In a Guy's Grocery Games first, four pro athletes paired off with four pro chefs to face the games. But after Game 1, a Winner's Dinner challenge using the Express Lane, and one of the best rounds, as Troy called it, the judges couldn't reach a consensus on whom to check out. In a "most-mind-blowing decision," as Guy called it, the judges kept all four teams in the game.
A Double Double Elimination
Facing a Let It Roll challenge in Game 2, the teams must cook with eggs and beef jerky, and are required to use a spiralizer and do all the shopping in two-and-a-half minutes. Judge Beau finds Team Marc and Jennifer's frittata oversalted, and Troy wishes Team Lorena and Takeo had utilized more of the spiral veggies in their salad. Both teams check out at the end of the round.
Last-Minute Missteps
For their Cheat-Day Dish in Game 3, Robert and Rich set out to cook duck confit over pasta, but in a last-minute decision, Robert starts on a chocolate mousse to compete with his rival team's planned dessert. "It's like a thick, foamy chocolate milk," says Aarti of what Robert ends up presenting as a cocktail since the mousse never set. But he and Rich check out for the underseasoned pasta.
A Moment Worth Celebrating
"None of us are going to stop hearing from that guy that he won," Guy says, pointing at Brian. The two victors do a belly bump that lands Brian on the floor, making everyone burst out laughing. As Marcel and Brian rush the aisles, they manage to bag the entire $30,000 shopping spree to be split between their charities, with an instant replay to confirm the last item that came in just under the clock.
Faced with creating an upscale dinner using only frozen foods and canned goods in a double-whammy game, chefs Elizabeth, Aaron, Madison and Michael find themselves at a disadvantage. Inspiration strikes Aaron in the aisles, and he decides to make his mom's salmon cakes. "I think the cake itself is a little dense," Richard says. "It's not dense," Aaron retorts. "Drink water." Aaron checks out.
Sabotaged by a Switcheroo
"OK, what's going on here?" asks Elizabeth when she gets Madison's shopping cart filled with Japanese ingredients in a Musical Carts challenge. Forced to use at least three of the other chef's items, she creates a poached egg brunch dish with a goat cheese muffin. The judges like her ingenuity in microwaving the muffin, but they find the egg overcooked. "I actually don't disagree with them," she says before checking out.
Two-in-One Hit or Miss
Just before Guy does his "3, 2, 1" countdown, he reveals Game 3 as the 1, 2, 3 challenge. The chefs will have to use one ingredient, corn, two ways, using three aisles. "It's got the maple. It's got the chocolate. So you can't beat that with a stick," says Madison of his glazed pork loin with grits and corn johnnycakes. But the judges think his dish missed on spice. "It wasn't my day today," he says as he checks out.
Risking 3 Ways to Win or Lose
"I have to say, it really does look good, but I haven't tasted one thing," says Michael after he finishes his corn three ways: shrimp risotto, clam chowder and oyster vinaigrette. Luckily for him the judges have nearly all positive things to say. "[It's] perhaps the best food I've ever eaten on this show," Richard says. Michael goes on to earn $16,000 for charity in the shopping spree. "I did my job today," he says.
Rolling Out the Red Light Special
For Game 1, Guy revealed the Red Light Special, potato nuggets, only after chefs Penny, Ron, Pat and Justin left to shop. "You've got to be kidding me," said Pat. The judges found his BBQ chicken salad overdressed. "I'm a Southern boy," Pat retorted. "Just come to church in Memphis on Sunday and see how overdressed we are." In the end he checked out for overdone chicken.
Clearance Cart Casualty
"They've left me nothing," said Penny, realizing Ron and Justin had already picked over the bargain bins for Game 2, Clearance Carts. All she had to work with were fresh vegetables, fresh pasta, rock shrimp and some tamarind paste, which she felt would make a great deconstructed lasagna. Penny left the market at the end of the game "for trying to do too much," judge Duskie explained.
