Did you know that before he was the mayor of Flavortown,
Guy Fieri was just another struggling TV chef with a failed cooking show?
It was called Guy Off the Hook. Keep watching for why Food Network canceled it.
Live cooking shows have always held a special place in pop culture, dating all the way back
to Julia Child on The French Chef throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The genre has certainly evolved
over time, but the general formula mostly remains the same: a talented chef and/or
television personality cooks a meal step-by-step, explaining the process in an entertaining way.
"It's not one of our better examples of crepes. So I think I'll take it out and say goodbye."
Most people don't have the time to buy every single ingredient for gourmet meals,
nor the cash for some of the high-end appliances used by cooking show hosts.
However, these shows remain popular because everyone loves good food and a lot of people
can relate to cooking. From that perspective, the idea for Guy
Off the Hook as the "edgy" cooking show for a new generation makes sense. Putting Fieri
in front of a live studio audience feels like a perfect fit given his outgoing personality,
and his over-the-top approach would presumably flip the genre on its head.
As good as it looked on paper, Guy Off the Hook never made it beyond a six-episode run
in 2008. The food offerings on the show ring true to the Fieri brand,
and are similar to some of the California cuisine seen on his other Food Network shows
like Guy's Big Bite and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Perhaps as a bit of foreshadowing,
there was even an episode titled "Downhome Diner" that gave some insight into some of
Fieri's favorite spins on diner classics like pretzel-crusted chicken tenders,
mac 'n cheese layered with bacon, and a boozy Tennessee Lemonade.
Other episodes included Fieri's take on classic Mexican dishes, New Orleans-style Sloshed Shrimp,
and of course the "Guystro Pub" where we got a taste of what Fieri would do
with classic pub grub. But while the world was deprived of potential future recipes,
staging a set and live audience can incur a ton of extra fees on a studio. And if ratings
aren't getting the bump to justify the costs, it's not surprising to see the show get the ax.
Barely a year before Guy Off the Hook premiered, the Food Network's previous top live cooking
show had already been canceled. The massively successful Emeril Live with chef Emeril Lagasse
ran a decade prior, reinvigorating the Food Network and live cooking
entertainment in general. Like Fieri, the chef-catchphrases were a huge part of pop
culture, and his big personality drew thousands of fans with every episode.
"Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!"
But entertainment trends were moving in a different direction. In an excerpt from his book,
From Scratch: Inside the Food Network, Allen Salkin explored how changes in leadership and
television production in general shaped the future of the network. After hiring outside consultants,
the network found that many viewers were growing less interested in
"dump and stir" cooking shows in favor of the more reality,
on-the-road location focused premises networks like TLC and the Travel Channel were exploring.
With that in mind, it's surprising something like Guy Off the Hook was ever greenlit
in the first place. But it also opened the doorway for new faces to step in and make
a name for themselves on the network, and for a show like Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives to thrive.
Fieri wasn't always the mayor of Flavortown. It's important to remember that at the time
of Guy Off the Hook's 2008 premiere, Fieri was only two years removed from his winning season
on The Next Food Network Star. He simply didn't have the same star power he has now.
It seems at that time, the Food Network was trying a lot of different styles of shows and seemingly
plugged Fieri into a few different hosting roles for the chef to find his TV star rhythm.
Fieri was also well into his career as a chef and business owner before getting into TV. He's talked
about how joining entertainment a little later in life allowed him to stay true to himself.
"Delicious. Captain and a chef? C'mon."
Fieri told Business Insider:
"Getting the opportunity to do television, I thought, 'you know what, I don't know
how long this is going to last, I'm going to appreciate every moment and take it responsibly
and respectfully, while staying grounded to my family and true to what I want and believe in.'"
However, Guy Off the Hook premiered on the heels of the success of Guy's Big Bite inaugural run
in 2006. So it's just as likely that the live studio audience set-up just wasn't working.
It's hard to feel sorry about Guy Off the Hook's cancellation for too long,
given the absolutely insane run Fieri has had on the Food Network. Between Diners,
Drive-ins and Dives and Guy's Big Bite, Fieri has more than cemented his place in
America's food culture. Even GQ can't ignore the simple pleasures of watching Fieri on Triple D
crisscross the country in his vintage Camaro as he highlights local eateries and bold dishes.
And he's also hosted close to a dozen other spinoffs and limited series.
There are a few shows that pit Fieri and Rachael Ray against each other, where both
chefs coach teams of celebrities and children in competition-based cooking. Other competition-style
shows show Fieri searching for the next great culinary host in Guy's Big Project, putting
popular chefs through a bracket-based tournament in Tournament of Champions, and combining cooking
with extreme games in Guy's Grocery Games. Even for Fieri, that's a lot of content!
Just because the classic cooking show format isn't exactly what it once was,
doesn't mean there isn't any room for some innovation or a little splash of Flavortown.
Outside of live event appearances, there's Guy's Ranch Kitchen, where Fieri definitely dips into
"dump and stir" territory, but without the live studio audience. Instead, he meets up
with other celebrity chef friends as they just kind of hang out and try to out-cook each other.
Fieri even participated in a live cooking competition that aired on Facebook in May 2020.
Fieri and his son, Hunter, faced off against Bill Murray and his restaurateur son, Homer
for bragging rights of the best signature nacho recipe. The Nacho Average Showdown was judged by
Shaquille O'Neal and Terry Crews and helped raise $11,000 for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund.
Of course, the Fieris emerged as the big winners –- clearly in more ways than one.
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