Photo courtesy of Samantha Mitchell
Farmtruk's Samantha Mitchell is "back with a vengeance," according to a promo from Food Network show Guy's Grocery Games.
The St. Louis chef, who owns the farm-to-table food truck, will appear again on the reality competition show in an episode airing this Sunday, March 12. Guy's Grocery Games, hosted by Guy Fieri, is a grocery store cooking competition. Chefs are given challenges, such as a $10 budget or "out-of-stock" products, to create a dish with ingredients from the aisles.
This upcoming episode Mitchell will appear in, titled "Supermarket Masters Tournament: Part 1," is one of four all-star episodes. Those who win their round advance to the finale episode, airing in April.
Overall, Mitchell is competing against 15 other chefs, also returning to the show, for up to $35,000. She appeared in another Guy's Grocery Games tournament that aired in December and made it through the first round, scoring $10,000. She almost won the final round—going up against Robert Irvine—but lost to another chef.
Mitchell, a former sous chef for Annie Gunn's, says Food Network reached out to her via Twitter shortly after she launched Farmtruk in 2015. After months of interviews and Skyping, she filmed her first Guy's Grocery Games episode in April of last year. This upcoming "Supermarket Masters" episode was filmed in November. She says the entire experience was surreal.
Photo courtesy of Samantha Mitchell
"It is intense," she says. "I have never been through something that crazy. It was like you were in an alternate universe for a second. It's so quick, and they're always throwing these crazy curveballs at you, and you have like 10 seconds to figure out what you're doing. You just have to roll with it and trust that, 'OK, I can cook. I know that much. I'm just going to let my instincts kick in here.'"
Mitchell adds that before filming began on the "Supermarket Masters" episode, Fieri gave the group a pep talk. He said they all should be proud they were chosen and of what they do and what they've accomplished as chefs. Although she can't spoil how she fares in the upcoming episode, Mitchell says the experience left her more self-assured.
"[It gave me] confidence in what I'm doing and the fact that if you just leap for it, good things happen," she says. "Even with the truck, I just kind of had to jump."
Farmtruk brings a twist to farm-to-table fare. (Last year, our dining editor lauded its chicken potpie on a stick.) You can often find it parked at City Garden, Wells Fargo Advisors, and 4 Hands Brewing Co. Mitchell says she's now gearing up for the upcoming food truck season.
Samantha Mitchell's episode of Guy's Grocery Games airs Sunday, March 12 at 7 p.m. on Food Network. Find Farmtruk by following its Twitter and Facebook accounts.
