The Great Food Truck Race, Season 7: Top Moments

Relive the journey the teams took during Season 7 of The Great Food Truck Race: Family Face-Off.

Finale Fever

Before the teams can get to Catalina Island, they have to get their trucks there. Tyler has one final challenge for Grilled Cheese All-Stars and Carretto Siciliano. "We're ready for anything," says Charlie, one of the cheese twins. Tyler will have them selling hot dogs in San Pedro, Calif. But the teams have only one hour to shop, prepare their menus and get back to the barge before it leaves.

Italian Dogs vs. All-Star Dogs

"I have never seen Angelo and my mom start prepping this fast," says Vinny after his team gets back to the truck. To speed things up, his mom, Paola, decides to deep-fry her medley of peppers for the Italian dogs. The cheese guys settle on a hot dog topped with grilled onions and barbecue sauce. It's then a mad dash to make it back onto land — and on to San Pedro, where Tyler has provided food carts.

Competitive Food Carting

"When we get to this hot dog spot, I'm blasting out our location," says Vinny, hoping the fans will check their social media. The teams finds their spots on the street without getting in one another's way. That is, until Tyler calls with a catch: The team that makes the most sales will earn an advantage in Catalina. Carretto decides to get in closer on the cheese guys. "Desperation is a stinky cologne, Carretto; I can smell it from over here," Charlie yells.

An Advantage — but Not for Long

Grilled Cheese All-Stars wins the challenge and gets a helicopter lift to Catalina, which puts them an hour ahead of Carretto Siciliano. "We're already making sales before Carretto's even showed up," says Michael as his team gets a nice line in Catalina. But once Carretto arrives, the game plan gets a bit more desperate: Michael's headed to round up customers, even going to the beach. While he's doing that, Vinny works on taking orders while his mom and uncle prep.

Hustling Up Sales

I'm trying to develop a crowd in front of my truck," says Vinny, taking photos with customers and luring them away from the Grilled Cheese truck. "They're stealing tons of sales," Bryce tells the twins. So Charlie and Michael head out, "twinning" it against Vinny — and even Paola, who's trying her best to chat with customers. "I'm talking to the people, and then he jumps right in front of me," she says of one of the brothers, but she's not afraid to get assertive too.

The Underdogs Come Out on Top

After Tyler shuts down the trucks, he takes the teams' cash boxes to count up their sales. "We didn't expect to get this far," says Charlie. "We felt like an underdog," he adds, going up against a tough team like Carretto Siciliano. "In front of you are two briefcases," Tyler reveals to the teams. "One of those briefcases has $50,000 in cash for the winning team." After Tyler's countdown, both teams open them. Grilled Cheese All-Stars finds the cash prize, winning with just $207 more in sales than Carretto.

Backfiring Game Play

"If you're going to be a good food truck, you have to have range," says Tyler, calling the teams with a dessert challenge for their next stop, Palm Springs, Calif. The catch is the teams must bid on chocolate, fruit or nuts, which each team can use exclusively. "Our strategy is to drive up the price of fruit," says Vinny, who knows the Lei-Away Leidies need fruit for their Hawaiian menu. The Leidies end up getting fruit for $45, and Carretto ends up with nuts. "What the hell are we going to do with nuts?" Vinny asks, worried.

In the Heat of the Moment

"Let's just go up and down the street," says Carey, who's in the lead car, being a back-seat driver to her niece Autumn because they can't find a spot. All the while, Summer, who's in the food truck, is sweating in the desert heat with no air conditioning. "When I get hot, and I get pissed, watch out," she says, pulling her team over on the roadside to discuss where they're going next. They settle on downtown.

Flaunting Face-Off

The Cheese guys end up moving downtown where they find Lei-Away Leidies and Carretto Siciliano. But sales are going slow, so while the guys resort to begging for sales, the Carretto family tries a dance mostly to pass the time. What they don't know yet is Tyler's day two challenge will have them becoming what he calls "human roadside attractions." After winning $200 for selling the most desserts, the Cheese guys are ready to don silly costumes for a chance to win another sum.

