Guy’s Grocery Games Season 42 Episode 8 Recap

Kevin Lee and Claudette Zepeda win the two semifinal cook-offs in Guy’s Grocery Games Season 42 Episode 8, earning the right to represent South Korea and Mexico in the Global Games finale. Kevin eliminates Gabriele “Gabe” Bertaccini after a seafood challenge restricted to the market’s even-numbered aisles. Claudette then defeats Viet Pham with a hot-and-cold steak duo assembled after a brutally short three-minute shopping trip.

The $50,000 champion is not crowned in this episode. “GGG Global Games, Part 4” narrows the tournament to Kevin and Claudette, who will face each other in the finale.

The episode aired July 29, 2026, on Food Network. The Global Games finale is scheduled for August 5, 2026.

Who competes in the GGG Global Games semifinals?

The four semifinalists are Kevin Lee representing South Korea, Gabe Bertaccini representing Italy, Claudette Zepeda representing Mexico, and Viet Pham representing Vietnam.

Each chef enters Part 4 with at least one tournament-saving dish behind them. Kevin impressed the judges with spicy pork and rice. Gabe escaped elimination by producing a properly cooked Gorgonzola and hazelnut risotto under pressure. Claudette survived a Haitian peanut butter surprise by turning it into mole, while Viet delivered Vietnamese fried chicken so good that the judging table briefly forgot how words work.

Guy Fieri divides the remaining chefs according to the tournament bracket. Kevin must beat Gabe in Group A, while Claudette and Viet face each other in Group B. The winner of each cook-off advances to the finale.

Hunter Fieri brings out what the family affectionately calls the “board of pain,” displaying the journey that reduced eight international cuisine specialists to four. Gabe responds by skipping around with Guy, because apparently the proper way to approach a $50,000 semifinal is to behave as though you have wandered into a musical.

The mood changes quickly. These are not ordinary elimination rounds. Kevin, Gabe, Claudette and Viet are competing not only for themselves, but also for the countries and food traditions they have represented throughout the event.

How does Kevin Lee beat Gabe Bertaccini?

Kevin beats Gabe by making soy-braised black cod with a carefully balanced seafood broth, kimchi and sweet potato noodles during an Odd or Even challenge that blocks both chefs from the produce aisles.

Guy begins by pointing out that South Korea and Italy both have long coastlines and major seafood traditions. Naturally, he asks Kevin and Gabe to make seafood dinners. Less naturally, Hunter arrives with an odd-or-even coin toss that determines which half of the market they can use.

The coin lands on even.

That result gives both chefs access to fresh seafood, dairy and the international aisle. It also denies them fresh produce, herbs and several basic pantry ingredients. Kevin is delighted to retain access to soy sauce and Korean condiments. Gabe looks as though someone has informed him that tomatoes, onions and garlic have been legally abolished.

Kevin decides to make ganjang saengseon jorim, a Korean soy-braised fish dish inspired by something his mother prepared when he was young. He chooses black cod and builds a separate stock using Dungeness crab and langoustines. He then seasons the braising liquid with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, shio dashi, sugar and gochugaru.

The missing produce forces him to shop creatively. Jarred kimchi supplies freshness and acidity, while fried garlic, shallots and pickled onions add some of the sharpness he would normally get from fresh aromatics.

Kevin cannot buy rice, so he substitutes japchae noodles made from sweet potato starch. He cooks part of the noodles normally and fries another portion for crunch. It is a smart adjustment because the noodles soak up the broth while the fried pieces prevent the plate from becoming one soft, brown arrangement.

Gabe, meanwhile, reaches for the Italian coast and prepares a version of cacciucco, the seafood stew associated with Livorno. He collects clams, mussels, calamari, shrimp, scallops and pancetta, then serves the stew over creamy polenta.

Without fresh tomatoes, garlic, wine or herbs, Gabe builds his broth from canned peeled cherry tomatoes, garlic paste, tube pesto and nonalcoholic Chardonnay. He jokes that an Italian cannot cook without fresh produce, then spends the next half hour proving that an Italian will at least attempt it.