The Pyramid of Product Pain
"The man is a mad, cruel puppeteer," said Ron as Guy introduced the Food Pyramid. And Justin begged Guy to not get potato flakes. "Can I feel that ball," Justin asked, having trouble believing it was an accident. But Ron doesn't even know what they are. "Let me quit now before I poison the judges," he said as Guy revealed potato flakes, grape soda and short ribs as mandatory ingredients.
Even though Ron's sent to the checkout for too salty mashed potatoes, he left with a realization that he's more than just a dessert chef. "I mean, this is a revelation for me," said Ron. "I sort of surprised myself." Justin advanced to the shopping spree, where he earned $16,000 for Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger. "This is unbelievable," said Justin.
Bowling for Their Keep
In the first game, Guy asked A-list chefs Anne Burrell, Jet Tila, Eric Greenspan and Marcel Vigneron to "bowl over the judges" with hearty lunches. The chefs had to knock off bottles labeled with ingredients, and the remaining bottles dictated what the chefs had to use: coconut macaroons, ginger beer, wasabi paste and tofu. Eric's pad thai sauce ended up too reduced and the judges had him check out. "I'll just go run around someone else's supermarket," Eric said.
An all-American meal? No problem. But a meal from the middle aisles? "This is chef torture," said Jet. While Anne and Jet went with comfort food dishes, Marcel created a dessert. In the end judge Troy Johnson called Jet's casserole "1970s feather hair, man perm, sweatbands, disco food." But Brian Malarkey thought it was "one-dimensional." Jet checked out for not taking it to the next level.
The Highs and Lows of Competition
Using the high and low wheels, Guy spun to reveal that Anne and Marcel would be cooking with king crab and grits for their A-list dinner. Both chefs created very similar dishes. "I'm hoping that these spices will ... separate my dish from Anne's," said Marcel, who added paprika and thyme to his polenta. "What was that?" Anne pointed out when Brian pulled out a thyme sprig. "I think that needs to be commented on."
A Race for the Finish
"It was the ingredients of Marcel's dish that was a bit more refined," Brian explained as Anne checked out and Marcel advanced to the shopping spree. "I can't even keep up with him," said Guy as he chased after Marcel, who bagged all 10 items to earn $20,000. "That's how you do a shopping spree," said Marcel. "It's going to impact so many peoples' lives," he said of the winnings going to L.A. Kitchen.
All-Stars: Judges Take to the Aisles
Richard Blais, Aarti Sequeira, G. Garvin and Beau MacMillan took on Guy's challenges in this episode. Guy didn't hold back, starting them off with an ABC game that had them shopping for an international dish with items that began with P and Z. Unfortunately G. didn't have time to do as much as he hoped, and the judges didn't think his dish was international enough. "I think I may have made it way too simple," said G.
The Definition of Dinner
Tasked with making a decadent dinner using items from only aisle 1 in a Single Aisle Showdown, Richard took the challenge in stride and came up with a vegetarian dish of potatoes with romesco sauce. Troy called the sauce "phenomenal." Richard joked, "The puree is made with this cat food." His comment got everyone laughing, but the judges felt the dish didn't read "dinner," as Catherine pointed out.
Guy brought out the Fieri Food Pyramid — "to share something from my family," he said — to help Aarti and Beau cook a family meal. Armed with frozen monkey bread, pimento cheese and canned tiny shrimp, both contestants made shrimp and grits. Using the monkey bread for breading, Aarti made a dish that ended up salty. "I'm starting to understand that was a terrible thing," she said, forgetting to taste the product.
Run for the Money
"You just rocked the house," Guy told Beau as the contestant advanced to the shopping spree. His dish "made all of those three ingredients shine," Catherine said. With a head start from Guy, Beau managed to grab eight items on the shopping list, earning $16,000 for his charity, St. Mary's Food Bank. "Every dollar feeds eight people," Beau explained. "All this money [is] going to help people in need."
More Guy's Grocery Games
Visit the show page for behind-the-scenes photos from the show, interviews with host Guy Fieri and the judges, and take the Smart Shopper Quiz to see how well you'd do in Flavortown Market.
