Meet the Chefs Competing in the First-Ever 'Guy’s Grocery Games' Triple D Legends Tournament

Guy's Grocery Games is excited to announce the first-ever Triple D Legends Tournament, featuring eight of the best chefs from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives! Premiering Wednesday, August 27 at 9|8c, hosts Guy and Hunter Fieri will send the competitors on a wild ride for $30,000. But the elite eight will need to make use of all of their culinary creativity if they want to cruise past the judges and make it to the finish line in the series finale airing Wednesday, September 24 at 9|8c.

Chefs will compete in the Flavortown 500, a rockin' road trip helmed by Guy and Hunter. Eight chefs will travel to destinations like Guilty Pleasure Place, Brunch Boulevard, Budget Bridge, Take Out Turnpike and Cash City, where they'll face the toughest challenges Guy's Grocery Games can muster. But if their dish doesn't rev the judges' engines, they'll be sent packing.

Each week will feature a different stop offering new and unique challenges for the competitors. And if that wasn't enough pressure, a rotating panel of judges is here to make things even more interesting every week.

The last chef standing not only nabs the tournament trophy, but they're walking out the door with $30,000 cash in that cup!

Our lead judge, cookbook author Aarti Sequeira, joins us all season long for this fast-paced race through the streets of Flavortown. No stranger to Guy's Grocery Games, Aarti has also appeared on Duff Till Dawn, The Best Thing I Ever Ate and other Food Network shows since winning Food Network Star in 2010.

There are a few more familiar faces behind the judges' table: James Beard-nominated chef Mei Lin is along for the ride this season as well. The winner of Food Network's Tournament of Champions Season 4 and owner of Los Angeles' Daybird, she's no stranger to intense kitchen competition, but now she's on the other side of the table.

The guru of gooey grilled cheese and king of comfort food himself, chef Eric Greenspan, joins us at the judges' table. A familiar face from Guy's Grocery Games, Eric's also been a competitor on Cutthroat Kitchen, as well as Tournament of Champions.

Also joining us will be model, actor and creator of Weelicious.com Catherine McCord; James Beard Award-winning chef and cookbook author Rocco DiSpirito; and a guy that knows a thing or two about winning — 10-time Guy's Grocery Games winner chef Aaron May.

After 22 years in the spa industry, chef Trina Gregory needed a reboot. Finishing culinary school at 45 and specializing in baking and pastry, she went on to open Se7enbites in Orlando, Florida. What started as a catering business quickly grew into a 4,000-square-foot homage to Southern baking and comfort food.

Se7enBites website says, "Breakfast. Brunch. Lunch. The best 3 meals of the day," and they mean it. You can get classics like a short stack, or go Guy's route and grab yourself one of their from-scratch chicken pot pies. But you won't find the Drunk N' Sloppy Jo — a beefy, tomato-y sweet sloppy joe enveloped by beer cheese — anywhere else.

After escaping poverty in Jamaica, chef Oniel Smith got his culinary start in a small New York City garage he converted into a kitchen. Finding success as a Caribbean kitchen, he packed his bags and opened up the incredibly successful House of Dutch Pot in 2021, gaining a feature on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and winning big on Guy's Grocery Games.

"When" he wins, chef O plans to donate the funds to a charity program he started for Jamaican children who want to explore a career in culinary arts.

Since opening House of Dutch Pot in 2021, chef Oniel has been bringing the best of the Caribbean to the desert in Las Vegas. Guy and Hunter sampled the sweet heat of chef O's signature Jerk Chicken back in Season 36 of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but you'll also find Jamaican favorites like curry goat, braised oxtail and, of course, Jamaican beef patties.

Owner and executive chef at Momocho, Eric Williams is a self-taught chef who's earned multiple James Beard Award nominations, as well as accolades from Food & Wine, for his modern Mexican cuisine in Cleveland, Ohio.

Cleveland, Ohio, isn't the first place you might think of when you want real-deal, authentic Mexican cuisine, but Momocho is here to change your mind about that. With hits like mole-lamb enchiladas, smoked trout guacamole and coffee- and ancho-braised beef brisket tacos, it's easy to see why it's been rated one of the top 25 restaurants in Cleveland.

