Guy's Grocery Games

Format

In each round, Guy assigns a dish and issues a challenge to the chefs. Then they have 30 minutes to shop for ingredients from the market, prepare, and plate their dishes. The chefs must cook their dishes and complete four platings (three for the judges and one "beauty plate") before time runs out. At the end of each round, the judges will taste and evaluate the dishes and select one chef to be "checked out" - eliminated from the game with no winnings. The judges are introduced by Guy during the first round. There are two judging tables for the judges, one when the chefs are shopping and cooking and one during judgings and eliminations.

The winning chef advances to the bonus round, "Guy's Shopping Spree," in which he/she has two minutes to find one specific item in each of the market's 10 aisles and put it in his/her cart. The chef may pass on an item and return to that aisle later if time allows. Each item found is worth $2,000, for a potential top prize of $20,000.

Chefs must be 18 years or older to appear on the show.

Challenges

A wide variety of challenges are used in the game, typically involving restrictions on ingredient number/type. Examples include:

Aisle Down: The aisle containing one or more key ingredients is blocked off by police tape, but the chefs do not discover this until they arrive at the aisle.

Budget Battle: The chefs are given a limited amount of money to spend on items and must ring up their choices at a cash register to confirm that they are within their budget. They are given coupons to help them save money on certain items.

Cart/Station Swap: Round 3 only. Once the two chefs remaining have their ingredients, Fieri orders them to swap carts or stations, so that each must use the other's ingredients.

Closing Time: As the chefs are getting their ingredients, Fieri will announce over the loudspeaker that the store is closing, limiting the amount of time they can spend in the aisles.

Culinary Quiz: On some episodes, Fieri reads a series of clues to an item in the market. The first chef to bring back that item wins an advantage for the next round, such as a head start or exclusive access to certain aisles/items.

Express Lane: The chefs may use no more than seven items and must go through the market's express lane checkout to confirm that they have not exceeded this limit.

Flip This Dish: Fieri gives the chefs an ingredient list for one type of dish, then requires them to incorporate those items into a different type (e.g. using cherry pie ingredients in a chicken dinner).

Frozen Food Faceoff: The chefs are only allowed to use frozen items in their dishes.

Grocery List: Each chef is given a list of items that must all be incorporated into that round's dish. The items are typically not prepared together, similar to the mystery ingredient basket on Chopped, another Food Network cooking competition show.

Keep It Sample: The chefs must incorporate ingredients from sample tables located throughout the store in their dish.

Kiddie Carts: The chefs must use child-size shopping carts to collect their ingredients in one trip through the market.

Let It Roll: The chefs roll a set of dice to determine the constraints for the assigned dish (e.g. required ingredients and equipment, budget, shopping time, etc.).

Musical Carts: Round 3 only. The two chefs remaining must go to a crazy cart when the music stops, leaving the one they have started packing and use the crazy cart by the end of shopping.

No Carts Allowed: The chefs may use only the ingredients they can carry by hand in one trip through the market.

Odd or Even: Based on a coin toss by Fieri, the chefs may only shop in either the odd- or even-numbered aisles.

One Ingredient Per Aisle: Round 3 only. The two chefs remaining may use only one ingredient from each of the store's 10 aisles beginning with Aisle 10 and ending with Aisle 1.

Out of Stock: Once the chefs begin shopping, they are told that one or more key ingredients for the dish they are making is unavailable, such as salad greens for a salad.

Red Light Special: During the round, one item in the store is marked with a sign and a flashing red light, and the chefs must get that item and incorporate it into their dish. The item is typically not associated with the assigned dish, such as beef jerky for a dessert.

Single Aisle Showdown: The chefs are only allowed to shop in one aisle for the whole round.

Think Small: The chefs may use only the ingredients they can fit in a shopping bag during one trip through the market.

Time-Out: Used when pairs of chefs are competing. One chef in each pair must leave the station and write instructions for the other on a chalkboard, without speaking.

Un-gredient List: The chefs are forbidden to use any of the ingredients on a list given by Fieri.

Watch Your Weight: Each chef is allowed one trip through the market, and the total weight of their ingredients must not exceed a threshold given by Fieri.

Special challenges and episodes

In "Holly, Jolly Meals", a special box could be picked up in the bonus round for an additional $5,000, bringing the top prize to $25,000.

"Moms Know Best" was a Mother's Day challenge in which four mothers competed and Fieri's mother made a guest appearance.

"Grocery Grillin'" was a special episode (dubbed Guy's Grocery Grilling Games or Quadruple G) for Food Network's Grilling Week where the contestants had to make grilled dishes.

In "Food Network Stars Take Over Flavortown", former Food Network Star winners Jeff Mauro, Aaron McCargo Jr., Melissa d'Arabian, and Justin Warner competed for charities of their choice. Aaron won with $20,000 and the runners-up' charities each got $3,500.

"Food Network All-Stars Take to the Aisles" has Chopped judges Marc Murphy and Alex Guarnaschelli, Iron Chef Cat Cora, and TV Host Marcel Vigneron competing. The winner was Alex with $18,000 and the runners-up each got $5,000 for their charities.

In "Grandma's Grocery Games", Guy's mother appeared on the show alongside the four Grandmas. The winner Celinda was able to take home $18,000 to her grandkids. Food Network employee and former Nickelodeon host Marc Summers served as a guest judge in this episode.

From November 30 to December 27, 2015, a 5-part "Tournament Of Champions" took place featuring 16 returning champions. Like most tournaments on Chopped and Cutthroat Kitchen, the 16 chefs compete 4 at a time in 4 heats. The winner of each heat won a $20,000 Shopping Spree and returned for the finals for a chance to win a trophy and another $20,000 Shopping Spree for a total grand prize of up to $40,000.

Starting January 3, 2016, and continuing for 4 more episodes is a "Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives Tournament" featuring 16 chefs who have appeared with Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Like the Tournament Of Champions, 4 chefs played over 4 heats, with the winner of each heat earning a $20,000 Shopping Spree and returning for the finals for a chance at a trophy and another $20,000 Shopping Spree for a grand prize of up to $40,000.

Beginning April 3, 2016, and continuing for 4 more episodes is a "Redemption Tournament" featuring 16 former losing chefs seeking redemption and competing to win both a trophy and a grand prize of up to $40,000. Round 1 of heat 2 marked the 1st instance on the show where a chefs food was inadmissible from blood. To compensate, Guy gave the other 3 chefs the option to either eliminate the affected chef, or allow all 4 chefs to advance, resulting in a double-elimination for round 2. The chefs chose the 2nd option.

Notable Contestants

Lenny McNab, the winner of Season 10 of Food Network Star was in the Episode "The Ol' Switcheroo.

Set

Season 1 was shot inside of an actual grocery store, Field's Market in West Hills, California.[1] For Season 2, the market was built in a 15,500 square foot warehouse in Santa Rosa, CA. 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 local farmers; non-perishable items are being kept in the event Food Network orders another season beyond Season 3.