[dramatic music playing]
[Guy] They're fearless,
determined,
and serve to protect us all.
They're firefighters.
[Kelly] Go, go, go!
[Guy] But that's not all.
They're also baller cooks!
Firehouse, man, you gotta go big.
Gotta go big, got you.
And tonight, they're tackling our games!
[siren blaring]
- [man] Oh, great. - [Guy] Manning the stoves
and making some smokin' food.
This is fire!
[explosion]
[Ariel] It's gonna be one... dish.
[Guy] It's a five-alarm firefighter face off
right now, on Guy's Grocery Games.
Whoo! [all clapping]
[siren wails]
So, let's meet our brave and talented firefighters.
First up, we have Justin McKenzie,
fire chief and paramedic from Fultondale, Alabama,
whose cooking is so beloved in his town,
he earned the nickname,
Chief Grill Daddy.
[Justin] Keeping calm under pressure and calling the shots,
nothing new to me.
Whoo!
My town doesn't call me Chief Grill Daddy
for nothing.
That is quite a name.
They just see you walking down the street, they go,
- "Hey, there goes Chief Grill Daddy." - That's right.
[Guy] Next, we got Kelly Brown,
a firefighter and EMT
- from St. Petersburg, Florida... - [claps]
...whose cooking is enjoyed by
firefighters at work and at home,
'cause her husband is a firefighter too.
[Kelly] Being a firefighter is my life.
I always wanted brothers.
Maybe I ended up finding myself
having too many.
- [Guy] Here she is! - Whoo!
So now, one of the best aspects
of my job is getting to cook lunch and dinner
for my team.
- [Guy] Go get 'em! - [Kelly claps]
[Guy] The guys are going down.
And then, there is Christopher Ingram,
a firefighter, EMT and former marine,
who put his southern roots to good use,
feeding his crew in Atlanta Georgia.
[Chris] Battle deployments, culinary school,
house fires, and now it's time to
be in the battle of Guy's Grocery Games.
Coming into it as a rookie,
people found out that I went to culinary school,
so I was ordained into
station cook, kinda out the gate.
[Guy] What a resume!
How you doing, man?
But I love it.
[Guy] And finally, Ariel Merhav,
a firefighter and barbeque fanatic...
- [claps] - [Guy] ...from nearby Sebastopol, California,
who joined the ranks after seeing his community
devastated by the 2017 wildfires.
[Ariel] I really thought like I needed to do my part
and help out.
I've only been firefighting for a couple of years,
but I love it. [clapping]
It's what I'm meant to be doing.
- [Guy] Nice to have you, buddy. - Pleasure to be here!
Well, I guess I'm cooking.
[Guy] First responders, you deserve
a first class welcome.
Thank you very much for all that you do.
We are so indebted and...
Uh, first responders are just an amazing group of people.
There's no way we could ever pay you enough
to do the job that you do.
So, thank you.
So, tonight, gonna give you two challenges
that will test your culinary skills in the firehouse.
So,
your Triple G judges
are gonna score your dishes based upon
taste,
gameplay,
and plating.
The firefighter with the lowest score
at the end of the first round
will be eliminated.
You'll be back polishing the truck.
Okay? But the firefighter who has the highest combined score
after the two rounds
will get to shop Flavortown Market for up to $20,000.
[cash register dings]
[Guy] So, for your first challenge,
I want you to make a cheesy comfort dinner.
You know what I'm talking about here?
Oh, yeah.
[Guy] So, I have Hunter with some special gear
- that you get to appreciate. - Oh, lord.
[Guy] Hunter, you wanna come on over?
- Uh-oh [laughs] - Come on.
- [sighs] - [Guy] My son, Hunter.
[Guy snaps fingers] Uh, where's the fire gear?
- What? - The fire gear, the...
Here we go. [all laughing]
[Guy] I wanted the whole thing and the suspender and the hose--
I know, but then we talked about how we wouldn't want to do that to them,
'cause that's, they do it every day.
- We talked about that? - Yeah, thought so.
- [Guy] Okay. - What's going on? [laughs]
- [Hunter] I'm thinking, "Okay, they're firefighters." - Right.
They're just always carrying like, oh, big stuff,
and running into the house and grabbing people, you know?
- And they're just grabbing things. - True.
No carts, all right?
Oh... no carts.
Let's play No Carts Allowed.
- That's always fun. - [Guy] That'll be fun!
Huh.
[Guy] So go ahead and stand in front of your carts.
Ah, this is good.
Okay, so,
we're gonna have you shop
for everything you need to make
for your cheesy comfort dinner,
and all you can do is use your-- can't use your aprons,
- you can't go get a big bowl. - [chuckles]
- [Guy] Hunter, thank you very much. - Yes.
I think I've got this from here.
All right, adios. Good luck guys.
[intense music playing]
It's not a fight, Ariel, okay?
- [laughing] - Sorry, I wrestled om high school.
[Guy] I know! And I feel like
I'm about to get wrestled.
If he came after me,
you three would have to support me.
Or at least, I know that you two would.
You're probably the one guy that would...
[all chuckle]
[Guy] Oh, I already said it
a while ago,
you're talking about that now.
- "A while ago." Go, go, go! - [Chris grunts] Oh no, that's good.
- [Kelly chuckles] Oh! - [claps]
Oh, cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese, cheese,
- cheese. - [Guy] You know, no carts allowed
is pretty tough.
I hope this doesn't backfire.
[exclaims] Oh!
[rock music playing]
Bread.
