‘Guy’s Grocery Games’ becomes Sioux Falls showdown
June 8, 2023
Half the contestants on Wednesday’s episode of “Guy’s Grocery Games” on Food Network represented Sioux Falls restaurants.
Both Beau Vondra of Look’s Marketplace and Ryan Pederson of Urban Chislic competed on the hourlong episode, which featured chefs who previously appeared on host Guy Fieri’s show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.”
In the first round, four chefs had 30 minutes to shop for no more than 6 pounds worth of ingredients to create a “guilty pleasure dish.”
Vondra prepared a smash burger, noting “Look’s Marketplace is known to be a butcher shop” so a smash burger made sense.
“I could have added an egg, I could have added bacon, but I’m just going with all the classic flavors I think are going to work out,” he said.
Pederson went a similar direction, planning for a patty melt but changing to a butter burger after realizing he didn’t select cheese from the Flavortown market.
“This burger is not going to be traditional,” he said. “It’s going to be salty. It’s going to be sweet. And, of course, guilty. I absolutely know the judges are going to love this.”
Vondra finished the round equally confident.
“I think I crushed it,” he said.
And he did, finishing with 43 points to win round one and advance. Pederson tied for third with 39 points and was eliminated.
Next, it was Sioux Falls versus San Juan, Puerto Rico, home of round one’s second-place chef. Both he and Vondra had to make a “decadent diner dinner” that included foie gras chips and cognac as ingredients.
Vonda went with fried pork cutlets served with mashed potatoes and a cognac mushroom gravy cream sauce served on a classic diner-inspired blue plate.
“It is decadent. It is luscious,” one of the three judges told him.
“You did a great job with plating,” another added.
His competition was tough, though. Both finished with 41 points in the second round, but Vonda’s first round inched him into the winner’s spot.
Then, he had a choice to make: a timed trip through the grocery store to grab enough designated items to win $20,000 or selecting a random mystery check.
“I’m not that spry, so I think I’m going to take the check,” he said.
That, too, proved the right move as his check was revealed to be $17,999, of which he’ll donate a portion to the Sioux Falls Skatepark Association. He participated in the sport, and now his daughter does.
“I can’t believe it,” he said of the win.
