After a shocking double elimination in the premiere with the elimination of Eat My Biscuits and self-elimination of Rising Tiger, The Great Food Truck Race season 18 continued as the remaining seven teams left Savannah, Georgia, behind and made their way out to Charleston, South Carolina!
The episode opened with the teams being greeted by host Tyler Florence and special guest Food Network host Kardea Brown. For the episode’s first challenge, Tyler and Kardea challenged the teams to put their own unique spin on a classic Gullah Geechee dish. At stake? An extra $300 for their till!
Nishaan selected shrimp and grits, Cooking with Que picked Hoppin’ John, G’s Cheesesteaks went with fried corn cakes, Burger Walla went with red rice, Fat Kid Food Co. selected Carolina crab rice, Stop Drop N Roll chose okra soup, and Good Fortune Company landed on perloo. All of the teams – sans Burger Walla, who had to opt out of the challenge after struggling with making rice with just one burner – turned out impressive dishes. However, in the end, it was Fat Kid Food Co. who impressed Kardea the most and won the $300 for their till with their take on Carolina crab rice.
Day 2 does not go well for G’s Cheesesteaks
Following the challenge, the teams moved right into the first day of selling in Charleston. It was a pretty smooth first day for the most part with little drama or setbacks, making for a leveled playing field heading into Day 2.
As the teams prepared for Day 2, Tyler called and issued yet another challenge for the teams. Day 2’s challenge was to create a lowcountry boil-inspired dish. This time, rather than giving the winning team money for their till, the winning team would get an additional hour of selling time at the end of the day.
The biggest struggle of the day came in the hunt for a good selling location. All of the teams struggled to find a perfect spot to set up shop, but G’s Cheesesteaks definitely had the worst luck.
They first attempted to park at a local brewery, but quickly found there were no customers around. Next, they thought they landed an ideal spot at a busy park, only to be told they couldn’t sell at the location without a proper permit. They headed back to the brewery after getting a call that there were about 100 people there, only to return and find Stop Drop N Roll had set up shop, and the crowd wasn’t as big as they hoped. G’s finally lands at a school about to dismiss and are able to get some sales, but it’s clear they could be in danger following a rough Day 2.
Fortune was on the side of Good Fortune Company, though, which sold the most lowcountry specials and earned an extra hour of selling.
Bad weather puts a damper on Day 3 sales
For the final day of selling in Charleston, rain threatens to put a damper on the day and there’s no doubt it impacts the team’s sales; however, the teams aren’t about to let a little rain slow them down!
The day begins with Tyler bringing out Chef Rodney Scott to assist with the final challenge of the leg. Each team receives barbecue pork from Chef Rodney and must incorporate it into a dish. The team that makes the dish that impresses him most will see their sales of the special doubled.
Nishaan has to bow out of the challenge since they cannot have pork on their truck, and works out a deal with Fat Kid Food Co. to give them their pork in exchange for 30% of the profits the fish makes.
After tasting all of the dishes, Chef Rodney has narrowed it down to Burger Walla and G’s Cheesesteaks as his two favorite dishes. While Burger Walla was confident the win was theirs, it was G’s who ended up winning the challenge, which doubled the sales on their pork special.
With the weather worsening as the day went by, the teams’ time in Charleston ended with a less-than-stellar final day, but they all gave it their best amid the bad weather.
Who went home on The Great Food Truck Race this week?
As the episode drew to a close, it was time to reveal which truck made the fewest sales this week, resulting in their elimination from the competition. Following last week’s shocking unplanned double elimination with Eat My Biscuits being sent home and Rising Tiger withdrawing from the competition, some wondered whether The Great Food Truck Race would skip an elimination this week, but that was not the case!
At the end of this leg in the race, it was Burger Walla who was eliminated, with the team having the lowest sales total for the Charleston sprint. The news came as quite a shock to Burger Walla, who went out in a bit of a blaze of glory, talking down to the other teams before handing in their keys and leaving the competition.
So, how did the rest of the teams stack up in Charleston? For the second straight week, Nishaan took the top place with a commanding lead over their competitors, despite not winning any of the episode’s challenges. They might be the new kids in the race, but they’re definitely making waves with two back-to-back wins and incredible sales totals. Meanwhile, Stop Drop N Roll just narrowly avoided elimination in the Bottom 2 alongside Burger Walla. Here’s a complete breakdown of the leaderboard for the episode:
- Nishaan - $3,778
- Good Fortune - $3,259
- Cooking with Que - $3,147
- G’s Cheesesteaks - $2,832
- Fat Kid Food Co. - $2,794
- Stop Drop N Roll - $2,510
- Burger Walla - Eliminated
Next week, the action moves to Myrtle Beach with the promo hinting that drama could be coming for several trucks! Will Nishaan hold onto its top spot, or will another team finally take the top spot? We’ll have to wait until Sunday night to find out!
The Great Food Truck Race airs Sundays at 9/8c on Food Network.