[Ariel] I have to make a cheesy comfort dinner
featuring ingredients that I can only carry.
[exclaiming] Whoo!
No pockets, no aprons,
just these guys right here.
Gonna go get some of that beautiful sharp cheddar, baby girl.
Firefighters love carbohydrates and they love cheese.
What better way to bring the two together
than with an adult grilled cheese sandwich.
Bacon! Get some chorizo!
Where's the honey?
- [Guy] Honey? - Honey.
[Guy] Listen, darling, right down here.
I love the contrast between sweet and savory,
and I think a honey-butter
would bring my sandwich to the next level.
That looks nice.
[intense music playing]
[Ariel] I'm the kind of guy that will refuse to make more than
one trip from my car to the house
when I'm carrying groceries.
Let's think of it for one second.
So, I feel like a pro playing No Carts Allowed.
All right, we're good to go.
Have you tried the prosciutto-stuffed peppers?
- Those are-- - I have tried those.
- [Chris grunts] - I try those all the time.
- [chuckles] You come by-- - He's gonna buy big!
- Cheesy. - [Hunter] I got mac salad.
[Chris] When I think of a cheesy comfort dinner,
I think of something that's warm,
that's going to keep you going through the day.
Now, I'mma need some bacon.
Now, I'mma need...
shrimp.
I know I can make shrimp and grits pretty cheesy.
Quick, grits.
We're going to town.
Not having a cart is challenging
because it's kinda hard to
look at everything that you have
already in your arms
and not drop it.
Think I'm ready to do it.
Can you see...
This is going to be extremely difficult
because I am small.
So, I have to think of a dish
that's not going to include a lot of ingredients.
Stuffed flour, sugar...
- [Guy] What we looking for? - [Kelly] Um, bread crumbs.
[Guy] Bread crumbs, five.
[Kelly] When I think of a cheesy comfort dinner,
chicken parm is always my go-to.
The guys at the firehouse always love it.
I run and grab fresh pasta,
marinara sauce.
Gonna make sure I have parmesan mozzarella.
[Guy] There we go.
How are you feeling? You got it?
[Kelly] I feel like it's easier to be a firefighter
than to be a chef on this show. [chuckles]
[Justin] Lots of cheese.
Cheesy comfort dinner.
I'm thinking, let's get some chicken breasts,
peppers and then, cheesy mashed potatoes.
I wanna grab all these ingredients
to make a great meal.
But it's gonna be tough, just using my arms.
I'm struggling over here. [chuckles]
[sighs]
[Guy] So, here to judge our firehouse cooks
are a panel with a burning passion for great food.
Respected food critic,
who has eaten his way through almost
100 countries,
the one and only, Sir Simon Majumdar.
- Hello. - [Guy] Acclaimed executive chef and culinary rock star,
the Volt Chef, Michael Voltaggio!
[Guy] Southern California restauranteur,
the warrior princess herself,
Antonia Lofaso.
Anyhow, firefighters,
they're spending a tremendous amount of time
- to getting those firehouses together. - [Antonio] Yeah.
So, whoever's the resident cook,
- that's a big deal. - It's a family.
[Guy] Chefs, we've got 25 minutes!
Twenty-five to go!
- Uh... - [Guy] What's your game plan?
[Kelly] I'm gonna make a extra, extra cheesy
chicken parmesan with extra cheesy parmesan noodles.
Good. You need to make sure it is cheesy and cheesy,
- front and center. - [Kelly] Yes, sir.
So, I start by pounding out the chicken breast nice and thin.
[thudding]
[Kelly] I get the flour, to start dredging it.
Getting ready to dip my...
[gasps] Oh, I forgot the eggs!
Does anybody have eggs? Does anybody have eggs?
No eggs, sorry.
Oh, no. Crap.
Now, I have to figure it out.
So, how am I supposed to make a dredge without eggs?
The guys are really gonna love this one.
[siren wailing]
[intense music playing]
20 minutes, chefs.
Twenty to go!
They don't have their carts,
and they can only shop once.
Chef Kelly forgot eggs,
and now she's trying to do a three-breading process.
She just seasoned bread crumb,
she's got flour.
She doesn't have that connector that fat.
[Kelly] I really have to improvise here.
So, I mixed some flour
and water to make
starchy base that kind of resembled eggs,
and hope it works.
Improvising at its finest.
What are you cooking over there, Chris?
A super cheesy,
southern-style shrimp and grits.
Of course, you would,
- Hottlanta! - [Chris laughs]
Gotta keep it southern.
I got mozzarella, I got Gouda,
I got cheddar, I got Colby
and I got parmesan.
It's gonna be cheesy.
First thing I can start on is cooking down that bacon.
I need the fat to start my sauce.
Put this bacon ringer down.
I am the main chef for our station,
cooking in the firehouse is literally like
cooking in front of eight judges every shift.
And my food is so good
that often times, firefighters show up on their off-days.
How we looking, bud?
[Chris] We're doing pretty good.
I got two different pots. So I got seafood started
that I'm going to use to make shrimp root.
Then, I got regular water to put in grits.
- When are you making the grits? - [Chris] You know, right now.
[thuds]
Chef, what's on the menu?
I'm gonna do a little, uh, grilled chicken,
- lot of cheese... - Okay.
[Justin] ...mashed potatoes with cheese.
[Guy] Potatoes with cheese, we need.
And then, do a little bit of peppers and stuff on the side
- with some cheese. - [Guy] Okay.
- Cheese, cheese and more cheese. - Yes, sir.