Lei-ed Out of the Competition

"We haven't won any of the challenges here in Palm Springs," says Carey, who's worried. But Summer thinks they're doing OK. Unfortunately Tyler calls to shut the teams down for the night, which prevents any teams from trying for a late-night crowd, which the Cheese guys had hoped for. Fortunately they find out they've come in first place. Going with them to the finale is Carretto Siciliano. But Lei-Away Leidies have reached the end of the road. "If I have to walk that walk of shame, there's nobody else I'd rather walk it with than with my family," says Summer.

Episode 3: Ostrich Egg Hunt

"I have never met an ostrich before," says Paola, before she and her team take on Tyler's challenge at Ostrichland USA in Santa Barbara County. "They're a little intimidating, a lot intimidating, but they are probably more afraid of me, especially with this hair," she adds. Each team member will have to retrieve an ostrich egg until they have all three of a color, in order to get their seed money from Tyler.

The Early Bird Catches the Egg

"Charlie, Bryce and me do not have a good history of performing well in these little challenges," says Grilled Cheese All-Stars' Michael. He pretty much jinxed himself, because he's the last team member to find an ostrich egg. Sweet Southern Soul ends up finishing first and is off to shop for the day. Later Tyler reveals an immunity challenge: to make a family recipe using the eggs.

Entertaining on the Sidelines

"We have a big crowd and we're not getting food out the window," says Vinny, realizing he needs to do something to distract them while his mom makes her meatballs. "I'm doing whatever I can do to be an idiot and keep these people here," he says, playing games with the line of customers. Still Paola worries it was a bad idea to make meatballs, because it's taking so long. "But it's a family recipe," says Angelo, reassuring her.

Curse of the Danes

"We're going to approach this a lot more systematically," says Charlie, after his team's less-than-perfect first day. This time they concentrate on prepping in advance to speed up their selling. But before they can get comfortable, Tyler calls with a new challenge inspired by their location of Solvang, which is rooted in Danish culture. "I want you to cook your recipes using that little dinky pan," Tyler says, sending each team abelskiver pans.

Not Panning Out

"This abelskiver pan is ruining our sales," says Summer, as her team isn't able to properly cook its teriyaki chicken. "I cannot have our customers standing out there, waiting for something that's not happening," she adds. Luckily they have chili and Maui Wowwees to fall back on, but customers are restless waiting nonetheless. Luckily Tyler calls to close the challenge, and the teams can go back to cooking normally.

A Double Win for the Weekend

Tyler reveals the top two teams in the immunity challenge: Sweet Southern Soul and Carretto Siciliano. "My secret shopper said that was the best meatball he has ever had," Tyler tells Carretto, revealing they won. And they also made the most sales, coming in first place. Unfortunately Sweet Southern Soul comes in last. "We arrived as a family and we're going to leave as an even stronger family," says Tiffany.

Episode 2: Selling Strawberries, Sicilian Style

Tyler takes the teams to the California Strawberry Festival in Oxnard, Calif., where he challenges them to cook one sweet and one savory dish incorporating strawberries. After handing out the seed money, Vinny reveals he's confused: "What does 'savory' mean?" he asks his uncle, who doesn't know either. "We're going to figure it out, and we're going to kill it," Vinny says after the team buys their berries.

Sweet Southern Success

"We get as many strawberries as we can carry," says Tiffany, who's planning on making a strawberry salsa with chips and a strawberry cheesecake chimichanga. After Tyler sends out a festival spokesperson to taste all the teams' creations, the team ends up in the top two along with Grilled Cheese All-Stars, but the $300 prize money is awarded to the ladies.

"Coconut Wireless"

"Everyone knows everyone," says Carey about their team's family members who are spread throughout the West Coast. "You've got to just make one call, and everybody shows up." And luckily the strategy works. At the supermarket, they even bump into someone who turns out to be their relative, who helps the team secure a great spot. And if that doesn't work, Summer is prepared to put on her hula outfit.

Savory Sauce, Successful Selling

Since the Carretto team has to use strawberries in a savory way, Paola decides to alter her famous family recipe for tomato sauce with the fruit. "The only thing that's boggling my mind is how many strawberries I need," she says. Although the team's sales are slow at first, customers seem to love the pasta sauce, and at the end of the day, the team has sold almost all of it.

