20 Things You Didn’t Know About Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri is best known as a professional chef and television series host. He’s the owner of three California restaurants and is a resident expert on the business. He shares his knowledge and passion through reality television series types shows and is loved by some but considered an acquired taste by others. Whether you love him or otherwise, here are 20 things that you probably didn’t know about Guy Fieri
1. He spent a year in France when he was a teen
At the age of 16, Guy Fieri moved to Chantilly, France. He spent a year in the country. While he’s quite fond of French cuisine, he didn’t have a great time when he was living there. He shared that the room he was given to live in was very small and he had to go down two flights of stairs just to use the restroom. The phone was locked up and he couldn’t use it whenever he wanted to and had to ask permission first. Most of the time in his year abroad was miserable, as it would be for any teenager who had to live under such confined circumstances. It’s worth noting that Guy worked hard to earn the money for his trip and he started saving from the time he was 10 years old. He sold balloons and even set up a pretzel cart. After Guy fell in love with soft pretzels on a family vacation, his father encouraged him to open up his own business. The impressive youth had a business plan and even had a checkbook for the venture.
2. He knew he would be a chef when he was a young child
Guy Fieri was a somewhat remarkable child and he knew what kinds of foods he liked and what he didn’t. At the age of just 10 years, his insistence on having more meat than vegetables got him into a battle royale with his mother. Tired of his complaining, his mother suggested that if he didn’t like her cooking, he should do it himself. The precocious youth got on his bike and peddled his way to the nearby grocery store and charged some steaks to the family account, brought them home and prepared them for the family. His father commented that they were the best that he’d ever eaten in his life. This was the point in Guy’s life that he knew what he wanted to be when he grew up. At the age of 10, he knew he wanted to be a chef.
3. He’s known for American fare but it’s not his favorite
We shared the fact that guy spent a year in France as a teen, and that he had a miserable experience, but not everything about the trip was bad. It was during his time there that he truly found his first love. He absolutely fell in love with classic French fare and to this day it is his favorite. He can fix a mean steak and many other well-known American classics, but he truly enjoys escargots, sheep’s tongue, pate, and other French dishes.
4. He prefers a wok to a grill
Guy is one of the best when it comes to grilling just about any kind of food you can imagine, but it’s not his preference. He prefers to cook on a wok. He even takes one along when he goes camping because of its versatility. He knows that there are a lot of different styles of food that can be prepared on a camping trip with a wok. He’s not strictly a hamburger and hot dog guy when it comes to preparing camp food. He likes to keep his options open and you’ll find a wok packed up with his grill every time.
5. Guy Fieri’s oldest son is a lot like him
It’s really cool that Guy has made a big impression on his oldest son. The young man has ambition and he is setting out to be just like his dad. His name is Hunter and unlike his dad, he wants to be a baker. He’s shown a lot of promise in his attempts and his cakes turn out a lot better than his dads. In case you didn’t know Guy’s not very good at baking and his cakes come out of the oven flat.
6. Guy Fieri hates eggs
We’ve seen Guy Fieri eat a lot of different things and he’s game for cooking just about anything when the challenge is laid down, but one thing that he doesn’t like to eat is eggs. Yes, he’s a professional chef and also he can whip up some mean egg dishes, it doesn’t mean that he likes to eat them. Although he tries to keep an open mind with foods, and he’ll even try something he didn’t like previously again, he draws the line when it comes to eggs. He despises them and they are totally off his list of foods he won’t give a try.
7. Masaharu Morimoto is one of his favorite people
The Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto is one of Guy’s favorite people in the world. Some have even jokingly said that he has a man crush on him. Guy has shred that he’s one of the most caring and gracious people that he’s ever met. He also threw in the fact that the man knows how to put on a party and his cooking is exquisite.
8. Guy had a misconception about what a Diner was
For a long time, Guy Fieri didn’t know what a diner was. He grew up in an area where there weren’t many of them around so he formed his opinions from a lack of information. He believed that diners were the equivalent of a hamburger stand. He didn’t know that some of the finest eating establishments are diners but it’s something that he later learned about.
9. Guy Fieri is a kale man
Guy Fieri loves kale and he’s good when it comes to cooking with it. Although he and his mother had some rounds over too many vegetables, kale is one that he loves to eat. He shared that he enjoys it because it’s so hearty that it eats much like a protein and it can be filling. He eats it raw in salads or cooked in a variety of dishes. This is the one healthy food that Guy Fieri can really sink his teeth into, and we mean that quite literally.