I became a firefighter in the military.
And then, my career's only progressed from there.
Now, I'm Chief. I don't know who put me in charge
but here I am.
I flip my chicken,
I need to seal some of that moisture in,
so I cover them up on top of the grill.
Okay, Ariel, what's it gonna be, buddy?
We're making an adult grilled cheese sandwich,
some honey butter love sauce.
Oh, I love honey butter love sauce, whatever that is.
- Lot of cheese? - Lot of cheese.
- We're gonna make some magic happen. - Okay.
[Ariel] The first thing I'm thinking is
I gotta get that Chorizo rendering and crisping up.
This stuff is amazing.
There is so much flavor in here.
In another pan, I'm throwing some diced onions
with some butter.
Get these bad boys caramelizing a little bit.
Then, we're going to get our honey butter love sauce rolling.
I begin melting some honey
and some butter lightly.
So, I wanna form it into a nice, solid drizzle
that I'll put it on my sandwich when it's done cooking.
Sweet!
I became a firefighter because I felt like I needed to do my part.
Watching the wildfires rage through the community that I love,
it was a big wake-up call for me.
I felt like the fire service, you go into it a boy
and you come out of it a man.
Chefs, we got nine minutes.
Nine left in the competition.
[Antonia] I feel like all of these firefighters are keeping calm.
They are used to putting out fires.
[Guy] Get moving, Chef.
Get that cheese cut up,
you got a lot going on.
[Kelly] Yes, sir.
My chicken is frying up in the pan.
I flip it over and it looks good.
They said cheesy, so I'm gonna give them cheesy.
And make sure that there's that nice cheese pull
when they take a bite.
I'm a firefighter EMT,
double threat, baby.
I was always an adrenaline junkie.
As soon as I got to ride along in the fire truck,
it had me hooked.
[intense music playing]
[crackling]
[Justin] My chicken's grilling,
and once the chicken looks just right,
I'm gonna get that sharp cheddar on there,
get the slice of pepper jack on.
Then, I get them in the Salamander
to get that cheese melted on top of that chicken.
[Antonia] We're getting a double stacking of cheese
by Justin in kitchen one.
Yes!
Ooh. [crackling]
Next, my mashed potatoes, I strain them,
then get them into the food processor.
I add heavy cream.
And then, I'm starting putting all the cheeses in there.
[Michael] Justin has potatoes,
and a whole lot of cheese in the food processor right now.
[Justin] I'm bringing it.
Cheese, cheese, cheese and more cheese.
[amusing music playing]
I'm gonna get my shrimp!
The next thing I get going is my shrimp.
I go ahead and get that seasoned
with that Creole seasoning that I got.
[sizzling]
[banging]
Once I see my shrimp started to cook,
I don't want it to get overcooked.
I take them out, and I go ahead and start adding my flour
to thicken my sauce.
Little bit of roux going here.
Then, I'm gonna follow that up with the seafood style.
Making sure that it's light and smooth and rich
to coat the grits.
These grits are gonna be the cheesy components of my dish.
I'm adding a whole block of smoked Gouda,
a whole bag of cheddar.
This is a cheesy challenge,
so I gotta make sure I bring home the cheddar.
[laughs]
There's some cheese.
[Chris] You said cheesy, you're getting cheesy.
[Guy] So, tell me about grits,
been eating since you were a kid?
[Chris] All my life.
I became a firefighter
because I wanted to make a difference in the community.
Station 16 is pretty famous.
It's the first firehouse that Black firefighters
were allowed to work at, for the city.
Oh, my God, time is flying.
[dramatic music playing]
Yeah, we're doing pretty good.
Got our prep work done.
Move on to assembly.
So, now it's time to build my sandwich.
Get my sourdough and start piling on my cheese,
my bacon, my Chorizo, my onions.
I'm running low on time and I wanna make sure that cheese melts.
So, I'm getting it in the oven as fast as possible.
Every one of these dishes has a critical piece:
mashed potatoes in one,
too mashed, too gummy.
Pasta, could be overcooked.
Grits, doesn't have enough moisture, did it get cooked enough?
And in four, is he gonna be able to melt the cheese for the sandwich?
All the critical success factors.
Two minutes!
[Kelly] I start plating.
First goes my cheesy pasta onto the plate.
I make sure to sprinkle it with more cheese
because they want all of the cheese.
I pull my chicken from the oven
and it looks perfect.
The cheese on it is glorious.
Ooh!
[clanging]
[Michael] Kelly does have that stretch,
that pull that we were looking for.
Oh yeah.
[Justin] Ooh, I gotta start plating.
First, put down those cheesy, gooey mashed potatoes.
Then, lay that grilled, cheesy chicken
right on the mashed potatoes.
Lay the sauteed peppers on top of all
to get that nice color.
And then, to top it off,
parmesan.
One minute, chefs!
[Chris] Let's go get that last
cheesy little kick.
Now that it's time to plate, I taste my grits,
they're cheesy and they're ready to go.
[thudding]
[Chris] Go ahead and get my shrimp back into my sauce.
[music intensifies]
[Chris] I put it over my grits.
I go ahead and top that with a little bit of bacon
and some green onion.
[Ariel] When I pull my sandwiches out of the oven,
I notice that they haven't melted fully.
But we're gonna make the best of our circumstances
'cause that's what firefighters do.
And drizzle off with some honey butter love sauce.
[Guy shouting] Three, two, one!
- That's it, chefs, stop working. - [sighs]
Whoo! [judges clapping]
Oh!