High Hopes, Low Results

After securing a spot at a high-end shopping center, the Grilled Cheese guys find their high prices might be turning away customers. Halving prices works, but as soon as there's a line, the guys fall behind. "I'm kind of getting frazzled," says Bryce, who can't keep track of orders. "We're not organized," Michael yells at him. Their low-price strategy doesn't pan out as expected.

Location Logistics Gone Awry

"The only thing I feel good about two other teams being here before is because if we made a bad decision, then so did they," says Phyllis, after seeing that Sweet Southern Soul and Carretto Siciliano are already at their intended spot by the beach. She ends up creating a menu that parodies their rivals' dishes. A setback on day two because of propane tank problems and slow sales downtown worries them.

Decisions That Come Back to Haunt Them

"This week everybody turned a profit," Tyler announces at elimination. He reveals the Lei-Away Leidies have come out on top. "Now we've got a system down," says Carey of what worked for them. Carretto comes in second. BigMista's decision to close early on day two and Grilled Cheese's low price points put the two teams in the bottom. But BigMista's is the one to head home. "You live with the decisions that you make, and you learn from them," says Neil.

Episode 1: Funnel Cakes for Food Trucks

After welcoming the new food truck teams at Six Flags, Tyler reveals they have to compete in a funnel cake eating contest before they can start selling. "You're going to keep selecting plates and eating funnel cakes until you find your key," he tells them. Tiffany of Sweet Southern Soul finds the key first, and the others aren't far behind, except for the Grilled Cheese All-Stars team members, who end up eating 11 out of the dozen.

False Starts and High Hopes

"I figured having a food truck would be hard, but this is ridiculous," says Tiffany, having trouble getting the pilot light on for the griddle. Unfortunately, day one ends without the team selling one thing. They start day two in higher spirits, but they have trouble finding a selling spot. Once they do, Kizzma comes through for the team, wrangling up customers left and right. "We're selling food," the sisters chant.

Maybe Last but Not Least

Having fallen behind earlier, the Grilled Cheese All-Stars team gets to the market last. The team members forget an ingredient and have to go back to get it — and then they get to their spot last. "We do not necessarily need to win the first round; we need to survive the first round," says Michael, setting their goals at a manageable level. Luckily their waffled grilled cheese sandwiches bring in a steady trickle of customers.

Frugality and Brute Strength

On day two the BigMista's Fatty Wagon team finds a great location in Hollywood, but there's a tree in the way. "Gas costs money and we need every dollar, so I decided to push the truck myself," says Phyllis, after having Eric put the truck in neutral. But then a parking meter is in the way. "Do you want me to push again?" Phyllis asks Eric. Despite the effort, the team doesn't do the best business.

Bargaining with Celebrity

"I've secured one spot for a truck inside the theme park," Tyler tells the teams, offering it up to the highest bidder. Carretto Siciliano wins the impromptu auction with $400. "I don't know if I made the right decision," says Vinny, after seeing no customers. He decides to roam the park and find Jersey Shore fans to come to the truck. "Come take a picture with a Z-list celebrity," he says.

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Calling In Reinforcements

Autumn decides to partner with a local food truck, but upon getting to the agreed-upon location, they find Fortune Cooking there. Neither team finds business encouraging, and Fortune Cooking leaves for a new spot. "We're getting desperate," says Carey, deciding to call her husband to see if he'll round up some of his football friends. "They are hungry," says Summer, excited to see a bunch of guys swarm the truck.

Accident-Prone

Off to find a new location, the Fortune Cooking team feels discouraged and decides to head back to Hollywood. But on the way, things go downhill fast: Tom sideswipes two local food trucks while driving on Wiltshire Boulevard. "I'm so frustrated right now," says Tom. "In that moment we realized that we are not ready to go home," says his wife, Julie. They resolve to cooking and selling to finish the day on a positive note.

When Fortune Gives Up to Fate

Tyler reveals only three teams made a profit: Carretto Siciliano, whose bet paid off, Grilled Cheese All-Stars and, surprisingly, Sweet Southern Soul. The Lei-Away Leidies make it through to next week, but BigMista's Fatty Wagon and Fortune Cooking make up the bottom two. Because of the cost of the accident, the Fortune Cooking team goes home. "We learned a lot from each other," Tom says, and "from this competition."

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