Gabe also coats his calamari in a sweet potato starch mixture before frying it. That decision will come back during judging. Still, he gets an impressive amount of seafood onto the plate without turning the entire supermarket into a maritime crime scene.

Why is Gabe eliminated from the Global Games?

Gabe is eliminated because Kevin’s cod is cooked more precisely and his substitutions work together more successfully, while Gabe’s scallop and fried calamari introduce avoidable texture problems.

The judges for the semifinals are Tiffani Faison, Jonathon Sawyer and Maneet Chauhan. They immediately recognize how much the even-aisle restriction has affected both plates.

Kevin presents his soy-braised black cod with sweet potato noodles, kimchi, fried shallots and garlic. The judges praise the way his crab and langoustine stock supports the braising liquid. The cod retains the sauce’s sweetness, while the kimchi and vinegar provide enough acid to keep that sweetness under control.

One judge compares the dish to the “South Korean CIA” because so much work is happening beneath the surface. More importantly, the cod is described as textbook in its cooking. The sweet potato noodles also earn praise for absorbing the broth while adding a contrasting texture.

There is some disagreement about whether Kevin’s sauce remains slightly too sweet. The judges also suggest that placing the fried onions directly over the kimchi would have made the garnish more effective. Those are adjustments rather than structural problems.

Gabe’s cacciucco earns enthusiastic praise for its broth and polenta. Considering he had no fresh alliums, fresh herbs or proper cooking wine, getting that much flavor into the bowl is a serious achievement.

The seafood is less consistent. His poached scallop becomes stringy, and the calamari is chewy rather than crisp. The sweet potato coating does not fry as cleanly as the more conventional flour batter available at his station. The judges also question whether the plate needed the scallop when the clams, mussels and broth were already doing plenty of work.

Kevin wins the Group A semifinal and becomes the first chef sent into the finale.

Gabe takes the loss well, although he insists that a coin landing on odd might have produced a different result. He leaves planning to bring his own coins next time. Honestly, after several weeks inside Guy Fieri’s supermarket, bringing your own coin feels like basic protective equipment.

How does Viet Pham recover after forgetting coconut milk?

Viet recovers from forgetting coconut milk by using butter, seafood and strong aromatics to create a rich halibut curry, but his cold noodle component is judged as incomplete on its own.

For Group B, Guy asks Claudette and Viet to prepare a hot-and-cold duo. Then comes the catch: they have only three minutes to shop, must use a small basket and cannot return to the aisles after time expires.

Because making two coordinated dishes in 30 minutes was apparently in danger of being reasonable.

Claudette quickly plans two Mexican steak preparations. Her cold dish will be an aguachile negra with thinly sliced New York strip, while her hot dish will pair grilled steak with cheesy refried beans.

Viet draws inspiration from bún kèn, a Vietnamese noodle dish commonly served with a coconut-based curry. He gathers halibut, shrimp, rice vermicelli, herbs, lime, lemongrass and curry ingredients.

Then he reaches his station and realizes he forgot the coconut milk.

It is a particularly painful mistake because coconut is not a background ingredient here. It is practically announced in the dish’s name. Viet briefly panics, then begins rebuilding the idea around what he actually has.

He pulverizes the halibut and cooks it into a curry broth flavored with turmeric, curry powder, lime leaf and aromatics. Butter supplies some of the missing richness, while shrimp and fish deepen the broth. By the time he tastes it, even Viet is surprised by how little he misses the coconut milk.

For the cold side, he prepares vermicelli noodles with herbs, fried garlic and shallots. His cleverest move is the shrimp chip. Viet flattens shrimp between two pieces of rice paper and fries the packet until it becomes a crisp, airy wafer.

The presentation is striking, and the curry is packed with flavor. The problem is the challenge’s wording. The judges wanted two separate dishes that could also work together. Viet’s noodles need the hot curry to feel complete. Without it, they read more like one unfinished half of a composed bowl than an independent cold dish.

