Top Moments from Guy's Superstar Grocery Games Tournament

Check out top moments from the tournament and find out which chefs made it to the next round — and who checked out.

Photo By: David Moir

A Triumphant Return

After winning the first Guy's Superstar Games Tournament, Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli returned to Flavortown Market for another chance at winning $40,000 for charity.

Four-Ingredient Italian Feast

Five ingredients or less is a classic game in Flavortown, but since he was dealing with superstars, Guy kicked it up a notch. The chefs' first challenge was to make an Italian dish using just four ingredients from the aisles.

Rocco's Risotto

Since it usually takes around 30 minutes to cook, one of the golden rules of food competition is to leave risotto alone. As if only having four ingredients wasn't enough of a challenge, Chef Rocco gave himself another when he chose to make risotto. Add Chef Antonia taking all the Parmesan, and Chef Rocco was facing an uphill battle.

Unwelcome Addition

Cooking with only four ingredients is a tall order, even for superstar chefs. After pleading with Guy for another ingredient, Brian Malarkey got his wish – sort of. The chefs were challenged to shop from Guy's Rack and had to choose canned tuna, canned ham, octopus, white asparagus or jarred olive salad.

Head to Head

After the judges tasted and critiqued all the chefs' dishes, Elizabeth and Tregaye were left to battle it out for a spot in the next round.

Single Seafood Feast

In the first round the chefs could only shop for four ingredients, but in this battle, they got 10 – one from each aisle. The challenge was to make a seafood feast, but Judge Aarti had one thing on her mind. "Does that mean more than one kind of seafood to you?" she asked. "Because it does to me."

Frozen Lobster for the Win

In the end it came down to which chef truly made a feast. Tregaye's fried lobster tail (made with frozen lobster) and sautéed shrimp beat out Elizabeth's grilled lobster.

Budget Battle

In the second week of Guy's Superstar Games, it was all about budget. The first challenge was to make a taco combo, and Guy gave each chef an envelope with $36.01 – a fortune in Flavortown. The catch? That cash had to last each chef the entire day, so if someone spent it all in the first round, they'd better hope they made a winning dish.

Brian Bets It All

Budgets can be stressful – especially for Brian Malarkey! After ringing up at more than $2 over budget, Brian started cutting up cabbage and putting back fruit – much to the chagrin of the chefs waiting in line behind him. "Are we allowed to attack him?" Antonia asked. With just 93 cents left, Brian finally made it back to his station.

Malarkey Madness

Back at his station – shared with Alex Guarnaschelli – Brian Malarkey was being anything but calm. "It sort of feels like you're in the library trying to study for an exam, and the circus has decided to come and rehearse right next to you," Alex said. "That's what working with Brian Malarkey feels like. I'm the library. He's the circus."

Troubling Tortillas

Last week, Rocco DiSpirito took a big risk and made risotto. This week, he took another risk and grabbed fresh masa to make his own tortillas. With no gluten to hold them together, Rocco's tortillas kept crumbling in his hands. Luckily for Rocco, a bit of flour was all it took to hold his tortillas together.

Bringing the Chill

Across the kitchen, Marcel Vigneron was blanching tomatillos to make his salsa verde. He wanted to add avocado, but didn't want the avocado to cook. What do you grab in Flavortown when you need to cool something quickly? Liquid nitrogen!

Dessert on a Dime

After a round at the judges' table, Rocco, Tregaye and Antonia were left to battle it out for the last two spots in next week's competition. The challenge was a decadent dessert, and luckily for these three chefs, they each managed to save a bit of money from the first round.

Allied Forces

While racing through the aisles, Antonia and Tregaye noticed they were reaching for some of the same ingredients and decided to pool their money, check out together and split the common items. "I need everything that's in my basket," Tregaye said, "and I need a few things that are in Antonia's basket." They didn't know it at the time, but they were both making a version of deep-fried PB&J.

Chocolate Cloches

In an effort to add some drama to his dessert, Rocco planned on making chocolate cloches to serve with his dish. He blew up some balloons, covered them in chocolate and waited for them to harden.

Deflated Dreams

Unfortunately for Rocco, the chocolate was too hot and didn't have time to cool, so instead of ending up on his dish, it ended up on his face.

Marshmallow Fluff vs. French Toast

The real question at the end of this round was who made the better deep-fried dessert sandwich. Antonia's Peanut Butter and Marshmallow Fluff just edged out Tregaye's PB&J French Toast, securing her a spot with Rocco in the next round of competition.

Meal Mates

The third week of Guy's Superstar Games started with the remaining chefs being paired off and competing in three simultaneous, head-to-head battles making breakfast, lunch or dinner. They also had to incorporate into their dish something from aisle six (baby food, dog foot etc.), cocktail weenies, and an item for $1.99.

Brian vs. Alex: Breakfast Battle

Alex Guarnaschelli and Brian Malarkey were the breakfast duo for this challenge, and for the most important meal of the day, Alex set her sights on making fried eggs with bacon, cornbread and blueberry jam. In an attempt to take down the reigning champ, Brian decided to make eggs benedict with "the sickest hollandaise" and a fruit smoothie. "There's nothing I want more then to dethrone the ICAG," he said.

Justin vs. Marcel: Lads Who Lunch

For the lunch battle, both Justin Warner and Marcel Vigneron went Asian. Justin went with a cocktail weenie ramen dish, while Marcel made an Asian tuna pizza.

Antonia vs. Rocco: Dinner Duo

For the dinner portion, Antonia went with a fra diavolo (spicy tomato sauce served with seafood). Rocco didn't want to go home, so he went BIG! Rocco made a mixed grill of scallops, shrimp, lobster, lamb chops, beef tenderloin and cocktail weenies. "It's basically impossible to do this in 20 to 30 minutes," Rocco said, "but here I am."