[Guy] How'd that feel?
We can handle multiple vehicle wrecks,
we can handle house fires, people screaming,
but you put us on the clock in the kitchen,
lord have mercy.
Looks cheesy!
[Guy] All right, firefighters,
it's time to stop, drop and roll these dishes
right over to the judges, follow me this way.
[siren wailing]
Judges, this is game one of our firefighter face-off.
I asked them to make a cheesy comfort dinner
using only ingredients they can carry in their arms
in one trip.
Up first is Chef Justin. What'd you make for us?
I made my cheesy chicken with some mashed potatoes,
layered with multiple types of cheese,
and I grilled up some peppers on there,
sprinkled some parmesan on top.
[Michael] First of all, I feel a lot safer with you guys here
because Antonia usually sets the kitchen on fire
- when she's cooking here. - [laughing]
So, thank you, guys, for that.
The chicken's cooked perfectly.
Thank you.
I got so many different flavors of cheese
yet it all makes sense together.
[Antonia] Is this a cheesy dinner?
A hundred percent.
I think that the peppers
add so much relief because that spice is
- so wonderful. - Thank you.
You've been a little rushed obviously,
because of the competition.
I'm afraid the mashed potatoes did get a little bit glue-ey.
But when you have time to do this as you would do normally,
I'm certain this is a firehouse favorite.
Thank you.
[Guy] All right, judges, thank you very much.
Up next, Chef Ariel.
Generally speaking, after a fire,
we're pretty tired, we're pretty carb depleted,
we're pretty exhausted,
So, we want a lot of carbohydrates, we want a lot of cheese.
So, I made an adult grilled cheese.
Took some Chorizo, then, cut bacon, caramelized onions.
Sharp cheddar cheese,
uh, made a little bit of honey butter love sauce
to finish it off.
[Antonia] It's almost as if you took a full meal,
put it into a sandwich
and, like, ran with it.
The honey love sauce, really, really good.
Thank you.
This is as cheesy as a Meg Ryan rom-com.
I'm getting a little bit of a crunch from some,
I'm getting a little bit of creaminess from other.
[Michael] My only critique is that,
when I eat a grilled cheese
and the competition's cheesy,
I wanna see it like an accordion in the sandwich.
I don't want it to disconnect, you know?
I'll work on my accordion skills next time.
[Guy] Thank you very much!
Up next, Chef Kelly.
When I think of comfort,
it's gotta be Italian.
For your cheesy comfort dinner,
I made you chicken parm with extra cheesy pasta.
Enjoy.
What kind of happy heaven are you in right now, Antonia?
I saw, I don't even wanna look at this.
Um, Chef Voltaggio, what are your thoughts?
It's obvious what you do for a living
because this is fire!
- This is... - Oh!
[yells]
[chuckles] Fire!
You didn't have the eggs for your breading the stick,
yet we still have a crust.
You really, like, navigated your way through
every sort of obstacle that you had,
and I think you delivered a great dish.
[Kelly] Thank you, Chef.
Adapt and overcome,
that's what we're all good at, [chuckles]
[Antonia] This is a beautifully cooked chicken breast.
That fresh pasta is cooked perfectly.
I did get that beautiful cheese pull.
[Simon] But I think you put a little bit too much tomato
in here, on the pasta.
So, it becomes almost a tomato dish,
and that battles against the cheese.
Not to be outdone though,
all the way from Hotlanta, Chef Christopher's up next.
We work long hours, need to be full all day long.
And it doesn't get more cheesy and comfy
than a shrimp and grits.
I made a three-cheese grit
with a shrimp sauce poured over the top.
You guys enjoy.
[Antonia] One of the most beautiful plates that we've seen today.
- The shrimp are cooked perfectly. - [Chris] Thank you.
The shrimp sauce is incredible.
Thank you. Appreciate it.
[Michael] And the fact that you did that in the time that you had,
blown away.
It's definitely comforting, it's definitely dinner.
And I saw you taking care
of those grits, man.
You really put the cheesiness into that.
[Antonia] The grits, I get the flavor of cheese.
I just think the consistency of it needed
some water or some cream or something like that.
- Thank you. - People are sitting there,
watching this right now, thinking, "How do I get to
a firefighter restaurant?"
Dynamite low conditions
and super difficult competition,
I'm gonna ask you to return back to the kitchens.
We'll call you when we have a decision.
Thank you very much.
So, judges, whose dish was most distinguished,
and whose hopes are getting extinguished?
Chef Kelly.
[Michael] I thought Kelly did an incredible job,
I think she made a comforting dish.
I just think there needed to be something fresh on the dish.
[Simon] Chef Justin delivered a magnificently cooked piece of chicken breast.
Cheesy, little bit clunky on the execution.
[Guy] Chef Christopher.
I loved the shrimp and grits.
[Simon] But I do think it could've been finished
with something, just to bring the cheesiness out.
Okay. Chef Ariel.
Somehow, all of the components of an entire dinner
was, somehow, in a sandwich.
I think Chef Ariel struggled with execution.
Okay, total them up.
Remember, 20 points in taste,
20 points in gameplay
and ten points available in plating.
[siren wailing]
[Guy] Outstanding job.
Unfortunately though, the lowest score,
out of our firefighters,
will be rolling out.
Chef Justin, up first.
15 in gameplay,
16 in taste,
seven in plating,
total of 38.
Chef Kelly.
17 in gameplay!
17 in taste,
eight in plating,
for a 42.
