Chef Erin Circelli-Russell, one of the head chefs and an instructor at Fanshawe College’s student training facility, the Chef’s Table, won for the third time on the popular cooking game show Guy’s Grocery Games (GGG).
“I was honoured when they called me,” Circelli-Russell says. “That is a pretty heavy title to carry a three-time triple-G winner.”
The host, Guy Fieri, invited four past winners back to the Flavortown Market for a non-stop super battle in the episode titled “Winners’ Whammy Auction.”
“It was scary because I was competing against other chefs who had already won in other episodes,” Circelli-Russell says.
She says that in this episode, Fieri gave them $100 to buy food to make an appetizer and an entree. But they also had to bid on auction items.
“The starting bid was $40, so I spent at least $40 on an item I did not want,” Circelli-Russell says. “I was the last person to buy one of the items, so Fieri charged me $60 for the black liquorice.”
Photo Credit: Erin Circelli-Russell
She says she had only $40 left to buy all the rest of the food.
“The most challenging part was purchasing a nice cut of beef steak for under $40 and serving eight plates. It was extremely nerve-wracking,” Circelli-Russell says.
Circelli-Russell, the winner, has received up to $20,000 in Flavortown Market shopping privileges. She adds that saying that she has gone three times and won every time feels pretty good.
“Some of the competitors had won up to five times in this show, so I knew I was against fierce competition,” Circelli-Russell says.
She says she went to have fun, whether she won or lost. She adds that she was not too stressed out until right before they started playing.
“Chef Abby, the other female chef, also works at an education facility, so she feeds thousands of people a day at a university in California,” Circelli-Russell says. “I was most nervous about her. She is just such a talented chef.”
She says the other participant, Chef Jeff, owns two California restaurants and is a very “distinguished chef .”
“I knew all of them were going to be very talented. I had to pull it up and play my best game to win.” Circelli-Russell says.
Circelli-Russell says that hanging out with the chefs, meeting them, and getting to know what they do for their lives and families was the most fun part.
“We do not have a lot of downtime, but when we do and sit together and eat with someone, friendships become stronger,” Circelli-Russell says. “Having all these friends around North America has been probably my favourite part of the process.”
She also says that Fieri is a fantastic guy in real life and that his main goal is to make everyone look good.
“Even if you were extremely nervous and flopped at the challenges that he threw at you, he is still going to make you look good on TV,” Circelli-Russell says.
Circelli-Russell says that Fieri wants everybody to return to their hometown and be heroes. She adds that he is always there to support people in the industry.
“My students at Fanshawe College have been asking me every day since we filmed the show,” Circelli-Russell says. “We filmed this episode in August; they have been asking almost weekly.”
She says she and her parents had a party at the Chef’s Table on the downtown campus when the show aired on the U.S. network the previous week.
“I have gotten so many messages on social media from students that it is heartwarming to know they were as excited as I am about this adventure,” Circelli-Russell says.
She says the celebration was even more significant for Canada’s show airing.
“We have got a bunch of screens set up at my parents’ place and a huge tent Outback with fires,” Circelli-Russell says. “It was an incredible evening with friends, family, and the community.”
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