The Mayor of Flavortown has come a long way over the course of his career.
Food Network star Guy Fieri has been the go-to source for good food for years now.
Let's take a look back at how Fieri has transformed from ages 10 to 53.
Long before Guy Fieri ever found himself in Flavortown, he was a 10-year-old on a family
trip to Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
While his family was busy skiing, he was busy hanging around a nearby salted pretzel cart
— and that's when his love for food began.
Fieri explained to the popular food podcast, The Sporkful with Dan Pashman,
"I ate one and I just — I mean the doughiness and the chewiness.
I'd never seen anything like this."
Fieri knew he needed to bring this delicious idea back home with him, so, as soon as his
trip ended, he opened his own cart called The Awesome Pretzel.
It ended up being super successful, but at just 10 years old, Fieri wasn't thinking about
the business aspect of running a pretzel cart.
As he told The Sporkful, he was thinking like a typical kid, meaning "unlimited pretzels."
Yet, these flavors always stuck with Fieri.
Over the next few years, he saved up all his money from selling salted pretzels to attend
school in France, where he studied all sorts of foods.
When he returned to the states, Fieri was determined to make his mark on the restaurant
industry.
By age 28, he opened his first restaurant in California called Johnny Garlic's — and
to think that it all started with a successful pretzel stand.
If Guy Fieri had never fallen in love with food, he never would have found his wife,
Lori.
How they met is a pretty interesting story, too.
Fieri was working at a restaurant in Long Beach, California, when a former employee
walked in.
She had just been let go, and she had brought along a friend to help defend her.
Fieri told Delish that the blonde hair and blue eyed friend of his former employee was
giving him a, quote, "mean mug."
The two got to talking, however, and a much different kind of spark started to fly.
She was just passing through the city on her way to San Diego, California, but never made
it there.
Though her friend never got her job back, Fieri tied the knot with the blonde hair and
blue eyed woman in 1995.
However, he and his new wife Lori decided to change their last name to something completely
new.
Instead of taking his original last name of "Ferry," they opted to stick with his grandfather's
last name "Fieri."
According to Vulture, his Italian grandfather had changed it when he immigrated to the U.S.
In 1996, Fieri became a first-time restaurant owner and a first-time father.
By 2005, he had to balance his time between two babies — Hunter and Ryder — and the
busy restaurant business.
Eventually, Fieri even found himself on the Senate floor to combine his love for food
and family.
In the state of California, every second Saturday in May is officially Cooking with Your Kids
Day.
Fieri told OC Family,
"My kids are my life.
That's the foundation of it all."
Fieri's kids obviously know how to cook, but this celebrity chef has since started an entire
foundation to inspire other kids to get into the kitchen, too.
Now, his oldest son aspires to become a chef just like his dad.
Hunter Fieri told Delish,
"Cooking is what it is.
It's what I do.
It's what we all do."
If there's one thing Guy Fieri is known for — aside from food, of course — it's his
bleached blond hair.
However, few know that Fieri's spiky strands were a complete accident.
It all started with Fieri's fellow employee, who had hoped to go from cutting vegetables
to cutting hair.
Fieri happened to be the one sitting in her chair one day when he told her she could cut
his hair any way she liked.
As Fieri explained to Delish,
"When we get done, I asked, 'When are you going to wash the shampoo out?'
She said, 'What shampoo?
That's your new hair color!
I am rarely speechless, but I was speechless then."
While he had always been used to dark hair, Fieri opted to embrace his new look — and
the rest, as they say, is Food Network history.
Before appearing on the Food Network, Fieri had to fight his way there.
In 2006, he earned himself a spot on the reality competition series The Next Food Network Star.
While it's any chef's dream to become an on-camera cook, Fieri surprisingly wasn't even excited
about doing the show at first — especially after seeing all of his competitors who were
culinary school graduates.
Though he, himself, was a successful restaurant owner, he didn't have much confidence in himself
when it came to competing on TV.
Fieri admitted to BookPage,
"I had no interest.
Go on national TV and lose?"
However, he didn't lose.
Fieri found himself in first place, beating out all of his opponents and landing himself
a permanent place on the iconic network.
Looking back, he never thought he would make it that far in the competition.
In true Fieri fashion, he figured he would just enjoy the experience and maybe even get
to, quote, "hang out with Bobby Flay," as he told BookPage.
Are we really surprised?
The very same year that Fieri won The Next Food Network Star, he debuted his first-ever
series on the network.
Guy's Big Bite gave viewers a glimpse into Fieri's larger-than-life personality, blond
hair, and flavorful meals, as well as his determination to make it big — considering
he had never been trained to be on TV.
Fieri told the Food Network,
"You may make a huge mistake, say a stupid thing [...] I mean, someone walks right in
front of the screen, right in front of the camera, just keep going.
[...] And that’s proven to be really true in all my adventures that I’ve had is don’t
burn tape."
Though he was paid less than $1,000 per episode to start, the show ended up lasting 19 seasons.
Fieri had quickly developed a fan base.