A 30-year veteran who started at age 13, chef Bobby "The Butcher" Marcotte knew about the grind long before he opened his coffee shop, Rise + Grind, in Durham, New Hampshire. His first restaurant, The Tuckaway, in nearby Raymond, is a full-service butcher shop and restaurant with seating for 250.

If Guy is calling your butcher shop/restaurant a "carnivore emporium" and "one of the top 5 restaurants" he's ever been to, you've got something going on. The Tuckaway's mouthwatering meat menu specializes in big cuts of beef, burgers and bison — and their famous steak tips are a sight to behold.

With multiple Michelin recommendations under her belt, chef Deborah VanTrece is bringing soul food from around the globe. Before she began her culinary journey, chef Deborah worked as a flight attendant and credits the job with her love for global cuisine. That love has landed her spots on Today and Good Morning America, as well as in the New York Times, and with a career spanning 20 years in the industry, she's a leading lady of Southern cuisine.

Soul food abounds in Atlanta, Georgia, and Twisted Soul is a global celebration of the good stuff. Guy hunkered down with pepper-stuffed hoecakes covered in lobster, crab and shrimp, but with dishes like hoisin-glazed oxtail with basmati fried rice or chef Deb's spin on the classic Southern fried chicken, might have you trying something new.

Chef Jacob Town is a restaurant success story, starting as a dishwasher and pushing himself to become better. Working in Napa Valley's and San Francisco's best before starting his own place with his wife, Brooke, Jacob's years of experience as an executive chef shine through in dishes like their anything-but-simple Halibut Almondine and, oh yeah … he makes his own bologna out at The Spoon Trade.

We challenge you, reader, to find another restaurant that's curing their own bologna before slicing, frying and topping it with a hearty dollop of scratch-made Dijonnaise. Guy experienced the incredible Fried Bologna Sandwich when he visited The Spoon Trade, but if bologna isn't your cup of tea, their Chicken and Dumplings are "a piece of art," according to Guy.

Hallock Howard got her start in the kitchen of the Oceana Resort when she was only 12, but right after graduating from the University of North Carolina, she opened up the original Amos Mosquito's back in 1999 before settling into their permanent home in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, in 2003. With help from her parents, Pam and Bud, and her husband, Sandy, Hallock has curated a reputation for upscale seaside dishes and Southern fare.

Named after a knock-knock joke gone awry, Amos Mosquito's offers everything from the turf to the surf. A variety of fresh-caught fish and seafood is available every day, like the Buzz Buzz Shrimp with Fresh Pineapple Slaw that Guy crushed on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

Two-time Tournament of Champions finalist and owner of Blackbrick in Tampa, Florida, chef Richard Hales credits his Filipino heritage as inspiration behind many of his incredible dishes. Not satisfied with a single restaurant, Richard also operates Grateful Hospitality, a frozen food business that ships his best bites all over the country.

Winner of Tampa, Florida's Best Chinese Restaurant for two consecutive years, and now Best Chef in Tampa, Blackbrick is elevating Chinese food in the US. Dan Dan Noodles and Char Siu Pork Belly from a local farm's heritage pork may be one thing, but General Tso's-sauced Florida alligator is on a whole other level.

And they're off! First stop: Guilty Pleasure Palace, where the phrase "Eat Like No One Is Watching" reigns supreme. The first challenge the Elite 8 will face is to create some killer dishes out of road trip snacks — string cheese, raisins and BBQ potato chips, to name a few. Oh, and only the ingredients the chefs can fit on a hubcap can be used in the final dish. Easy!

The chefs descend upon the aisles, snatching up everything they can while the 30-minute countdown ticks away. And since they can only use what fits on their hubcaps, chef Howard's forgotten chicken stock means she'll have to sacrifice flavor in the base of her gravy, and a bun miscount leads to chef Gregory's serving an open-faced sloppy joe.

Firing on all cylinders, chef Smith's juicy jerk shrimp Rasta pasta scored a big hit with the judges — and may be memorialized as the best use of a peanut butter packet we've ever seen.