Dessert for Dinner

After the judges' critiques, Brian, Marcel and Rocco were left to battle it out in the redemption round. The challenge was to make an elegant dinner using the ingredients from a tiramisu: lady fingers, espresso, mascarpone and vanilla.

Cool Down in Flavortown

For his elegant dinner, Marcel was making a take on steak frites with filet mignon and cubed potatoes. He wanted his potatoes to be extra crispy, so he needed to chill them after he cooked them and before they went into the deep fryer. What does Marcel Vigneron reach for when he needs to chill something quickly? Liquid nitrogen, of course.

Checked Out

His potatoes may have been light and crispy, but the judges agreed that Marcel's dish was too salty. His time in Flavortown had come to an end.

Burger Battle

Week four of Guy's Superstar Games started with the celebrity chefs making their best burger and fries. What's the catch? Before they started shopping, the chefs had to run around the store and find a cart to shop with, and of course each cart was already stocked with two mandatory ingredients — the common one being canned tapioca pudding.

Marshmallow Madness

Antonia's cart had some cheese puffs, Rocco's had Asian long beans, Brian had tuna jerky and Justin had watermelon, but the toughest cart was chosen by ICAG — Iron Chef Alex Guarnaschelli. "I grab the first cart I see," Alex said, "and it has tapioca pudding and marshmallow cereal. It's very, very sweet, and I don't want to ever see it near a hamburger."

Frozen Fries

Marcel may have left the competition last week, but his legacy lived on. What's the secret to making the perfect fry in Flavortown? Liquid nitrogen, of course. "In order to make the best potatoes ever, you blanch them, freeze them, and then you fry them," Brian said.

Boil, Chill & Fry

Rocco was also inspired by Marcel's signature move. "This is the ultimate in frydom," he said.

No Time for Tapioca

When you're an Iron Chef, you leave the can opening to someone else.

Fighting for the Finale

Despite the tapioca pudding and marshmallow cereal, the judges decided that Alex had the best burger and fries. It was up to Brian, Justin, Antonia and Rocco to battle it out for the final three spots in the finale.

Cheesy Cart Swap

For the redemption round, Guy tasked the chefs with making their cheesiest dish. Their first challenge was the three-minute shopping limit. "The hardest thing to do in this show is shop," said Judge Troy. "There are way too many options." A three-minute shop time might be a challenge, but it wouldn't be the Superstar Tournament without Guy throwing an extra wrench in the chefs' plans. Just before starting their dishes, Guy announced the second challenge of the redemption round — the chefs would have to swap carts with the other chef at their station.

Brian Bids Farewell to Flavortown

After all the shenanigans he brought to the competition, too much salt in his mac 'n' cheese marked the end of the road for Brian Malarkey.

Double Wheel of Games

It was down to the final four. After four weeks of competition, Antonia Lofaso, Rocco DiSpirito, Justin Warner, and reigning champ Alex Guarnaschelli were left to battle it out in the final week of Guy's Superstar Games tournament, and for the final week of competition, Guy had something extra up his sleeve. Instead of having one challenge per round, there would be two, and they'd be completely random.

Grocery Hack

Taking the judges’ advice, Antonia utilized a classic Flavortown trick — she took only what she needed out of the packaging. Do NOT try this at your local grocery store.

Rocco's Risotto Roots

It worked for him in round one, so Rocco gave risotto another go. The chefs were making their best fried dish, so Rocco decided to make arancini, and he planned to use risotto in place of regular rice.

Freezing Flavortown

After the risotto was cooked, Rocco needed to cool it quickly so he could form it into balls. If you need something to get cold fast in Flavortown, you run for the liquid nitrogen.

Over the Oysters

For his fried dish, Justin made a Japanese-style skewer with fried, smoked oysters. "I know that smoked oysters are not everybody’s cup of meat," he said. "They're intense, but I love them, and I think the judges will too." Unfortunately for Justin, the strong flavor didn't sit well with the judges, and he was the first to check out.

Triple Threat

Only three superstar chefs remained, and Guy wanted them to show their skills and make the judges a high-end dish — but not before spinning the food wheels again. Watch Your Weight and Frozen Food Feud were the names of the games — the chefs had to make a high-end dish using only eight pounds of frozen ingredients.

Weighed Down

For her high-end dish, Antonia made her version of a Southern-style classic: shrimp and grits. "For me, the shrimp is just the safest frozen protein," she said. After a nerve-wracking weigh-in with her ingredients, Antonia used frozen potatoes as the base for her grits. "I don't even know if that's a thing," she said.

Au Revoir, Antonia

While the judges enjoyed her dish, the texture of Antonia's potato grits was something they couldn't overlook.

Final Battle

This was it: the challenge that would decide who would reign supreme. Would the ICAG hold on to her title, or would Rocco DiSpirito be the new Grocery Games Superstar champion? It all came down to who made the best signature dish, using only ingredients starting with the letter c and the Red Light Special — marshmallow fluff. "The Red Light Special is one of the most processed ingredients in the universe," Alex groaned.

Heating Up the Competition

C is for chicken in this competition. Both chefs grabbed it, but who would make the better dish? Alex made chicken with braised cabbage and carrot vinaigrette, while Rocco fired up a dish of chicken thighs with coconut and cashew creamed swiss chard.

Dethroned

The decision came down to breast vs. thigh, and Rocco's dish just edged out Alex's to win him the title of Guy's Grocery Games Superstar Champion. "Now if you guys don't mind, I'm going to go take a nap," Alex said, "but I'll be back."

King of Flavortown

In addition to the Superstar Games Trophy, Rocco also got $40,000 for his charity, HealthCorps. "I can't believe I won," he said after the final round.

Hear from Rocco!