You definitely won't be going home.
Chef Christopher.
15 in gameplay,
17 in taste,
one point ahead of Justin right now.
Eight in plating,
for a total of 40.
- [all clapping] - [Guy] Wild man out of Sebastopol,
Ariel.
Better than 38, you stay.
Lower than 38, you go home.
Fourteen in gameplay,
15 in taste, you're gonna have to pull here.
Six in plating,
for a total of 35.
There you have it.
That puts Chef Ariel in the bottom.
I'm a huge fan of first responders,
and I can't say thank you enough.
With that, I say, Chef Ariel,
there's no way I'm sending you home.
- Okay? You're gonna stay and play. - [all clapping]
I'm not sending this guy home.
He got involved to being a firefighter
because he wanted to do something
to help this community,
so he volunteers in Sebastopol,
which is right down the road from Flavortown market,
so I can't send you home.
It's not a high score,
and you're gonna have to work your butt off.
Second round is coming up!
Chefs, firefighters, back to your carts. Good luck!
All right, this round
is going to determine
who gets to shop at Flavortown market for up to $20,000.
So, for this final dish,
I want you to make the judges
an international firehouse favorite.
Could be Asian, Italian...
- Scandinavian. - ...Mexican, German,
could be Canadian.
Thank you, Hunter,
not enough people give a shout out
- to the Canadians... - [laughs]
- ...for their international player. - I didn't say Canadian,
I said Scandinavian.
Or Canadian.
Scandinavian and Canadian.
- They have, they met the... in there. - Okay.
- All these... - [Guy] Okay, 30 minutes, chefs,
to make your international firehouse favorite.
What's the smirk?
I'm just starting to talk
- and all this-- - I just know.
I'm getting this full...
- I know. - Must be something.
I'm trying to get some firefighter nomenclature here,
I'm trying to get some, like in the 911...
- Right. - ...about what goes on in here.
The 411, I should say, excu--
You just said it.
What, what is that?
That's not three, two, one, go!
- That's skip-- - Three, two, one, go.
[laughing maniacally]
[Chris] Chicken breast.
[action music playing]
Rice, rice, rice, rice, rice.
International firehouse favorite, so,
my mind's already thinking that I'm gonna go Asian,
'cause I know I can do an amazing stir-fry.
The perfect international dish is a little bit of Asian
and a little bit of Mexican.
Sweet Thai shrimp taco.
Oh, Hunter, see, I got so excited about telling them three, two, one, go,
I forgot to tell them about the red light special!
Oh, they're gonna love this.
International is going to be...
I'm going to do my take on a sweet and sour chicken dish.
But I got some really, really good sea bass.
Instant rice!
Let's grab that.
[Justin] In the firehouse, we do know how to make tacos.
So, I'm thinking
shrimp tacos.
[amusing music playing]
[siren blaring]
Oh, great.
Oh, no!
Attention, firefighters, shopper chefs,
there is a red alarm fire.
Red light special
including something from the Hot bar,
something from the Grab N Go deli,
- something from the Sour Cream section. - [siren blaring]
Some Fresno Peppers
and some Canned Chili.
You will notice these red light special
shining lights in various aisles.
Three of the five red light aisles
must be incorporated in your dish,
and thank you for shopping Flavortown market.
You're gonna so appreciate this and I'll never.
[Justin] So, five alarm fire,
that is five sets of dispatcher,
which means that is a huge fire.
That's hot.
So, I just ran around looking for flashing lights.
[siren blaring]
[Justin] Never know when a call's gonna come in.
So, we gotta get it cooked, we gotta get it cooked quick.
And tacos are an international quick favorite.
Oh, yeah, this is great.
Grab the crab sour
that's got shrimp in it.
It's a shrimp taco.
All right, deli, where's the other red light specials?
I'm going with the Fresno peppers.
I'm thinking stuffed peppers as our side.
- Hey, Hunter. - [Hunter] Anything from the hot bar?
[Justin] Let's do this coconut chicken.
- [Hunter] All right. - [Justin] Gonna do
the chicken, it'd be great in the stuffed peppers
- with whipped cream cheese. - [Hunter] All right, here you go.
[Ariel] Three to five items.
For my international firehouse favorite,
I'm going to make sweet and sour sea bass.
Between the arrows.
"I'm thinking, "What better way to highlight
these red light special ingredients
with the sour cream
red salsa and shrimp.
It is my take on the sweet and sour sauce.
Hey, chili, chili, chili.
This is gonna be one... dish.
Kelly has a 42, Ariel has a 35,
he's gotta catch up by seven points
to stay in this competition.
[Ariel] If I'm gonna win this thing,
I need to pull some crazy hat-trick.
[Kelly] I'm going to make Thai shrimp tacos
with corn salad.
I'm grabbing sour cream and canned chili beans.
Which is perfect for my corn salad.
Grab N Go deli.
My third red light special
is Mexican guacamole,
perfect for my tacos.
I can't believe I got the highest score.
Time to beat the boys.
- [Guy] Okay? - Okay.
[Chris] Vegetarian chili beans.
I'm gonna make an Asian-inspired stir fry
with a spicy sauce.
And these will be a nice addition
to my vegetables in my stir fry.
I see Fresno chilis,
I know I can bring the heat with this.
- Get all your red light special? - Yeah, I got two out of three.
Okay.
[Hunter] You are moving, grooving. What are you thinking here?
- [Chris] Let me get some of that coconut chicken. - All right. I like it.
- [Chris] That's plenty. - That's good?
