Parents' Guide to Guy's Grocery Games

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Common Sense Media Review

Melissa Camacho By Melissa Camacho , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 10+

Shop-and-cook challenges serve up fun and tasty moments.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 10+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

age 11+

Based on 16 parent reviews

Parents say many viewers express disappointment regarding the judging practices on this cooking competition show, highlighting perceived biases, particularly against Black chefs and female contestants, which undermine the entertainment value. While some fans continue to enjoy the format and entertainment, a common sentiment is that the judges' decisions lack fairness and integrity, leading to a potential decline in viewership.

  • judging fairness issues
  • racial bias concerns
  • gender representation matters
  • viewer disappointment
  • entertainment value noted
Summarized with AI

age 6+

Based on 1 kid review

What's the Story?

GUY'S GROCERY GAMES features chefs shopping for ingredients and preparing dishes in the middle of food markets. Hosted by Guy Fieri, each episode pits four chefs against each other as they shop, chop, and cook gourmet dishes in three intense challenges. The catch? Each challenge places limitations on how much they can spend, the number or size of ingredients they can use, and other things that make their tasks more difficult. Added to the fray are unexpected twists, such as being forced to exchange collected ingredients with competitors and altering recipes on the fly when key ingredients are suddenly out of stock. When time is up after each round, judges such as Top Chef winner Richard Blais, food editor Troy Johnson, and celebrity restaurateur such as Lorena Garcia decide which dishes are the best. Three contestants go home after checking out empty-handed, but the last chef standing in each episode gets to compete for $20,000.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say ( 16 ):
Kids say ( 1 ):

From offering an interpretation of spaghetti and meatballs without pasta or beef to creating a meal for four on a $6.35 budget, the series shows how chefs of all levels work with everyday ingredients and in a limited time frame to cook and adapt recipes to create tasty meals. But most of the show's focus is on the competition itself, which serves up a lot of humorous moments.

Die-hard foodies may not find a lot here to sink their teeth into, but folks looking to find new ways of approaching food shopping and cooking may find some interesting tips. Some may be inspired to try new ingredients and adapt their own recipes, too. But viewers of all ages who like food-themed shows will definitely find it worth watching.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how chefs go about creating and executing recipes, especially on the fly. How do you know which ingredients will work and which ones won't? Do you think food TV shows such as this one help answer such questions?

  • Why do folks agree to appear on a show like this? What do they get out of it?

  • What don't you see in this show? What gets edited out?

TV Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

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