Set them free
The judges are let loose in ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’
Quick, someone call store security — Flavortown Market’s judges are running amok! At the best of times, “Guy’s Grocery Games” can sometimes feel like organized chaos, but if the judges themselves abandon their posts, then it’s anyone’s guess as to what host Guy Fieri may be up to.
A new season of the cooking competition gets underway Sunday, March 4, on Food Network, with a very special episode titled “Judge vs. Judge.” None of “Triple G’s” long-established rules are safe as Guy tosses them out and challenges some of the show’s most familiar judges to a series of one-on-one, head-to-head culinary battles.
In the first round, “Food Network Star” winner Justin Warner brings his new school style of cooking in a faceoff against celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito’s old school cuisine. Unlike a normal “Grocery Games” contest, though, the second round features an entirely new pair of competing judges, with grilled cheese master Eric Greenspan battling it out for supermarket superiority against chef Aaron May. Finally, in Round 3, chef Carl Ruiz and restaurateur Antonia Lofaso go head to head.
Don’t worry, though: “Guy’s Grocery Games” hasn’t permanently changed up its successful formula. After all, with an incredible 16 seasons behind it, it must be doing something right. This season’s next episode, airing Wednesday, March 7, is a themed episode that’s sure to get every carnivore’s mouth watering: bacon. Four bacon-loving chefs are in Flavortown Market competing for a shot at the $20,000 prize, and Guy’s ready to throw curveball after curveball at them as they zip around the supermarket shopping for their bacon-focused dishes.
Even when it veers off its wellworn path, “Guy’s Grocery Games” never strays too far from its winning premise: chefs preparing amazing dishes in a supermarket, with fun twists and speedbumps all tying into the all-too-familiar setting. It’s that setting that’s set “Triple G” apart from similar cooking competitions and helped it carve out its own unique identity.The new season premieres Sunday, March 4, on Food Network.