- Appreciate it. - All right, brother, yeah, good luck.
[Simon] I think, the international kind of flavor
is really tough.
Because it's so opening.
But you might walk under a red light and get inspired.
[Guy] What's on the menu here?
So, I'm doing my take on sweet and sour fish.
- Okay. - [Ariel] So first, I need to
slice my sea bass, to the pieces that I wanted,
and dredge it,
to ensure a really crispy coating,
and toss it in the fryer.
[sizzling]
Next, I need to get working on my sauce.
My dish is inspired by General Tso's sweet and sour chicken.
General Ariel's fish.
[amusing sounds]
[Ariel] So, I figured what better way to highlight
sour cream, red salsa and chili
than to throw them into my sauce.
Today, we got some Mexican flavor.
- What is this concoction? - It's... [laughs]
This is a sweet and sour sauce...
- Okay. - ...that I'm trying to
fit into the parameters of the challenge.
Never done it with the chili and salsa before.
I'm way too many points behind.
[Guy] Got the wildcard over here.
You know what they say, "Fortune favors the bold."
I really need to hit this dish out of the park.
[siren wailing]
[Guy] Twenty-four minutes to cook. Get cooking!
[Michael] We've got some international firehouse favorites coming our way.
[Guy] Two in the Asian realm and two in the Latin realm.
[Antonia] There's a lot of seafood, and there's a lot of canned chili
- in this round. - Well, you guys are gonna have
an eclectic dinner.
[laughing]
Wow.
What's the game plan?
[Kelly] Got that guacamole,
sour cream and chili beans.
I am making you a spicy shrimp taco
with a corn salad.
Okay.
[Kelly] I feel like everything
that was under the red light special
kind of played into my dish.
I tossed my dish with some corn starch
so they're nice and crispy,
and start frying them up.
[Guy] So, you're cooking the shrimp off.
- Yes, sir. - Great.
Why are you making so much dressing?
To toss them in.
It is sweet Thai chili and mayo.
Ooh!
Whose fried shrimp are those?
Where are the fried shrimp?
- [Simon] It's Kelly. - [Antonia] Those fried shrimp
look good.
Okay, Chef, what's on the menu?
[Justin] Wanna do some shrimp tacos
with some stuffed peppers.
You got enough time in 22 minutes?
- [Justin] Absolutely. - [Guy] Okay.
So, I know the shrimp's gonna cook really quick,
so I wanna start with the peppers.
Well, I got them peppers grilling.
I start on the filling for my peppers.
Make some trees with the whipped cream cheese,
and then, add in some of the rice from the coconut chicken.
Another five-alarm item.
Chef Chris, what do you got, buddy?
[Chris] We're doing a Asian-inspired stir fry
with the sweet chili hoisin sauce.
- [Guy] Okay. - [Chris] Sweet Thai chili,
a little bit of right amount of vinegar.
Got it.
[Chris] My firehouse, you can eat this sauce with anything.
Salmon, chicken, meatloaf,
a shoe, it doesn't matter.
[Guy] That's tasty.
[Chris] Got my sauces reducing,
I get started on my chicken.
I'm adding soya sauce to make sure it has a nice
Asian international flavor.
[dramatic music playing]
Getting there.
Next thing I need to do is to make sure that I get this rice going.
Can't have stir fry without rice.
[clangs]
[Guy] 15 minutes, Chefs, 15 minutes.
[Ariel] So, I pull my fish out of the fryer,
it is crunchy on the exterior.
Looking good there.
The sweet and sour sauce is reducing.
And believe it or not,
that chili is coming through and adding some richness.
- How are we looking, Chef? - Doing pretty good.
It's actually really good.
I'm not kidding you. It is really good.
Thank you, Chef, I appreciate it.
I'm gonna toss it into some rice on a pan,
and in it, some olive oil and fried olive.
Finally, I put some of the fish on the top.
Come on, sauce, don't fail me now.
I absolutely love my fish.
I have this dream
of starting my own Texas barbeque pop-up.
If I were to win that $20,000,
I'm thinking, I'm buying an offset smoker
and using it to start my barbeque business.
[Kelly] It's time to work on my corn salad.
I drain the cans of corn
and then, chili beans,
and start mixing it all together.
This is one of the guys' favorites.
I was gonna chop up fresh tomatoes,
but seeing as there was a guacamole with
fresh chopped tomatoes,
I thought that would be a great shortcut.
[Guy] I like the use of the ingredients here.
Gotta think on your feet. [clanging]
This is one of their favorite dishes.
So, I've made this dish for my husband before
and he absolutely loves it.
I really wanna win today
because I really wanna go somewhere
and just have nothing to worry about.
Just spending good quality time with the ones that I love.
That's gonna be good.
Five and a half minutes.
Okay, man.
I can go ahead and get started on my vegetables for my stir fry.
So, I get mushroom, shredded carrots, Fresno chilis,
Thai chilis,
let that cook down.
I know I had to use these canned chili beans.
So I'm like, you know, these will be a nice addition.
They will add another layer of spice.
I know I had to use this red light special
coconut chicken from the hot bar,
and the coconut flavor is really gonna help balance out my dish.
And where are the shrimp going?
[Chris] Shrimp are going in with the chicken,
- It's gonna be a shrimp-chicken stir fry. - Got it.
[Chris] The perfect shrimp is juicy and succulent.
Served it to my guys at the 16th.
As I'm making this stir fry, I got the 16th heavy on my mind.
I'm doing it for them.
