Guy Fieri

Guy Fieri

Fieri judges a dish during the Iron Chef BBQ Competition at the Tiki Bar, August 18, 2008
Born Guy Ramsay Ferry[1][2]
(1968-01-22) January 22, 1968
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.[3]
Education University of Nevada, Las Vegas (BS)
Spouse(s) Lori[4]

Culinary career

Guy Fieri (/fjɛri/;[1][lower-alpha 1] born Guy Ramsay Ferry, January 22, 1968[2]) is an American restaurateur, author, game show host, and television personality. He co-owns six restaurants in California[6] and is known for his television series on the Food Network.

By mid-2010, the Food Network had made Fieri the "face of the network".[7] In 2010, The New York Times reported that Fieri brought an "element of rowdy, mass-market culture to American food television", and that his "prime-time shows attract more male viewers than any others on the network".[7]

Early life

Guy Fieri was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Penny Anne (Price) and Lewis James Ferry.[lower-alpha 2] 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.[3] 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.[5]

Career

Fieri began his association with food in grade school in Ferndale, California, by selling pretzels from his "Awesome Pretzel" cart and washing dishes to finance his trip to France to study cuisine.[8] 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.[8] He later managed and owned restaurants.[9] Fieri attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Hotel Management in 1990.[10][11] After graduation, he went to work for Stouffer's, developing restaurant concepts in Southern California[7] and managing their flagship restaurant in Long Beach, California. 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.

A burger and chicken wings from Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar on the Las Vegas strip

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 has been called the most widely read restaurant review ever.[12][13] In April 2014, Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen and Bar opened in Las Vegas.[14]

Television

After winning the second season of The Next Food Network Star [15] 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".[7] 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.[16] 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 2011, Fieri partnered with Carnival Cruise lines to create Guy’s Burger Joint to sell Fieri's burgers fleet-wide.

Fieri receives the key to the city of Ferndale from the Ferndale City Council at a special council meeting, 23 November 2012.[17]

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.[18] 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.[19]

Advertising

Fieri appeared in promotions for Flowmaster, a California-based auto exhaust parts manufacturer.[20] In 2008 and 2009, he was the spokesperson for T.G.I. Friday's.[21] In 2010, he appeared in a commercial for Aflac named "Spicy".[22]

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.[23][24] He also appears in regional Food Network events, such as the Atlantic City Food and Wine Festival[25] and the South Beach Food and Wine Festival, where he officiated 101 gay weddings.[26]

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.[27]

Personal life

Guy Fieri lives in Northern 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 1996 Chevrolet Impala SS, and a 1967 Chevrolet C10 pickup.[3]

Books

Fieri has co-authored three books with Ann Volkwein; the first two were New York Times bestsellers for over 12 weeks.[28][29][30]

Notes

  1. ↑ His name is "correctly pronounced" with an Alveolar flap (1 r in Italian is flapped while double r is trilled), not an Alveolar approximant. Fieri pronounces his name with an Alveolar flap.[5]
  2. ↑ Guy changed his name when he got married in 1995; he wanted to honor his immigrant grandfather ... Giuseppe L. Fieri. The change occurred many years before beginning his FoodTV career. There are news articles going back to November 1996 listing Guy Fieri (and not Guy Ferry) as an owner of Johnny Garlic's.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 Syme, Rachel (November 10, 2009). "The Trailer Park Gourmet". The Daily Beast.
  2. 1 2 "Birth Record of Guy Ramsay Ferry". Ohio Birth Index, 1908–2011. Ohio Department of Health. File date: 7 February 1968. Certificate Number: 1968003917. Retrieved 1 February 2016. Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. 1 2 3 Wang, K.S. (1 June 2008). "Celebrity Drive: Food Network Celebrity Chef and car junkie Guy Fieri is a true Bow-Tie guy". Motor Trend. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Frequently Asked Questions about Guy Fieri". Fans of Guy Fieri. 1 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 "Frequently asked trivia questions about Guy Fieri". Fans of Guy Fieri. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
  6. ↑ Hartlaub, Peter (2 May 2006). "Sonoma chef's pals kicked it up a notch for TV. Now, he's on like Donkey Kong.". San Francisco Chronicle. p. E–1. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Moskin, Julia (10 August 2010) [updated 18 August 2010]. "Guy Fieri, Chef-Dude, Is in the House". The New York Times. p. D1. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  8. 1 2 Tam, Donna (August 15, 2009). "Off the hook: Food Network to premiere "Chefography" on Ferndale native Guy Fieri". Times-Standard (Eureka, California). Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  9. ↑ "Guy Fieri". TV.com. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Nyberg-Schlotzhauer, Heather (August 19, 2010). "A 'Guy' of their own at the Humboldt County Fair". Humboldt Beacon.
  11. ↑ "In The Kitchen With Guy Fieri". Alumni Profiles. Go.unlv.edu. 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  12. ↑ Wells, Pete (November 14, 2012). "As Not Seen on TV Restaurant Review: Guy's American Kitchen & Bar in Times Square". Dining/reviews. New York Times. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  13. ↑ Olmstead, Larry (5 December 2012). "Tables Turned - Top Chefs Review Pete Wells And Other Restaurant Critics". Forbes. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  14. ↑ Martin, Bradley. "The Full Menu & Prices at Guy Fieri's Vegas Kitchen & Bar". Eater. Vox Media. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
  15. ↑ "Another Star Chef Is Born". The Early Show (CBS Broadcasting, Inc.). April 26, 2006. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ Adalian, Josef (December 16, 2009). "NBC Finds Right Guy for Game Show". Thewrap.com. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  17. ↑ Special Council Packet, November 23, 2012
  18. ↑ Dish, The FN (July 29, 2011). "Rachael vs. Guy Celebrity Cook-Off: New Show Premieres This Winter". Blog.foodnetwork.com. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  19. ↑ Guy's Grocery Games: TV Listings, TV Guide, 2013
  20. ↑ "Guy Fieri on Flowmaster". Flowmaster, Inc. July 30, 2009. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  21. ↑ "Guy Fieri: TGI Friday's commercial". YouTube. March 7, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  22. ↑ "Aflac Duck Feels the Heat in New TV Commercial" (Press release). Aflac. August 16, 2010. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  23. ↑ Ridley, Jim (November 20, 2009). "Win Free Tickets to the Guy Fieri Roadshow". Nashville Scene. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  24. ↑ Stanley, John (November 10, 2009). "The Guy Fieri Road Show". Things to Do/Dining. The Arizona Republic. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  25. ↑ "2012 AC Food & Wine Festival". Event Listing. Drink NJ Shore. March 30, 2012. Retrieved November 27, 2012.
  26. ↑ "Events". South Beach Festival. 2012. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  27. ↑ Kennedy, Kelli. "CHEF ART SMITH HOSTS MASS GAY WEDDING ON MIAMI BEACH". Associated Press. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  28. 1 2 "Diners, Drive-in and Dives, An All-American Road Trip ... with Recipes!". About the Book. Harper Collins Publishers. 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  29. 1 2 "Diners, Drive-in and Dives, An All-American Road Trip ... with Recipes!". About the Book. Harper Collins Publishers. 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
  30. 1 2 "Diners, Drive-in and Dives, An All-American Road Trip ... with Recipes!". About the Book. Harper Collins Publishers. 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2011.

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