Fieri to Host Supermarket-set Cooking Competition
Culinary celebrity Guy Fieri will host a Food Network supermarket-themed cooking competition, “Guy’s Grocery Games” (GGG), which premieres Sunday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
On the show, four chefs will compete against each other in three cooking challenges while they make their way through the aisles of a grocery store, adhering to a number of “real-world” culinary constraints to create the dishes. The chefs must rely on improvisation, gamesmanship and skills for the chance to win up to $20,000.
“Having the chefs compete in a real grocery store, with everyday products and real-world obstacles will make this one of the most challenging and relatable cooking competitions we’ve ever devised,” said Bob Tuschman, general manager and SVP at New York-based Food Network .
The challenges will include creating a dish from five ingredients or less, preparing a meal using only canned foods or using ingredients found only in the frozen food section. One by one, the chefs that don’t make the cut will be eliminated by a rotating list of guest judges, including Melissa d’Arabian, Richard Blais, Beau MacMillan, Jet Tila and Marcela Valladolid. The winning chef will go on a two-minute shopping spree through the aisles to collect all of the items on his or her shopping list. Each item is worth $2,000, and if the chef can gather all the items on the list, he or she will receive $20,000.
“I'm really stoked to be hosting GGG, where it’s all about cookin’ and shoppin’ against the clock,” noted Fieri, who's also currently hosting Food Network’s Emmy-nominated show“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” “Cooking competitions in a professional kitchen are tough as it is. But throw in the challenges we all have every day in our local grocery store, plus a few twists and turns I may have up my sleeve, [and] I’m telling you, it’s going to take cooking competitions to a whole new level.”
In similiar news, “Supermarket Superstar,” in which contestants vie to have their consumer food products carried by the Montvale, N.J.-based Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co. (A&P), made its debut on Lifetime in July.