I'm doing it for the 16th, doing it for the ancestors.
I know they love this dish,
so I'm trying to make them proud.
Shrimp, shrimp, shrimp.
I'm watching the firefighters
turn ingredients that they would never really think of
into something pretty outstanding.
I would never necessarily grab the crab salad
from the cold bar.
[Justin] Have to use crab salad.
The crab actually tastes pretty good.
I wanna get that gameplay just right.
Let's drop that into the beans,
we got that nice bean dressing to go on top of that shrimp.
I haven't started on the shrimp.
In the firehouse,
if you cook well, you're gonna do it a lot.
But on the flipside,
they're on the call,
you stay to cook, and then, when they get back,
they eat and they clean up,
and you ain't gotta worry about it.
Uh, they'd eat anything I cook
and then, if they liked it, they'd love it,
and they'd still tell me how bad it was.
That's the way the firehouse is.
They don't call me Chief Grill Daddy for nothing, neither.
Two minutes!
[clanging]
[Ariel] I'm swinging for the fences,
gloves are coming off.
Sweet and sour fish with a bit of a Mexican flavor.
There you go, Chef.
[Ariel] I'm looking for a bit of freshness,
a bit of crunch.
So, I garnish it with some green onion and sesame seed.
I'm telling you right now, Ariel's dish,
it's gorgeous.
[Chris] So, first, I fold in my chili beans
to the stir fry.
Then, I add my chicken and shrimp.
Lastly, I dribble my spicy sauce over the plate.
One minute, chefs!
[intense music playing]
[Kelly] My grilled tortillas go down,
and it's time to start assembling my tacos.
First, the saucy shrimp goes in.
I like sauce.
Then, I sprinkle a little queso-fresco cheese
with a little chives,
and start throwing down my corn salad.
Thirty seconds!
[Justin] Time for the tortillas.
Get the charred tortillas laid in the rack.
[Guy] That's some big tortillas, aren't they?
Firehouse, man, you gotta go big.
Gotta go big, got you.
[Justin] Put the shrimp inside
and then, I got the crab salad from the Grab N Go,
mixed in with the bean dressing,
inside the taco.
Grab my stuffed pepper and get it plated,
just in time.
[Guy] Five, four, three
two, one!
That's it, chefs, stop working.
Nice job!
A lot going on there.
Good lord.
[dramatic music playing]
[huffs]
[Guy] All right, chefs, firefighters,
time to find out whose dish
rings the judges' bells!
Let's take it right this way.
[siren wailing]
All right, judges, this is it.
Game two of our firefighter face-off.
The chefs had to make an international firehouse favorite,
featuring three
of the fantastic red light special items
found throughout the store.
Up first, Chef Ariel,
give us the rundown.
This is what I call General Ariel's fish.
I make this all the time at the firehouse.
Normally, it does not have red salsa, sour cream or chili beans,
but I wanted to highlight these ingredients
to the best of my ability.
[Simon] The build-in, those ingredients you had to,
like the chili into this sauce
is absolutely outstanding.
[Antonia] I am so happy
that you are still here.
Because the fish is cooked perfectly.
It's succulent and moist in the center,
but it's holding out to this extremely aggressive sauce.
[Michael] Ariel, you have a seven-point difference
between you and the leader.
As far as I'm concerned right now,
you have definitely closed that gap.
It feels international, it looks international.
[Simon] I will say, however,
the rice is a big disappointment.
Microwaveable rice is one of my least favorite things on Earth.
It's clumped together like a bit of a softball.
[Guy] What was interesting is you're in the bottom at 35 points,
and you're gonna have to do something big,
you're swinging for the fences.
And that's swinging for the fences.
Up next, Chef Justin!
Tell us how it went.
I did tacos
with shrimp and I mixed in the crab salad.
Made more of a cream sauce for on top
of the taco.
Also did stuffed peppers,
I utilized the coconut rice from the Hot Bar.
Mixed that in with some cream cheese, Chorizo.
I wanna see what's going on inside that brain
'cause what you put on the plate,
it's pretty entertaining, I would say.
I would imagine people at the station probably line up
just to see what you're going to create next.
You grabbed a whole bunch of stuff,
and you somehow made it all sort of work together.
I really like that, one of the red light specials,
you had the Fresno chili,
and you were like, "I'm actually gonna stuff this as a pepper."
I love the Chorizo
mixed with that cream cheese.
I thought that was really, really, really smart.
You delivered the heat here.
Great flavors, they sit really well together.
I think the shrimp are cooked absolutely beautiful.
But I do think that crab salad from the cold bar,
it's taken over the shrimp.
I think, the shrimp were losing a lot of flavor from that.
[Guy] Thank you very much.
Up next, Chef Kelly.
What'd you make for us?
Today, I made my international firehouse favorite,
it's a sweet Thai shrimp taco,
with corn salad.
I put the beans and the top of the guacamole,
on the tomatoes and the corn.
And then, the sour cream was incorporated also
in the corn salad.
I love the way this whole plate is.
The sweetness of the corn plays really, really well
and marries into the sweetness of the shrimp.
You've got Thai, you've got Mexican.
I got a couple passport stamps on one plate.
Definitely got the international part.
The crunch on the shrimp is just outstanding.
- Awesome. - The salad,
not the prettiest thing to look at, I have to say,
and I think the sauce is a tiny bit sweet.
Yeah.
And I think you might want to go balance that
with a little bit of heat.
- Thank you, Chef. - [Antonia] Um,
I want heat.