Fieri's agent, Jason Hodes, told The Hollywood Reporter,
"We built a five-year plan for him, and he blew through it in, like, three.
He's a true household name, just one that people can't seem to pronounce correctly."
While Guy Fieri's first series on the Food Network was wildly successful, nothing seemed
to prepare him for the level of fame he reached from Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.
The series follows Fieri as he drives around the continent, searching for the very best
places to eat.
Fieri, himself, hand selects every restaurant and every meal, and he's not afraid to give
his honest opinion.
"Trust me, if I don't like it, you don't see it.
There's been locations we've walked out of.
There's been locations we've never aired."
This foodie is all about gaining fans' trust — and he certainly has.
Not only has the series made him a star, but he's also helped these small restaurants make
it big.
Griffin Bufkin — whose restaurant appeared on Season 9 — told Thrillist,
"[Fieri] told us to be ready for a 200% increase in business.
Believe it or not, that's what happened.
And it really hasn't stopped ever since."
Many fans refer to this as the Fieri Effect.
"Triple D," as the series is known to fans, has now aired for over a decade, and it sounds
like it won't be ending anytime soon.
Fieri told People,
"I'm going to do a lot of these shows.
I'll be in a walker.
They'll be getting me out of the senior citizen van, but I'll still be doing it."
Every celebrity chef has their own cookbook, and Guy Fieri added himself to this list in
2011.
His first book — appropriately titled Guy Fieri Food — is full of humor, tons of flavor,
and even his own original recipes.
Fieri told BookPage,
"I just opened up my Rolodex to the 150 recipes that I've been cooking at home and this is
what you get."
Fans of Fieri could probably all agree that 150 recipes isn't enough.
Luckily, the famous chef has since released five more cookbooks, and his most recent one
— called Guy Fieri Family Food — is the most special.
"It's about my kids, and it's about food — my things I love the most."
While Fieri has many more recipes to share, his fans probably won't be seeing them anytime
soon.
After releasing this sixth cookbook about his family, he's hoping to spend more time
with them instead.
"If this was the last book, I would be content.
This is it.
This was the book."
After years of working in the food industry and on television, Guy Fieri was ready to
give back.
Over the years, fans have seen Fieri return to work with chefs on the series that catapulted
his career, The Next Food Network Star.
However, in 2017, he decided to take this one step further and create yet another series
to help find a Food Network host that could tour the country just like him — and that's
when Guy's Big Project was born.
Throughout his time working on The Next Food Network Star, Fieri had started noticing that
talented chefs had no idea how to be on TV.
On this new show, he hoped to help teach them the skills they needed as TV stars so they
would be able to follow their dreams of being on the Food Network.
Fieri told PopSugar,
"I'm creating, developing, mentoring.
It's the same thing we do in the restaurants."
Though his series only lasted one season, he helped his show's winner, Rashad Jones,
jumpstart his own culinary career on-screen.
Fieri told PopSugar,
"I love to see the success of people.
That's why we do 'Triple D.' It's not about me.
I'm just the messenger.
These great people are out there."
Few Food Network stars have a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
However, Guy Fieri does.
In 2019, Fieri became the third chef to land their own famed star.
Though he was able to join the ranks of Bobby Flay and Wolfgang Puck, there was another
star — Fieri's good friend Matthew McConaughey — who joined him on the special occasion.
According to the Food Network, their friendship started a few years beforehand.
McConaughey was on a road trip around the U.S. and needed some advice about where to
eat.
Seeing as Fieri had spent over a decade of his life eating at the best ones, the actor
called the celebrity chef to see where he should stop — and the two haven't stopped
talking since.
"You really haven't changed who you are."
"And in a business where you can be anyone you want to be, you've been you."
Fieri thanked his family, who were standing beside him for support, at the ceremony, but
there were still others who were just as important to him during his TV journey.
Fieri made sure to tell everyone in attendance that day,
"Thank you to the residents of Flavortown."
Guy Fieri has done some philanthropic work over the years by bringing attention to small
mom and pop shops on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, but that was really only the beginning
for the celebrity chef.
In addition to family and flavorful food, philanthropic work is actually one of the
most important parts of Fieri's life.
During an interview with Thrillist, Fieiri had this to say:
"People ask me, 'If you weren't doing this, and when you get finished what will you do?'
Doing charity for others, giving back to communities."
Over the course of his career, Fieri has partnered many times with the Make-A-Wish Foundation
— an organization that has a personal connection to this TV personality.
Fieri's sister had been diagnosed with cancer as a kid and was in and out of hospitals throughout
her entire life.
Fieri explained to Thrillist,
"I was doing Make-A-Wish Foundation because I remember what it's like to be in a hospital
with her."
Ever since, he's made it his priority to visit pediatric patients across the country.
Some have even made it their wish to meet Fieri, and it's a responsibility he doesn't
take lightly.
Even though Fieri has now found fame and fortune on the Food Network, his philanthropic work
will always be what he's most proud of.
Fieri told Thrillist,
"It's my actual favorite thing about my career."
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