After yet another amazing season, The Great Food Truck Race season 18 comes to a close with the final two teams heading to Norfolk, Virginia, hoping to win the $50,000 grand prize.
The penultimate episode of the season saw new records set in a historic leg of the race, which saw Cooking with Que’s time in the competition coming to a close. Following Cooking with Que’s elimination, this left Good Fortune and Nishaan as the final two teams standing. All season long, we’ve seen these two teams consistently ranking at the top of the leaderboard, setting the stage for a competitive finale.
Kicking off the final leg in Norfolk, the teams head out to the USS George H.W. Bush, where they’ll be feeding the sailors on board in support of the USO. For this first challenge, all sailors have been given 20 USO bucks, which they can spend at either truck. The goal is to collect the most USO bucks as these USO bucks will equal $1 for their total tills.
As the challenge begins, it seems like all Nishaan is able to sell is their iced teas, which leaves them worried, but they don’t have much time to worry as Chef Tyler Florence arrives on their trucks to lay out the first official challenge of the finale leg.
In addition to cooking for the sailors of the USS George H.W. Bush, the teams will also be cooking for the individuals responsible for feeding the sailors on a daily basis. He challenges both teams to make a dish that will wow three chefs on the ship. There are three key criteria they must achieve: the dish must be a healthy, high-calorie dish that can be made in mass and elevates a Navy ration. The winning team that impresses the chefs will earn $300 for their till.
For the challenge, Nishaan lands on making a smoked masala shepherd's pie, while Good Fortune makes a spam fried rice dish. Their dishes are then tasted by CS Seaman Gabrielle Begue, CS Third Class Hagen Norton, and CS Seaman Tayviana Wilks. Good Fortune’s dish impresses with taste, but they’re unsure they’d be able to serve the egg as fried eggs on a large scale. Meanwhile, the chefs are convinced the dish would be a hit on the ship, but they wish the vegetables were more vibrant.
Shortly after the tasting, Chef Tyler heads onto both trucks, beginning with Good Fortune. He tells them that their lines are notf moving as fast as they should with sailors often waiting for food, but the good news is that they did win the taste challenge – their first taste challenge of the season – and have won the $300 for their till.
Things get tense on Day 2 of the Great Food Truck Race finale
For Day 2, the teams have to head out to find their own spot to sell. Both teams head out to the Waterside District, which they’ve each heard is a major hot spot in the area. Good Fortune arrives first and Nishaan parks right behind them under the bridge, which could prove to be a game-changing spot as rain is in the forecast. By parking under the bridge, Nishaan ensures their customers won’t have to wait in the rain and stand around getting wet as they wait.
Tensions run high as Sarah from Good Fortune comes over to confront the team about their parking selection, but the guys on Nishaan aren’t having it. They realize that every advantage counts, and they have no regrets in getting the more optimal parking spot.
Shortly after the teams begin selling, Tyler calls them up to issue the next challenge for the leg. Tyler wants the teams to reflect back on the first challenge of the season when he tasked them with creating a signature dish that represented them best. For the final challenge in the season, he wants both teams to make dishes again to help him see who has improved the most throughout the race. The team whose dish is most improved will win $300 for their till.
For their dish, Good Fortune revisits their pork dumpling, this time working to add a level of crispiness that was lacking in their first dish. Tyler is really impressed with the dish, with his only criticism being that he wishes the filling had a bit more fat to enhance the taste. Meanwhile, Nishaan revisits their Pakistani chopped cheese dish in looking to redeem their original dish with crunchier bread, more cheese, and a sauce to bring it all together. Tyler is really wowed by their dish and suggests the dish should be on their menu with only a minor note on the garnish.
The Great Food Truck Race season 18 winner revealed
Following their last challenge, Day 2 came to a close, and the teams’ journeys on The Great Food Truck Race are now complete. All that’s left is to find out who the winner of the race will be.
Heading into the final elimination, we knew that Good Fortune had picked up $300 for their till in winning the first taste challenge of the leg. But who made the most money during both days, and who won the Day 2 challenge? Tyler was wowed by both Day 2 dishes, but gave the win to Good Fortune. This added an extra $300 to their till and put them up $600 over Nishaan in challenge wins alone.
After revealing Good Fortune had won the Day 2 challenge, Tyler called both teams up to the table where he had two footlockers in front of him. After a countdown, both teams opened their footlockers with Nishaan finding $50,000 waiting in their box and becoming the winners of The Great Food Truck Race season 18!
Despite getting the two challenge wins, Good Fortune ended up making less in the end, with Nishaan beating them by over $1,400! The final totals for the final leg of the race were $11,149 for Nishaan and $9,741 for Good Fortune.