10. Guy Fieri travels with a large crew
We only see Guy on camera but there are a lot of people with him when he travels. Most people don’t know this because they’re seldom seen. Sometimes members of his large crew get a bit out of hand. One rowdy crew hand got drunk and jumped up and down in an elevator so hard that he broke it. Of course, he raised a ruckus when he couldn’t get out and after the staff of the hotel got him out, he turned on them and gave them a lecture. He almost got them all kicked out of the hotel for that stunt. It’s not all fun and games when you travel with a lot of people in your entourage.
11. He’s had his share of tragedy in life
In 2010, Guy Fieri went through a very hard time in his life. His sister Morgan had been diagnosed with cancer. She passed away. At the time of this sad event, Guy was scheduled to make an appearance at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival. The organizers let him know that they would understand if he wanted to cancel. He braved it and held things together through his grief and attended the event anyway because he believed that his sister would have wanted him to carry on.
12. Guy’s first job as a chef was at an Italian food chain
The first culinary job that Guy landed after his graduation from UNLV was at Louse’s Trattoria. They served traditional Italian fare, but Guy couldn’t resist making a few other additions to the menu to spice things up and bring in a little diversity. He made tortilla soup one of the new things one his menu as the resident chef. He nearly got fired for it.
14. His first attempt to get on Food Network failed
Guy auditioned for a show on the Food Network but he wasn’t selected for participation. He tried with a show about barbecuing in 2004 but it didn’t interest the executives. Guy actually had to be persuaded by others to give it a second shot. We’re sure that there are a lot of happy fans that are glad he was at least willing to give it another try because he’s gone on to have a lot of very interesting and successful food shows on the network.
15. Guy’s New York restaurant received scathing reviews
Emeril Lagasse warned Guy that the competition for a restaurant in New York City was going to be tough. It’s one of the most competitive places in the country. Guy went ahead with it anyway and opened up his establishment. Just as predicted, the reviews were unbelievably scathing, but it didn’t stop Guy from making a lot of money with his American Kitchen & Grill while it was open for business. The restaurant closed in 2017.
16. He got a real kick out of Jewish Penicillin
Guy Fieri had never heard the term “Jewish Penicillin” before. It was actually a featured menu item on “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” In case you’re not familiar with what it is yourself, it’s what they call chicken soup. It makes sense when you think about it. When Guy heard the chef refer to it, he thought that he had invented the phrase and he found it to be quite humorous.
17. Guy was angry over his negative reviews
When Guy’s restaurant received scathing reviews, he didn’t take it very well. He was very angry about them and it made matters worse when his PR firm nearly suggested he make an apology for the food quality then shut down the restaurant and make some improvements. He wasn’t going for that either. What he did was to come back at them and let them know that they filed their reviews too early.
18. Fieri tangled with the creator of “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives”
In 2011, Guy Fieri and David Page, who created “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives” had a big falling out. The network fired Page who turned around and sued them alleging a breach of contract. The network didn’t take it lying down. They counter-sued him and stated that he treated the staff poorly. Page responded by saying that Guy Fieri had a problem with gay and Jewish people. They settled the lawsuit out of court and Page was not brought back on board.
19. He was paid to be the friend of a billionaire
It’s not as funky as it sounds. Billionaire Steve Cohen is a huge fan of the show “Diners, Drive-Ins, and Diners,” and he paid $100,000 just to hang out with Guy Fieri for a day. The two men had a great time and they’ve become very good friends. We think it’s a pretty cool story. We don’t want you to think that Cohen is an odd-fellow, he just really loved the show and wanted to get to know the host.
20. Guy Fieri loves cilantro
When it comes to the herb cilantro you either love it or you can’t stand it. Guy just happens to fall into the category of the ones who really dig the herb. It’s practically a staple in authentic Mexican cooking, but Guy likes to use it in Asian dishes as well. He also shared that his favorite Asian sauce is sambal oelek and he enjoys the chili-like flavor that it imparts without adding a ton of spicy heat. We’re wondering if Guy has ever tried to incorporate another of his favorites Kale with cilantro? It could be an interesting combination.