During judging, Viet also explains the personal weight of representing Vietnam. His parents fled the country by boat, and his grandparents encouraged them to give their future children names that would preserve their connection to home. Viet and his brother Nam carry that memory in their names.

It is the emotional center of the episode, but the judging still comes down to the food and the assignment.

What does Claudette Zepeda cook in the semifinal?

Claudette makes a cold beef aguachile negra and a hot grilled steak with cheesy refried beans, using the same New York strip in two noticeably different preparations.

Claudette keeps her shopping list controlled by choosing one protein for both plates. For the cold dish, she sears the exterior of the New York strip while leaving the center nearly blue, then slices it extremely thin in the style of beef tataki.

Her aguachile gets its dark color and smoky character from blackened tortilla chips and grilled fresh chiles. She blends the charred ingredients into the sauce, then rapidly cools it over an ice bath. The sliced steak is arranged in the cold aguachile with crisp tortilla pieces.

For the hot dish, Claudette grills another portion of the strip and serves it over refried beans enriched with cheese and miso chicken stock. The miso initially sounds like it has wandered into the wrong semifinal, but Claudette explains the influence of Japanese and Chinese communities in northern Mexico and along the border.

The judges are sold once they taste it. The miso adds depth to the beans without overpowering their identity.

Her one major issue is the grilled steak. With time disappearing, Claudette discovers it is far rarer than intended. She returns it to the grill, but the meat still does not receive enough cooking or resting time before she slices it.

Even so, her cold dish becomes the standout plate of the round. One judge calls the aguachile the “best bite of food I had today.” They praise the precision of the sliced beef and the way the burnt tortilla chips create smoke without relying on dried chiles.

Unlike Viet’s noodles, Claudette’s aguachile and hot steak function as complete dishes separately. They also form a recognizable duo, sharing a protein while presenting different temperatures, textures and flavors.

Why does Claudette beat Viet?

Claudette beats Viet because she follows the hot-and-cold duo brief more completely, and her aguachile is strong enough to outweigh the undercooked steak in her hot dish.

The judges face a close decision. Viet’s curry may contain some of the round’s deepest flavor, and his fried shrimp chip is one of the episode’s most inventive techniques. Forgetting coconut milk could have destroyed his plan, yet he adapts so successfully that the missing ingredient is not the primary criticism.

His problem is structural. The cold noodle bowl depends on the hot curry, meaning he has made two components of one dish rather than the requested duo.

Claudette gives the judges exactly what Guy asked for. Her cold aguachile stands alone, as does the hot steak and beans. The beef links the plates, but each preparation has its own identity.

The judges debate whether Claudette’s insufficiently rested steak is worse than Viet’s failure to produce a fully independent cold dish. In the end, challenge execution breaks the tie.

Guy announces Mexico as the Group B winner.

Viet leaves with his head high, encouraging viewers to visit Vietnam and discover the country that he has grown to appreciate more deeply through food. His exit is disappointing, but it does not feel like a collapse. He cooks through a major shopping mistake and nearly reaches the finale anyway.

Claudette reacts by saying that “little me is proud of me.” After four rounds of pressure, surprise ingredients and supermarket sabotage, she has earned the sentiment.

Who reaches the Guy’s Grocery Games Global Games finale?

Kevin Lee and Claudette Zepeda are the two Global Games finalists, representing South Korea and Mexico respectively.

Kevin reaches the final through precision. His black cod shows how effectively he can build flavor from memory and adapt when familiar ingredients disappear.

Claudette reaches it through clarity. She understands the hot-and-cold assignment, gives the judges two distinct dishes and produces the most celebrated bite of the second semifinal.

Episode 8 ends by previewing their final showdown for the trophy and $50,000. Kevin says he has been cooking from his heart, while Claudette makes it clear that she believes she earned her place.

Neither chef enters the finale as an obvious underdog. Kevin has been technically controlled and deeply personal in his cooking. Claudette has repeatedly turned awkward ingredients and narrow challenges into food that still feels unmistakably hers.

South Korea versus Mexico is now official. The shopping games have done their damage. All that remains is deciding who gets the cup and who gets to leave Flavortown with $50,000.