Top Moments from Guy's Grocery Games Tournament of Champions
See highlights from the competition, and find out how the competitors played the games.
Part 1: Maddened by Marshmallows
After the roll of Guy's four die, the chefs had to incorporate mayonnaise and marshmallows into their innovative appetizers for Game 1, plus utilize a food mill and shop within four minutes. Upon hearing "marshmallows," Trevor instantly thought s'mores, but on a savory route, using bacon and mixing the mayonnaise into melted chile chocolate. "You nailed everything on the innovative," says Catherine McCord, but Melissa d'Arabian points out the challenge was an appetizer not dessert. They send Trevor home for the technicality.
Clearance Cart Confusion
Walter wasn't too happy to be facing the Clearance Carts in cooking his upscale lunch for Game 2. Even Guy tried to cheer him up by putting extra bargain items in his cart. "Like I need him to confuse me," Walter said. The judges felt his dish of seared halibut with beet-green-stuffed shell pasta and canned salmon sauce lacked flavor. Melissa puts it plainly: "Walter's crime was not putting out the best food." "If somebody had to go home, I would hope it was me," says Walter.
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Flippin' Out in the Market
"How about I flip this guy," says Veronica after finding out she and Erika will have to cook with gingerbread ingredients in making a pork dinner for Game 3. "Great minds think alike," says Erika, after she sees Veronica is doing a very similar dish of pan-fried pork with green beans. The only difference on Erika's plate is her fennel-and-apple salad and spice-infused ricotta cheese. Both Madison Cowan and Melissa agree that the ricotta was the best bite, but it's not enough to keep Erika in the competition, because Veronica's corn flour-coated pork chops won the game.
A Repeat Victory
"It was just about as close as they come," Guy tells the final two chefs. "I love that the final round came down to two female chefs," says Erika after checking out. After putting out three winning plates, Veronica advances to the shopping spree. "Somehow I have to muster up the energy and the focus to win as much money as I can for my mom and dad," she says, hoping to pay it forward. After winning the same amount she won last time, $18,000, Veronica falls to the ground. "I love Flavortown, I really do," she says. And she earns the first spot in the Tournament of Champions finale.
Part 2: Deconstructing Gone Too Far
Faced with cooking their Best Breakfast, the chefs in Game 1 had to use Guy's Grocery List, which required them to utilize one ingredient from aisle 4, frozen kale, kumquats and pine nuts. Darion decides to create a deconstructed sandwich with a mimosa on the side. "I didn't want to use kumquats anywhere else in the dish," he says of his reason to make a drink. Unfortunately Catherine feels the "kumquat didn't get the justice it should have," and Darion checks out.
Meatless Mistake
The downside of playing the Odd/Even game is you can have access to the meat and dairy section or the fresh produce, but not both. Despite being told to shop only the odd aisles for his Hearty Sandwich and a Side in Game 2, Salvatore started drifting into the meat section. After Guy reminded him of the challenge, Salvatore ended up creating a tuna and white asparagus sandwich with sweet potato fries and grilled pepper salsa, which Troy Johnson feels was "the main flaw on the dish." Salvatore ends up checking out.
Decadent Decisions
"Cassoulet is the most-decadent casserole dish I know of," says Meg when Guy reveals she and Crista will have to cook a Decadent Dinner in Game 3. But what Guy doesn't reveal until later is that they must incorporate a Red Light Special: olives. Deciding to use a pressure cooker for her chicken thighs and sausage, Meg feels "the pressure is on" to finish a dish that normally takes an entire day. She's pleased with the results, but the judges find it oily. "You came that close," says Troy, before Meg checks out.
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A Little Help from Heaven
Despite finding Crista's lentils a little underdone, the judges praise her seared duck breast, which Troy calls a "marriage of ... nicely browned duck fat and mid-rare [meat]." Crista wins the game and earns the shopping spree. While racing through the aisles she has trouble finding pineapple cake mix. As the time counts down, Guy throws her a box of it: "Out of nowhere ... baby Jesus launches me this alley-oop," she says. Crista leaves with $14,000 to add to the $16,000 she won last time.
Part 3: When Adventurous Leans Toward Weird
"Ingredients talk to me," says Eddie as he's shopping for ingredients that begin with the letter M for his Adventurous Lunch in Game 1's ABC challenge. Unfortunately he's hearing everything but M, but eventually he gets an idea to create a crab meat and mango macaroni salad, as well as a mushroom and mozzarella grilled cheese. "I'm not sure it's an adventure I'd want to go on again," Melissa says after trying the crab and mango combo. Eddie ends up checking out.
Holding Back on Going Greek
In Game 2 Guy asks the chefs to make their Best Dish, which everyone's excited about, but this time the twist has them fusing Chinese and Greek flavors. Reino makes fried sea bass and eggplant in a hoisin glaze for his Chinese portion and quinoa with cherry tomatoes for his Greek half. "I'm not totally sure that it's represented," he says of the Greek influence, which Melissa readily points out doesn't feel Greek at all. Reino checks out.