Chef Marcotte incorporated sweet raisins with apples and duck confit into a banging savory seasonal mac and cheese, setting a high bar and establishing himself as stiff competition.

But even the most perfectly, perfectly, perfectly cooked lamb chops couldn't save chef Deb from a dish that didn't feel guilty, and chef Gregory's topless sloppy joe means an incomplete plate.

Ultimately, chef VanTrece missed the mark this week, taking the Exit 1 off-ramp and leaving Flavortown. But with seven competitors left, it's still anybody's race!

The tour de torturous turnpike continues with the second stop at Baller's Brunch. This week, the competitors were tasked with delivering a glamorous breakfast worthy of making Guy forget about lunch. That's no small feat, but after surviving the cut last week, brunch specialist chef Trina is ready for the challenge.

But due to a slight incident in Aisle 10, chefs had to make do without the aid of fresh potatoes, bacon or eggs in their breakfast of champions this week. Will the chefs be able to steer around this massive pothole?

Chef Town started us off with one of the biggest baller brunch offerings we've seen: lobster and crab avocado toast topped with caviar in a beurre blanc sauce. That's a steep hill to climb up, but chef Howard understood the assignment with her sleeper Dungeness crab shrimp and grits.

But someone has to make up the bottom two. Chef Gregory's side of frozen home fries was too much of a distraction from otherwise amazing biscuits and gravy, while chef Hales' crispy steak and eggs lacked the luxury needed to reach peak baller status.

This week, we see the bottom two chefs pitted against each other in a head-to-head battle to see who stays and who goes. Instead of brunch, Guy challenged the chefs to a weeknight dinner that needed frozen waffles, bacon and eggs.

Chef Hales' Yangzhou fried rice made great use of frozen waffles as breading for his shrimp, but will chef Gregory's waffle croutons alongside pasta carbonara be enough to bring her back from the brink again?

Unfortunately, they weren't crouton enough, and this week, chef Gregory takes the off-ramp. With only six chefs remaining in the race for $30,000, the heat is starting to turn up.

As we pull into the quarter final, six chefs remain in the challenge for $30,000. The third stop takes the chefs to Budget Bridge, but they're gonna be carpooling this time: The competitors are teaming up!

Once divided, the teams are tasked with creating a classic food duo for under $20. In case anyone thought this was easy, chefs Smith and Howard drew a card for spaghetti and meatballs. No small feat when your pasta needs to pass through the scrutiny of award-winning chef Rocco DiSpirito!

Luckily, the teams had no issues with their slim budgets. Using leftover funds, chefs Williams and Marcotte pull together a bangin' tomato salad, while chef Hales prepares a sauteed kimchi crown for chef Town's gooey mac and cheese.

The judges were apprehensive at first, but were blown away by Team Howard & Smith's Spicy Spaghetti, owing to their use of deep-fried meatballs and sweet seasonings. And judge Aarti Sequeira offered a rave review of the chimichurri sauce chef Williams paired with chef Marcotte's skirt steak.

But someone has to be in the bottom two, and this week that goes to team mac and cheese. The teammates now compete against each other in a sudden-death heat. This round, we're shifting gears to seafood: The chefs will need to come up with a lifesaver of a shrimp dish if they want to stay afloat.

Chef Town is skewering shrimp and mashing potatoes. But will it be enough to best chef Hales' shrimp and calamari pasta?

Sadly, shrimp skewers lack staying power, and chef Town missed the cut. Now, only five chefs remain, and the semifinal is looming large.

With just five competitors left in the race to $30,000, we pull into Takeout Turnpike, home of to-die-for takeout. This week, chefs will need to combo a burger with a side dish that represents their culinary style … with only nine ingredients! Too bad Guy couldn't require a milkshake, but judge Aaron May doesn't seem too bothered by onion rings and fries on the menu.

While chef Marcotte grinds rib eyes and chef Williams' burgers end up face down in queso, chef Hales set out to make sure the judges remember who gave them a bodacious burger, busting out the GGG branding iron for his buns and snagging one of the few remaining spots for the finale.

It was chef Howard's United States of Smash Burger that truly delivered on the promise of a great road trip burger — and secured her a spot as well.

