Guy Fieri

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Lore & Background

Guy Fieri was born in Columbus, Ohio, and grew up in Ferndale, California. While attending Ferndale High School, he was a foreign exchange student in Chantilly, France, where he developed his interest in food and cooking. He graduated from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas with a Bachelor of Science degree in hotel management in 1990. Fieri began selling pretzels from his "Awesome Pretzel" bicycle cart at age ten and washed dishes to finance his trip to France. Fieri won the second season of *The Next Food Network Star* on April 23, 2006, earning a six-episode commitment for his own cooking show. *Guy's Big Bite* premiered on June 25, 2006. His second series, *Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives*, premiered in April 2007. He also hosted the NBC game show *Minute to Win It*, which premiered in March 2010 and aired for two seasons. In 2019, Fieri received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 22. In May 2021, he signed a three-year contract with Food Network worth an estimated $80 million. Fieri co-owned three now-defunct restaurants in California. His first New York City restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, opened in 2012 to a famously brutal *New York Times* review by Pete Wells. It closed at the end of 2017. In 2011, he partnered with Carnival Cruise Lines to create Guy's Burger Joint, and as of October 2017, there were 19 restaurants on Carnival's cruise ships. He co-owns Santo Tequila with Sammy Hagar.

Reader's Guide

Guy Fieri's significance lies in his role as a transformative figure in American food television, bringing a rowdy, mass-market appeal that attracted a large male audience to the Food Network. His show *Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives* celebrated local eateries across the country, influencing food tourism and small restaurant visibility. Despite critical backlash—particularly from *The New York Times* review of his Times Square restaurant, which *Forbes* called "the most scathing review in the history of the New York Times"—Fieri's brand expanded globally through licensing deals and partnerships with cruise lines and casinos. His philanthropic efforts include raising over US$20 million for unemployed restaurant workers during the COVID-19 pandemic through the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund. Fieri also officiated at 101 gay weddings at the 2012 South Beach Food and Wine Festival and officiated the wedding of celebrity chef Art Smith in 2015, honoring his late sister who was a lesbian.

Did You Know?

• Fieri changed his surname from Ferry to Fieri in memory of his paternal grandfather, Giuseppe Fieri, an Italian immigrant who had anglicized his surname to Ferry upon arriving in the United States.
• In 2015, Fieri officiated at the wedding of celebrity chef Art Smith at Miami Beach, which included 101 same-sex couples, to celebrate Florida's Supreme Court lifting the state ban on same-sex marriage.
• Fieri's first New York City restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, appeared on Restaurant Business's list of the top 100 independent restaurants as ranked by sales for four years in a row before closing at the end of 2017.
• In 2024, Fieri's co-owned Santo Tequila was at the center of a large heist where 24,000 bottles of tequila (two truck loads worth $1 million) were stolen.
• Fieri is a strategic owner of NASCAR Cup Series team Legacy Motor Club.