Guy's Grocery Games

Guy's Grocery Games (often nicknamed Triple G) is an American reality competition television series hosted by Guy Fieri and his son Hunter on Food Network. Each episode features four chefs competing in a three-round elimination contest, cooking food with ingredients found in a supermarket grocery store ("Flavortown Market") as Guy Fieri poses unusual challenges to them. The winning chef of the episode can collect up to $20,000 in a shopping spree bonus round. The show often features chefs from Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives, another show hosted by Fieri. The show Dessert Games was a short-lived spin-off.
The set is laid out in the manner of a typical supermarket, whose 10 aisles are stocked with a wide range of foods that include fresh produce, meat/poultry, and frozen items. Each chef has their own station for preparing and cooking food. Three judges officiate in each episode, introduced by Fieri during the first round.
In each round, Fieri assigns a dish (usually a general type such as "a fried feast" or "an upscale dinner") and issues one or more challenges that the chefs must fulfill. Challenge types include games or random drawings to determine ingredients that must be used, items or aisles being declared off-limits, and an upper limit on the total number/price/weight of ingredients. In the absence of any pertinent restrictions imposed by Fieri, the chefs have 30 minutes to collect their ingredients in one trip, using a standard shopping cart, and prepare/plate their dishes. They must cook and plate four servings (one for each judge and one "beauty plate") before time runs out. At the end of each round, the judges taste and evaluate the dishes and select one chef to be "checked out," or eliminated from the game with no winnings. On occasion, the chefs compete through only two rounds instead of the usual three and/or face two eliminations at the end of a single round.
The last remaining chef advances to the bonus round, Guy's Shopping Spree, for a chance to win up to $20,000 in two minutes. The two main formats prior to 2020 were:
On occasion, such as during tournaments or specially themed episodes, Guy's Shopping Spree is not played and Fieri awards the full $20,000 to the winner.
"Delivery" episodes, filmed in 2020 as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, involve three chefs (usually ones who have served as judges) cooking in their home kitchens through two rounds of competition. Chefs receive one or two boxes containing food (and sometimes equipment) to re-create one or two of the studio challenges. Chefs may generally use whatever equipment they have on hand; at Fieri's direction, they may also use ingredients of their own.
A three-judge panel evaluates the chefs' dishes in each round. Instead of choosing a chef to be checked out by consensus, the judges individually assign point scores in each round based on gameplay (15), creativity (15), plating (10), and the chef's description of the taste (10), for a maximum possible total of 50. A chef's score in each category equals the average of the three judges' ratings. The high scorer from the first round receives an "Envelope of Opportunity," which grants an advantage for the second round and, occasionally, a donation to a charity of the chef's choice. The low scorer must open a "Package of Pain," which assigns either an impediment for the second round or an embarrassing item they must wear or task they must do. After two rounds, the highest overall scorer wins and can either accept a guaranteed cash payout (typically $5,000 to $10,000), or let Fieri determine the prize by spinning a wheel with values ranging from $0 to $20,000.
These episodes are presented jointly by Fieri and his son, Hunter and aired as part of the show's 25th and 26th seasons.
Upon the show's return to the studio, the scoring system was retained, though modified to taste (20), gameplay (20), and plating (10), for a total of 50 points per round. The day's champion can choose to either play Guy's Shopping Spree or accept a mystery check worth up to $20,000, with Fieri announcing a minimum possible value for the latter that changes from one episode to the next.
A wide variety of challenges and games are used in the show with new games added as the series progresses (and some games tweaked or changed a little). Some of the following games have been played once or twice while others have become familiar game staples. Some episodes combine two games at once (e.g., combining Express Lane and ABC Game so chefs can use no more than a certain number of items starting with the same letter).
In addition to challenging games, the show featured culinary quizzes at times throughout the first 11 seasons. Each quiz referred to a specific item; the first chef to find that item and bring it to Fieri won an advantage for the current round, such as being allowed to get extra ingredients or enter an aisle declared off-limits.
Season 1 was shot inside of an actual grocery store, Field's Market, in West Hills, Los Angeles. For Season 2, the market was built in a 15,500-square-foot (1,440 m) warehouse in Santa Rosa, California. It was built over two weeks and stocked with over $700,000 of food. After each episode, the perishable items were donated to local food banks and scraps are donated to farmers.
The casting process to get on the show is described as "surprisingly streamlined" with potential contestants conducting a Skype interview and submitting photos of their best dishes. Once chosen, a member of production will arrange travel plans and bring the contestant to California. Each episode takes up to 12 hours to shoot, with a large portion of that time devoted to off-screen interviews. Chefs must be 18 years or older to compete on the show.