Guy Fieri

Early life

Guy Fieri was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Penelope Anne (Price) and Lewis James Ferry. He grew up in Ferndale, in rural Humboldt County, California. During high school, he was a foreign exchange student to France, where he developed his interest in food and cooking. His paternal grandfather was of Italian descent; Fieri changed his surname, Ferry, back to his family's original surname, Fieri, when he got married in 1995, in order to honor his immigrant great-grandfather, Giuseppe Fieri.

Career

Fieri began his association with food in grade school in Ferndale, by selling pretzels from his "Awesome Pretzel" cart and washing dishes to finance his trip to France to study cuisine. On his return to the United States, he worked at the restaurant at the Red Lion Inn in Eureka, California until going to Las Vegas for college. Fieri attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management in 1990. Soon after graduation, he went to work for Stouffer's, as a Manager for a Long Beach, California restaurant. After three years in southern California, he became district manager of Louise's Trattoria, managing six locations along with recruiting and training for the restaurants.

Restaurants

In late 1996, Fieri and business partner Steve Gruber opened Johnny Garlic's, a "California Pasta Grill" in Santa Rosa, California. A second location opened in Windsor in 1999, a third in Petaluma in 2000 or 2001 (since closed), and a fourth in Roseville in late 2008. Subsequently, they developed Tex Wasabi's (barbecue and sushi) in 2003 in Santa Rosa, adding a second location in Sacramento's Arden-Arcade area in 2007 (which was rebranded as Johnny Garlic's, and then subsequently closed). An additional Johnny Garlic's was opened in Dublin, California in 2011. His first New York City restaurant, Guy's American Kitchen and Bar, opened in 2012 to scathing New York Times coverage by Pete Wells that Larry Olmsted of Forbes, called "the most scathing review in the history of the New York Times", and "likely the most widely read restaurant review ever." Fieri, for his part, accused Wells, the nation’s highest profile reviewer, of using Fieri's fame as a platform for advancing his own prestige. In 2011, Fieri partnered with Carnival Cruise lines to create Guy’s Burger Joint to sell Fieri's burgers fleet-wide. In April 2014, Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen and Bar opened in Las Vegas.

Television

After winning the second season of The Next Food Network Star on April 23, 2006, Fieri was awarded a six-episode commitment for his own cooking show on Food Network. Guy's Big Bite premiered on June 25, 2006, and continues.

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, his second series, premiered in April 2007 (a one-hour special aired in November 2006), with Fieri traveling the country visiting local eateries. The New York Times called the series "not a cooking show as much as a carefully engineered reality show". Ultimate Recipe Showdown, co-hosted with Marc Summers, debuted on February 17, 2008, and aired for three seasons. On September 14, 2008, Guy Off the Hook debuted on Food Network. This special studio audience show aired through the end of 2008, but the extra cost of staging an audience show did not result in a ratings bump and the concept was discontinued. For Thanksgiving 2008, Fieri hosted a one-hour special titled Guy's Family Feast. He used the "Guy Off the Hook" set for the special, which was broadcast live, on November 28, 2008. Fieri appeared on other Food Network programs such as Dinner: Impossible in 2007 and 2009, Paula's Party, Ace of Cakes, and The Best Thing I Ever Ate.

In December 2009, NBC named Fieri as the host of the game show Minute to Win It, which premiered in March 2010 and aired for two seasons. On May 13, 2012, NBC announced that the game show would not be renewed for a third season, citing high production costs and low ratings.

In January 2012, Fieri was one of the two team captains (along with Rachael Ray) in the Food Network reality series Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off. A second season of Rachael vs. Guy: Celebrity Cook-Off began airing on Food Network on January 6, 2013. A chef challenge show, Guy's Grocery Games, started on October 27, 2013, on the Food Network. It features four cooks who battle through 3 rounds, and are judged by three judges.

His latest series, Guy's Family Road Trip, was chosen as the 2017 lead-out show from the most recent season of Food Network Star. It previewed on August 13 of that year.

Advertising

Fieri appeared in promotions for Flowmaster, a California-based auto exhaust parts manufacturer. In 2008 and 2009, he was the spokesperson for T.G.I. Friday's. In 2010, he appeared in a commercial for Aflac named "Spicy".

Other projects

In 2009, Fieri began touring with the Guy Fieri Roadshow, a multi-state food tour that featured some of his fellow Food Network personalities. He also appears in regional Food Network events, such as the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival and the South Beach Food and Wine Festival, where he officiated 101 gay weddings.

In 2015, Fieri officiated the wedding of celebrity chef Art Smith on Miami Beach. The wedding, which included over two dozen same-sex couples, was held to celebrate Florida's Supreme Court lifting the state ban on same-sex marriage.

Personal life

Guy Fieri lives in Santa Rosa, California with his wife, Lori, and their sons, Hunter and Ryder. He collects classic American cars, including a 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle, a 1968 Pontiac Firebird, a 1976 Jeep CJ-5, a 1969 Chevrolet Impala SS, and a 1967 Chevrolet C10 pickup.

Books

Fieri is the co-author of four books with Ann Volkwein, which were New York Times bestsellers for a total of more than 33 weeks.

Fieri has authored books of recipes.