The Great Food Truck Race

Last updated
The Great Food Truck Race
Genre
Presented by Tyler Florence
Country of origin United States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons17
No. of episodes111 (list of episodes)
Production
Production company Critical Content
Original release
Network Food Network
ReleaseAugust 15, 2010 (2010-08-15) 
present (present)

The Great Food Truck Race is a reality television and cooking series that originally aired on August 15, 2010, on Food Network, with Tyler Florence as the host. [1] Billed as a cross between Cannonball Run and Top Chef, [2] this late summer show features several competing teams of three who drive across the United States in their food trucks and make stops every week to sell food in different cities.

Contents

The seventeenth season premiered on June 30, 2024.

Format

Every season, between six and nine food truck teams compete in a race where they must cook, sell, and adapt to different challenges in the hopes of winning $50,000 (and in some cases, their own food truck). While taking a journey through a specific region or route, every week the food truck that makes the least profit is eliminated and sent home, while the rest of the food trucks continue on to the next city. They're usually given "seed money" at the beginning of each episode that goes towards grocery shopping. The teams are assigned different challenges every week for a chance to earn more money (usually in the form of selling the most of a special dish or making a version of a local delicacy for Tyler and a guest judge). They're also thrown obstacles that hinder their ability to make normal sales (for example, switching their menu to vegan food or being unable to restock supplies for the day).

In the first two seasons of the Great Food Truck Race, the competitors were seasoned, professional food truck operators who were competing for a cash prize (first season was $50,000 and second season was $100,000). In the following seasons (save for season six), food trucks were provided to novices (from home cooks to former restaurateurs) who have dreamed of owning and operating their own food truck. In seasons three, four, and five, the winning team got the money and got to keep the food truck they were provided by the show. In season six and onward, the show reverted to awarding the winning teams only the $50,000.

Episodes

SeasonSubtitleEpisodesOriginally aired
First airedLast aired
1 6August 15, 2010 (2010-08-15)September 19, 2010 (2010-09-19)
2 7August 14, 2011 (2011-08-14)September 25, 2011 (2011-09-25)
3 7August 19, 2012 (2012-08-19)September 30, 2012 (2012-09-30)
4 7August 18, 2013 (2013-08-18)September 29, 2013 (2013-09-29)
5 7August 17, 2014 (2014-08-17)September 28, 2014 (2014-09-28)
6 Route 666August 23, 2015 (2015-08-23)September 27, 2015 (2015-09-27)
7 Faimly Face-Off5August 28, 2016 (2016-08-28)September 25, 2016 (2016-09-25)
8 Battle for The South6August 20, 2017 (2017-08-20)September 24, 2017 (2017-09-24)
9 Wild West6July 26, 2018 (2018-07-26)August 30, 2018 (2018-08-30)
10 Summer Beach Battle8June 9, 2019 (2019-06-09)July 28, 2019 (2019-07-28)
11 Holiday Hustle4November 27, 2019 (2019-11-27)December 18, 2019 (2019-12-18)
12 Gold Coast6March 19, 2020 (2020-03-19)April 23, 2020 (2020-04-23)
13 All-Stars – Battle of The Bay6June 7, 2021 (2021-06-07)July 18, 2021 (2021-07-18)
14 Alaska – Battle for The North6March 7, 2021 (2021-03-07)April 11, 2021 (2021-04-11)
15 Hottest Season Ever8June 5, 2022 (2022-06-05)July 24, 2022 (2022-07-24)
16 David vs. Goliath8June 18, 2023 (2023-06-18)July 30, 2023 (2023-07-30)
17 Games on The Gulf8June 30, 2024 (2024-06-30)August 18, 2024 (2024-08-18)

Production

Bob Tuschman, general manager of the Food Network, had gotten several pitches for a food truck themed competition show before settling on the show that would become The Great Food Truck Race.[ citation needed ] He believed it to be ideal because it combined the Survivor-style reality show competition with the rising trend of food trucks. [3] Tyler Florence was immediately on board and as the show grew and got renewed, so did the food truck scene. Florence believed the food truck trend grew in large part because of the economic slump around the early 2000s, and his show "helped invent an entirely new genre of restaurants". [4]

Reception

Melissa Camacho of Common Sense Media gave the show a 3 out of 5 stars. [5]

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The eleventh season of the American reality television series The Great Food Truck Race entitled The Great Food Truck Race: Holiday Hustle hosted by Tyler Florence began airing on the Food Network on November 27, 2019. It concluded on December 18, 2019, after airing a four episode season, making it the shortest season in the series history. It was announced on October 16, 2019, to be a special holiday-based season of the series. Five truck teams competed against each other in food-based competitions to be the last remaining team, with one team being eliminated each week.

References

  1. "Tyler Florence Interview". Tvsquad.com. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  2. "Tyler Florence talks about Food Network's new reality competition". ew.com. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  3. Eells, Josh (6 August 2010). "Food (Truck) Fight: Putting Griddle to the Metal". The New York Times .
  4. "How 'The Great Food Truck Race' Influenced America's Food Truck Scene". thedailymeal.com.
  5. Movie & TV reviews for parents. "The Great Food Truck Race TV Review". www.commonsensemedia.org. Retrieved 2024-06-26.