The Quarantine Stream: I Should Be Watching Good Television, But Instead I’m Just Watching ‘Guy’s Grocery Games’
Posted on Sunday, October 18th, 2020 by Jacob Hall
(Welcome to The Quarantine Stream, a new series where the /Film team shares what they’ve been watching while social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic.)
The Show: Guy’s Grocery Games
Where You Can Stream It: Hulu
The Pitch: Divisive Food Network host and fashion nightmare Guy Fieri invites four chefs into a giant grocery store set, where they must compete in various cooking challenges that involve them rushing through the aisles and literally collecting their ingredients. But since this is a silly game show, those challenges generally involve chaotic limitations (you can only shop in certain aisles) or cruel requirements (your savory dinner must include mustard and a bag of marshmallows). It’s ridiculous. And addicting.
Why It’s Essential Viewing: Look, Guy’s Grocery Games is not essential viewing. And if you can’t stomach Guy Fieri, with his low-brow sense of humor and atrocious haircut, this will be a legitimately painful experience. However, there’s something fundamentally nice about this show, which sidesteps being a cutthroat competition in favor of being an easily digestible showcase of chefs concocting creative and delicious dishes from ingredients available in a standard supermarket. As Pixar’s Ratatouille explored: anyone can cook.