I wish that you stopped in that red light threshold down there
and picked up a couple of those chilis.
Thank you so much, Chef.
Well done. Last but not least,
- Chef Christopher. - For my international firehouse favorite,
it is a spicy Asian-inspired stir fry
with chicken, shrimp.
I folded the chili beans in with the Fresno chilis.
I sauteed that up with some carrots,
some mushroom, and a coconut chicken.
Threw that in with the chicken to knock some of that spice down
a little bit.
I really, really like that sauce.
Just on the rice on its own
would make me very, very happy.
[Michael] It's definitely international.
I love the separation of having, like the vegetables over here
and then, having the protein over here,
it's almost like a choose-your-own-adventure,
- like, stir fry. - Thank you.
I think, using all of the ingredients
that you got from the Hot Bar, the coconut chicken, the Fresno chili,
the canned chili,
- all really work together. - Thank you.
I would've liked to see maybe some fresh herbs on top,
just to kind of break up, that sauce is
- very aggressive. - Thank you.
[Guy] Chefs, firefighters,
great dishes, creative.
So, I think it's anybody's game.
We're gonna send you back to the kitchens,
and we'll call you when we have a decision.
Thank you very much.
All right, judges, whose dish lit up your taste buds?
Let's talk about Justin.
[Antonia] I think the plating suffered.
[Simon] Crab salad was one step too far for me.
Chef Kelly.
If there was just some kind of acidity
and acid and herbs,
that would've balanced it out.
Christopher.
[Antonia] The rice looked incredible.
Everything needed to come together.
That's where I took issue.
I wanted it all stir fried together.
Ariel.
I think Ariel's last dish was the best dish of the entire day.
[Michael] But does he have enough points
in round two to take the entire competition?
[Guy] All right, score it up.
Let's find out
who will be the big upset
or is Kelly going to retain the title?
Well, I gotta tell you something,
it was a pleasure.
You're fantastic representation
for your department.
So, it all comes down to this.
Let's take a look.
Chef Justin, 38 points in the first round.
Fifteen in gameplay,
15 in taste,
seven in plating,
for a total of 37.
For a total of 75.
Chef Kelly.
Forty-two in the first round.
Fourteen in gameplay,
14 in taste,
six in plating,
for a total of 35
and a total of 77.
Chef Christopher.
Fourteen in gameplay,
15 in taste,
eight in plating,
for a total of 37.
And tie at a 77.
- Wow. - [dings]
[Guy] And let's go to Chef Ariel.
Thirty-five in the first round.
Eighteen in gameplay,
19 in taste!
Eight in plating,
for a total of 45,
and there's your winner, ladies and gentlemen.
- [all cheering] - Chef Ariel, 80 points!
- Congratulations! - [all clapping]
- That's awesome. - Whoo!
[laughs] I gotta be very honest with you,
I haven't seen any upsets like this.
So, congratulations, man.
That is a big, big return to victory.
- Congratulations. - Thank you, Chef.
Thank you, thank you.
Justin, Kelly, Christopher,
I have to tell you again
how much I appreciate you being here.
What a great representation
and hopefully, this will be the last time we see you.
Give it up for Chef Justin, Chef Kelly, Chef Christopher.
Thank you.
[Chris] So bummed I didn't win,
but you know, it was an awesome experience,
I got to cook some good food
and I got to represent my fire station.
- [clapping] - [Kelly] I think, the guys and the girls
back at the firehouse are gonna be
really proud that I'm their cook.
[Justin] You know, firemen,
we're all family.
Extremely proud of Ariel. He definitely earned the win.
[Guy] Chef Ariel,
you got involved in becoming a firefighter
after the 2017 fires that we had here
in Sonoma County.
So, he's a volunteer.
And you just won, ladies and gentlemen,
- give it up for the champ. - [applauding]
Thank you, guys.
- Well done, buddy! - I don't even know what to say.
Listen, we have a shout out for you.
From the Sebastopol Fire department
that you're a volunteer at.
Hunter, show us what the department has to say, bud.
[all congratulating]
We're here from Sebastopol.
Nice job, buddy.
When you cooking dinner?
[Guy] And you gotta be one of the rookies in that group, right?
I am. I've only been there for three years.
So, this is definitely some firehouse cred.
I just wanna say to everybody back at Sebastopol,
- dinner's on me. - [laughs]
I got a couple choices for you.
We have a recipe game
where I will give you a specific list of ten ingredients
for a popular dish.
You will go and find those ingredients
around the store, in two minutes.
For every ingredient you find,
we'll give you $2,000.
You find all ten, you win $20,000.
Or you can skip all the shenanigans.
I have a check sitting behind that door, right over there,
it is anywhere between $10,000 and $20,000.
So, it's your choice.
[Ariel sighs] All right.
[intense music playing]
I'm gonna go for that check.
- [Guy] Ladies and gentlemen... - Yeah.
- ...he's going for the check. - I'm going for the check.
[Guy] Behind the big doors,
- let's take a look! - [Ariel] I'm going for the check.
- $18,000! - Whoa!
-Congratulations! There you go. -Thank you, thank you, Chef.
I cannot believe that I won Guy's Grocery Games.
I came here with the intention to just have a good time,
and not only do I get a smoker for my business,
but I get to take this back to my firehouse
and cook for the boys.
So, there you have it, our firefighter smokes the competition,
takes home $18,000
back to Sebastopol,
and we'll see you guys next week
on Guy's Grocery Games.
- Adios! Well done, buddy. - [cheering]