The Triple G Judges Play 5 Ingredients or Less

We asked the judges of Guy's Grocery Games to play along with one of the most-popular games on the show. Here's what they had to say.

Avocado Aficionado

Brian Malarkey uses avocado, crab, lemon, herbs, tomato and olive oil when making his best dish. “I’ve never been good at math — I always want more,” he said, joking about choosing six ingredients in total. But if Guy were watching, Brian would be getting some serious flack. “Saute all together and top with chopped avocado,” he explained of the dish.

Spiked and Southern

Catherine McCord’s quick to answer when asked for her five ingredients to use to make her best dish like the competitors do on Triple G. “Pork tenderloin, bourbon, brown sugar, Dijon mustard and fresh ginger,” she said promptly. Competitors better hope that Catherine doesn’t become a contestant, because she might give them a run for their money.

Thinking Thai

A Thai food enthusiast, Troy Johnson lists his five ingredients as premade curry, coconut milk, chicken, bamboo and mushrooms. “Yeah, because I love making curries,” he said. “I’d rather make it in a mortar and pestle, but if I’ve got to use the jarred curry sauce, it’s not that bad; it’s pretty good.”

Mood Rules

Which five ingredients would you expect from Guy Fieri, the mastermind of Triple G and intense challenges like Five Ingredients or Less? For Guy, it’s all about how he’s feeling that day. Garlic, shallots, red chile flakes, red wine vinegar and kale are a few ingredients that he named immediately. “I love kale,” Guy said. “I think is kale a vegetable that eats like a protein. It’s hearty.”

Spiced Up and Ready to Go

For flavorful Indian cuisine, Aarti Sequeira believes ginger, garlic and tomatoes are a must. Add garam masala and turmeric to the mix and she "could make a bangin’ sauce to go on anything!” she said. Five ingredients does seem sparse when relying on bold spices for curries and chutneys. “But then I would still beg you for a sixth and ask you for some cream,” Aarti said with a gracious “pleeeease!”

Basics Boss

Beau MacMillan aims his focus on the staples when grocery shopping for ingredients: “A great olive oil is a necessity.” Beau explained, “You’ve gotta have a killer sea salt and garlic, ginger — anything super fragrant like that is the base for most of my cooking.” Plus, Beau said, it's important to have “a great protein.”

Seize the Salsa Verde

For Christy Vega, who has always specialized in Mexican cuisine, the choice is easy. “It would definitely be a tomatillo, some onions, cilantro,” she said, “Let’s see, maybe some spinach and a jalapeno.” These five ingredients would allow her to make a fresh and delicious salsa.

Topping It Off

“I never can walk out of a grocery store without a really good olive oil,” G. Garvin said about one of his five must-have ingredients, in addition to naming salmon, corn, scallions and arugula. “And what I would do is I would saute my salmon and I’d do a really quick saute of my corn — take it off the cob,” G. Garvin explained. He’d top his corn salad with the salmon, then a bit of arugula to finish it off.

Stir-Fry for Guy

Judy Joo’s five-ingredient must-haves are thinly sliced pork belly, kimchi, rice cakes, sesame oil and chives. Can you guess what she’d make with these ingredients? “A stir-fry,” she said.

Fried and True

“My family loves okra katsu and remoulade,” Madison Cowan explained, listing okra, buttermilk, eggs, panko and grapeseed oil as his five ingredients for this Japanese-Southern fusion dish.

Talking Torte

Melissa d’Arabian knows just what she’d make for her best dish: “my Potato Bacon Torte,” she said. The key ingredients for her comforting savory cake consist of potatoes, cream, bacon, puff pastry and fresh herbs.

Stewing In

Taking a stroll down the comfort food aisle, Richard Blais has a dish ready in his mind, if he had to choose five ingredients or less. “Beef oxtail or stewed meat, canned tomato, caraway seed, onion and balsamic vinegar,” he said. “My goulash game is tight!”

Hopping to It

"Rabbit, corn tortillas, avocado, lime, cilantro (plus spices)," said farm-to-table chef Duskie Estes, listing the ingredients she'd use to make her Lucky Rabbit Tacos.