Although we would love to be face down in a bowl of queso, the judges disagreed with chef Williams' offering being enough of a side, and he joins chef Smith in a head-to-head showdown for the last seat in the car. But this time, it's down to who can score big with takeout noodles.

Chef Williams isn't wasting any time and jumps right into … grilling pasta for his chill pachole, brothy shrimp and vegetable stew, while chef Smith goes straight for the saute and cranks out garlic pesto shrimp scampi.

This one was tough, with both competitors making near-flawless dishes with perfectly cooked pasta. But someone has to go, and this time it's chef Smith.

Now, only four chefs remain in the hunt for $30,000, and in the distance we can see our last stop: Cash City. Pile into the Camaro gang, we're peeling out on the road to Flavortown!

We started this rowdy road trip with eight of the best chefs featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, and now we're down to the Final 4. But nobody is sitting safely in shotgun seat: The tournament trophy and $30,000 grand prize are still up for grabs.

Racing to the finish line are chefs Hallock Howard, Richard Hales, Bobby Marcotte and Eric Williams. But only one can cross into Cash City. But they'll need to pay a toll: an updated classic diner dish using two of four special ingredients offered by Hunter, Aarti, Aaron and, joining as a judge for the finale, Catherine McCord.

Chef Williams goes with what he knows with trout almondine, heading straight over to the coconuts and pineapple offered by the judges … but so does chef Marcotte, although he's going in a totally different direction: a Thai spin on the classic American chop suey. While it might be a 180-degree turn on a New England classic, confidence is key in the final round.

Speaking of confidence, chef Howard knows her diner dishes, and there aren't many more classic than a tuna melt. But will her fruit-forward pico de gallo be enough to push past chef Hales' pineapple-powered Hawaiian rib-eye steak and eggs?

While chef Williams' trout almondine passed the bar with a silky-smooth coconut crema, chef Marcotte brought the bar up even higher with his Thai-inspired chop suey, one of the more unexpected pasta dishes we've ever seen.

Chef Hales' towering filet mignon steak and eggs was so perfectly pink, even with parcooked potatoes, it was enough to push him through to the next round. Sadly, it was chef Howard who missed the mark with her reimagined tuna melt, and we had to say goodbye. We'll miss you, chef Howard!

Just when you thought there couldn't be any more twists and turns on this wild ride, the final three chefs get thrown a curveball. Everyone's least favorite challenge from Guy's Grocery Games is here: one ingredient per aisle.

Chef Williams nailed the emotion surrounding the cruel twist with a single word: "Why?"

Chef Marcotte's supreme surf & turf isn't playing around. He's quick to grab dry-aged rib eyes and straight-out-of-the-sea lobster tails. The truffle compound butter is really just icing on the steak at that point!

If he wins, chef Marcotte is looking to donate a portion of the winnings to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which was monumental in helping care for his daughter.

Marinated with ginger, garlic and apple juice, chef Hales is preparing some explosive Chengdu-style lamb chops. Talk about flavor bombs: The black vinegar and Calabrian chilies Chef Hales scouted out pack a powerful punch.

If he were to win, chef Hales wants to share the prize money with his restaurant staff — the people who make it all possible.

Did anyone have blue corn and toasted coconut masa dumplings on their bingo card today? Not satisfied with simple, chef Williams is cranking out mezcal-sauced shrimp Veracruz for the final round.

Chef Williams is hoping to take the grand prize back to his restaurant and share it with the hardworking staff.

With $30,000 on the line, judging these dishes is no small feat.

Chef Hales' lamb chops were a great representation of his culinary style, showing his versatility by using premade goods and turning them into a flavor "nuclear bomb."

Chef Marcotte's Dinner of Champions exceeded expectations. A towering plate of the greatest hits from every aisle, the judges couldn't believe he was able to pull it all together in only 30 minutes.

Chef Williams' winner dinner, Shrimp Veracruz & Tamale Dumplings, was met with stunned silence. Phenomenally delicious and deeply flavorful, the judges were blown away by his creative use of two-for-one garlic-stuffed olives.

This is a big decision, and the judges are going to need to analyze every last molecule of flavor before they can crown a winner.