June 2, 2023

Chef Beau Vondra, a co-owner of Look’s Marketplace, will compete in an episode of “Guy’s Grocery Games” airing next week.

The Food Network show features four chefs competing in a multiround elimination game to shop for groceries and then tackle a cooking challenge. The winning chef can collect up to $20,000 in a shopping spree bonus round. Chefs have 30 minutes to shop for, prepare and plate each dish.

An episode guide for June 7 says it will feature four chefs from host Guy Fieri’s other show, “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” cooking their favorite guilty pleasures using no more than 6.5 pounds of ingredients in a “diner dinner” challenge.

Look’s Marketplace was one of several Sioux Falls-area restaurants featured on the show in early 2021, which is what connected Vondra with the “Guy’s Grocery Games” opportunity.

“It was fun,” Vondra said, adding it’s not possible to practice for that kind of competition. Food competition cooking generally requires “a different mindset,” he said.

He’ll watch the episode at 8 p.m. June 7 at a viewing party at Monks Ale House in downtown Sioux Falls.

“I’ve never seen the episode, so it will be interesting to see how it goes,” he said. “And we’re doing a tap takeover for Look’s Beer Co., so that will be fun to get people out enjoying our beer and being able to watch it together. So many people have supported me over the years and have rooted for me and been great to me, and I’d like to share if they’d like to.”

The ripple effect of national television exposure has continued for Look’s, he said. The “Triple D” episode has aired multiple times since 2021, and “we get people from out of town all the time,” Vondra said. “Especially with the way the city has really embraced youth sports tournaments, and we have one of the few spaces that can accommodate someone walking in with a bunch of people.”

“Guy’s Grocery Games” also includes information about each of the competitors, so expect more visibility for Look’s once that airs.

“The support system in Sioux Falls has been unbelievable for everything we’ve done here,” Vondra added. “Without Sioux Falls getting behind it, it doesn’t work, so I want to share any moments that I can with anybody that’s supported us over the years.”

Guy Fieri on Look’s Marketplace: ‘This is unique to the world’