Following their lowest-rated season to date (per IMDb), competitive cooking show The Great Food Truck Race looks to overcome the controversy of its Alaska-set competition by returning with a popular All-Stars edition. Set throughout the California Bay Area, Season 14 features seven food truck winners from the past returning to establish their ultimate culinary supremacy.
Due in large part to the various personalities, intense rivalries, national sightseeing tours, format changes, and special Speed Bump, Roadblock, and Pitstop challenges, The Great Food Truck Race has had its fair share of ups and downs since its inception in 2010.
Season 8 - 7.7
Dubbed the "Battle for the South," Season 8 marked the first time in series history that the trucks did not begin the race in California. Instead, the competitors began their limited race in Lousiana before touring Tuscaloosa, Nashville, Athens, and ending their race in Savannah, Georgia.
While there were plenty of challenges along the way, the short roap, limited episodes (six), and complete lack of Speed Bumps and Roadblocks in the rules format tended to leave viewers wanting more. In the end, BBQ truck Braised in the South from Charleston, South Carolina took home the top prize.
Season 11 - 7.8
Limited to only four episodes, Season 11 of The Great Food Truck Race was billed as the "Holiday Hustle." Set on the snowy East Coast during Christmastime, the five trucks dashed through New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Since the previous seasons of the series are primarily geared toward road trips during the summer, the wintery season left viewers feeling a bit cold. Still, the season ranks among the top 10 due to its holiday-themed challenges such as a creative turkey dinner, cranberry and fruitcake appetizers, candy-cane dishes, and fig pudding.
Much like the Alaska season, finding customers willing to line up in the freezing cold proved much harder than anticipated. Even so, the Colorado-based team Big Stuff was able to navigate the snow like the back of their hand en route to winning the $50,000 prize money.
Season 6 - 7.8
Viewers flocked to the iconic American highway Route 66 that served as the starting place for Season 6 of The Great Food Truck Race, where seven professional food truck vendors traversed the southwest through Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and into the midwestern cities of Tulsa, St. Louis, and Chicago. With some of the bigger personalities in show history and the reversion back to professional food truck operators in competition, this season found much more from IMDb voters than some of the later seasons.
North Carolina-based Asian fusion team Pho-Nomenal Dumplings faced an intense showdown with the runner-up, Waffle Love, before emerging victoriously. Teammates Becca, Sophia, and Sunny became the series' first all-female winners. The highlight of the season came in week four when Pho-Nomenal Dumpling won a heated steak sandwich battle in Amarillo, Texas.
Season 5 - 8.0
California served as the starting line for Season 5 of the show, during which eight novice food trucks began in Santa Barbara and ended their long-distance race in sunny Florida. Over the seven weeks of competition, Israeli siblings Tommy and Hilla drove their truck Middle Feast across the finish line first.
The appeal for this season came via the "food truck boot camp" rules change, with each week concentrating on one specific skill set to help the amateurs become professionals. The highpoint came during the finale when the final two teams had to take airboats through the Florida Everglades and cook alligator and frog legs shortly after.
Season 1 - 8.0
The inaugural season of the series ranks in the middle of the pack, according to IMDb. Following a horseshoe-shaped route that began in Los Angeles, careened down south through New Mexico, Texas, and Lousiana, and ended up in New York, the exciting novelty of the show's road trip premise immediately won fans over.
The winning team, Grill 'Em All, also won the hearts and minds of viewers en route to victory with their loud, funny, and brash personalities. Comprised of three memorable metalheads who named their truck after Metallica's "Kill 'Em All," Joel, Matt, and Ryan faced a heated battle with the entrepreneurial runners-up, Nom Nom Truck.
Season 3 - 8.1
In Season 3, eight amateur teams covered over 3,500 miles on a grueling west-to-east road trip that began in Los Angeles and ended in Lubec, Maine. Through it all, the Korean-inspired truck Seoul Sausage turned their delicious kimchi riceballs and bulgogi-like sausages into a winning recipe. Fans loved the fun-loving personalities of these guys.
The standout moment from the season includes Seoul Sausage winning a ballpark challenge in Arkansas during week 3, where they won $500 in seed money and a special key to help them unlock a Speed Bump challenge down the road.
Season 4 - 8.2
With more of an emphasis on the racing aspect rather than the cooking element, Season 4 incentivized teams to take the "Speed Bumps" and "Truck Stops" seriously. The eight novice teams traveled cross country from San Francisco, Portland, Idaho, South Dakota, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Chicago, and up to Annapolis, Maryland.
Season 4 gained traction among viewers due to its metropolitan itinerary, with memorable moments coming in Chicago where a pizza challenge was judged by Mayor Rahm Emmanuel and a race to the U.S. Capital Building in Washington D.C. where the winner was declared.
Season 2 - 8.2
With the starting line in Sin City, it's no surprise that Season 2 of The Great Food Truck Race ranks among the top three seasons to date, per IMDb. Eight teams began in Las Vegas before moving east through Salt Lake City, Denver, Memphis, and Atlanta before ending up in Miami.
One of the main reasons the season resonated was due to the introduction of the Speed Bump challenge, which was designed to put the trucks at an unforeseen disadvantage and make the competitors think fast and adjust on the fly. The Lime Truck overcame the final two Speed Bumps during the finale en route to victory.
Season 9 - 8.7
Set in California, Arizona, and Nevada, the "Wild West" themed Season 9 featured seven amateur food truck teams with aspirations of going professional. Fans really responded to the fun challenges, including the two-part Sonic beverage showdown won by Michigan-based team Mobile Moo Shu in their third consecutive challenge victory.
Blazing their way through Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Yuma before doubling back to Coachella for a music concert and ending in Hollywood, the top prize was eventually awarded to Just Wing It, a novice chicken-wing outfit that met on Season 12 of Worst Cooks in America.
Season 10 - 9.15
Set primarily in Florida with a couple of stops in South Carolina, Season 10 is the best that The Great Food Truck Race has to offer thus far. The sunny settings and magnetic personalities of winning team NOLA Creations are the chief reasons why. Dubbed the "Summer Beach Battle," nine teams skidded through Myrtle Beach, Head Island, Daytona, Tampa, Ft. Lauderdale, and ended in picturesque Miami. The intense competition made for a compelling drama to watch.
With standout stops at such iconic venues as the Daytona Motor Speedway and Gatorama Alligator Park, NOLA Creations won three first-place finishes on their way to the ultimate winner's circle. Despite a late surge from rival truck Brunch Babes, the right team was named the victor.