sauce. Without the luxury of time, he does the best to develop flavors, but he holds back on adding heat. "I have a ton of respect for you," Aarti says, complimenting him for achieving a curry in such short time, but she misses the heat.

Chocolatey Lamb?

"Typical fried rice definitely doesn't have lamb or candy bars in it," says Darnell, figuring he can melt down a peanut candy bar for a marinade. "You transformed that lamb," Aarti says, however, she doesn't taste the candy bar. Samantha, seeing her lamb won't cook in time for her original idea, switches to making noodles. She plates her food in takeout boxes, which Troy loves. But Marc finds the lamb too rare.

The Part 1 Champion

"This is the way to kick off a tournament," Guy tells the three chefs, praising their amazing work. But only one can move on; Guy announces that Sammy has won $10,000 and has earned the first place in the Supermarket Masters finale. Darnell and Samantha check out. "I'm warmed up and ready for another win," says Sammy.

More Guy's Grocery Games

For more on the Supermarket Masters tournament, head to the Triple G show page to read the chefs' bios, plus take a quiz to test your shopping smarts and go behind the scenes of past episodes.

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Guy's Grocery Games: Supermarket Masters — Highlights from the Tournament