Getting Nutty with Coconuts
Guy springs 1, 2, 3 on Tanya and Phillip in Game 3. They'll have to make a Contemporary American Dinner featuring coconut used two ways with ingredients from three aisles. Tanya decides on coconut fried chicken with coconut water-infused cauliflower mash. "This is absolutely an American dinner," Melissa tells Tanya. But Richard Blais points out that "it's dated, not contemporary," which is exactly what Tanya was worried about.
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Defining Contemporary
For Phillip, contemporary "means no rules," so he decides to make a coconut panna cotta with prawn ceviche and vegetables marinated in coconut water. "It's questionable whether or not it's dinner," says Richard of Phillip's unusual, but well-received, dish. In the end, Tanya checks out because the judges feel Phillip featured the coconut better. Phillip goes on to the shopping spree, where he wins $18,000 in an all-out race.
Part 4: The Definition of a Pizza
Guy springs one of the least-liked games on the chefs in Game 1, the Un-Ingredients. Having to make a pizza without dough, mozzarella, tomato products or cured meats, Caitie relies on Indian naan to improvise the dough, and she tops it with a spinach-cashew pesto, caramelized onions and sliced sausage. Unfortunately her bread turns out soggy, and Richard says he feels "it ate a little bit more like a gyro" than a pizza. Caitie is the first chef to check out.
Using His Noodle
In making their best Asian dish in Game 2, the chefs have to go on a Scavenger Hunt. Luckily Eddie figures out the clues quickly and shops for shrimp chips, edamame, grapefruit and lard — all of which he has to incorporate into his dish. He presents the judges a bowl of ramen with shrimp chip-coated halibut, but he worries about the portion of noodles. Ultimately Catherine says, "On any other day, that dish might have won." But too many noodles does Eddie in.
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The Missing Link
Guy asks the final two chefs to each create an extravagant dinner in Game 3, but there's a catch, as always. With the spin of both the protein and budget Food Wheels, Guy determines Jay and Cristina have to use sea bass and restricts their budgets to $16. Unfortunately that means Cristina can't use wine as she had hoped. She turns out a grilled sea bass with a savory bread pudding. "I think that it could use some sauce," says Richard. But Melissa commends her on cooking the fish perfectly.
It's All About the Sauce
Jay immediately thinks French comfort food for his extravagant dish, and he was set on making a beurre blanc. Unable to afford white wine, he uses citrus juice in his sauce. He plates seared sea bass with roasted carrots, fried Brussels sprouts and smoked baby clams, which he deep-fries in the final two minutes. "The money on this plate are those fried, smoked baby clams," Catherine tells him. "It all came down to a little bit of sauce," Richard tells Cristina as she checks out. Jay goes on to win $18,000 in the shopping spree.
Finale: Express Lane, Frozen Food Feud, Can Can
Facing three games rolled into Game 1, the chefs could only use only frozen food and canned food with a limit of seven items in creating a Hearty Lunch. Veronica decides to make salmon cakes with a corn polenta. Unable to use any dairy, she relies on coconut milk. "It tastes like candy," Veronica exclaims when she tries it, realizing she accidentally picked up cream of coconut instead. She fears the mistake might send her home, and she's correct, as Aarti Sequeira feels the too-sweet polenta "takes everything over."
Rolling with the Game
"What's going to make me laugh at myself?" asks Jay as he tries to figure out what to make for his Best Breakfast in Game 2. The Food Pyramid dealt the chefs frozen pizza, applesauce and chicken wings, which they must feature. "Chimichanga," thinks Jay. He rolls up pizza bits, fried chicken pieces, scrambled eggs and chorizo into a tortilla. "In a sort of guilty-pleasure kind of way, I really like it," says Aarti, but she finds it needs more heat. Jay ends up checking out.
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Misplaced Anger and Displaced Heat
After bowling for the aisles they can shop in, Phillip and Crista grab ingredients from aisles 1, 5, 6, 9 and 10, but as soon as they're back at their stations Guy springs a Station Swap on them. After Phillip lets out an angry growl, Troy points out, "Sometimes you can taste the love in a dish. This time I think you might taste anger." Phillip's thrown off by Crista's Moroccan ingredients, and even with two extra items from Guy's Sale Rack, he isn't able to pull off a completely successful lamb dish.
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A Champion Is Made
"He's teed me up some pretty great ingredients," says Crista upon swapping stations with Phillip, but she's concerned about the hanger steak, which she hasn't worked with before. She grabs chipotle from Guy's rack and decides to use it to add smokiness. The judges love her dish but want more heat. In the end, Phillip checks out and Crista becomes the first-ever Triple G Grand Champion. In the shopping spree she picks up an additional $18,000. "I'm chasing my dream," she says.
Tournament of Champions
Get more on the championship, go behind the scenes with photos of the top moments and watch video highlights of the challenges.
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