Despite Guy Fieri's son's easy access to the world of celebrity chefs, he doesn't like to
use his dad's connections to succeed. Instead, he emulates Guy's discipline and hard work to achieve
his goals in the food industry. Let's look at what Hunter Fieri has been up to since graduation.
Hunter told the New York Post,
"My dad taught me at a very young age how to use a knife.
He had me cooking at five years old, cutting onions for him."
Thankfully, Hunter managed to avoid chopping his fingers off and has continued wielding
knives and caramelizing onions since those early days as a child prodigy. In fact,
that was just the beginning of his culinary education.
When Hunter was in elementary school, Guy decided that the days of cooking his son breakfast before
school were over. Instead, Guy taught Hunter how to make delicious breakfasts himself,
ensuring that at least once a day, Hunter would spend some quality time in the kitchen,
preparing a dish for the most important meal of the day. Hunter continued,
"He taught me how to make a French toast sandwich
and put cream cheese and sliced strawberries in the middle."
"And the great thing about this is the kids made it themselves."
It took a while for Hunter to warm to the chef's knife. As a child,
his dream was to ride dirt bikes in Supercross competitions,
not sear steak on hot pans. Hunter was an avid motocross rider in his teenage years, and he
and his dad could be found outside in the dirt instead of their current hangout: the kitchen.
However, as Hunter grew up, he turned to cooking more and more,
eventually choosing to study hospitality in college. With his Supercross days behind him,
he's putting all his energy into the culinary world.
When Hunter was just 13 years old, he joined his dad for dinner at the White
House. Although Guy and his son weren't dining with the Obamas, the Fieri's were
there to share their culinary prowess with the then-sitting president and his family.
Guy was invited to cook a private meal for the White House during Obama's first
term in 2010. Instead of going solo, he brought Hunter along with him.
With Hunter by his side,
Guy cooked the Obamas the BLT spinoff from his cookbook, using duck instead of bacon.
When Hunter graduated from high school in 2015, he and his dad set off on the adventure
of a lifetime. The pair spent a month traveling through Europe together, tasting local cuisines
and learning about food and history. They went to 13 different cities across Europe. The pair drank
cappuccinos in Rome and ate croissants in Paris — Guy even managed to visit a gyro joint in Athens.
According to Delish, the Fieris had been planning
Hunter's post-high school celebration long in advance. According to Guy,
"We'd been talking about it for years, since he was in elementary school."
The trip was filmed by Food Network for
an exclusive series called Guy & Hunter's European Vacation.
Hunter described the trip as "one of the best experiences" he's had ever had with his father,
and he said his knowledge of food and cooking expanded exponentially. The pair were planning to
set out again, this time to Asia, but their trip was put on hold when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
Several years after a young Guy Fieri could be found barbecuing
in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas dorm parking lot,
he dropped his son off at the same campus to begin his studies in the hospitality program.
Guy apparently didn't want to push his son in any particular direction, and Hunter chose UNLV
on his own, thanks to the school's acclaimed hospitality program. Hunter told the school,
"That's what I'm interested in, so coming here was a smart choice for
me — not to mention the fact that Las Vegas offers endless opportunities to
learn, gain experience, and succeed in the industry."
Hunter graduated in December 2019, and while his plans were somewhat upended by
the coronavirus pandemic, he has managed to do just fine,
appearing on new "takeout" editions of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with his dad by his side.
It would be easy for Hunter to use his dad's fame to his advantage. But both Guy and his
son are adamant about Hunter's self-sufficiency. Hunter started out at the bottom of the service
industry food chain, just like anyone. He spent nights washing dishes and working his
way up to cooking on the line until he was running sauté on Saturday nights like a pro.
And even with all of Guy's connections in the world of culinary celebrities,
Hunter made a name for himself without his dad's help.
After Hunter graduated from UNLV, he's been at his dad's side shooting first Diners, Drive-Ins,
and Dives and then Guy's Grocery Games. A new season of the latter Fieri show, a grocery
store competition, airs a new socially distanced season in October. Hunter and his dad cheer on the
contestants from afar, video chatting with them while they come up with creative meals based on
each episode's challenge and the corresponding basket of food they receive. Right now,
the Fieris are practicing safe social distancing from their home in Santa Rosa, California.
Though Hunter may have had other plans after graduating from UNLV,
the coronavirus pandemic limited his options. But Hunter is excited nonetheless to focus
his attention on "expand[ing] the Flavortown horizon" with his dad.
"Five F's: Well, Food, Friends, Family, Football,
and there's one more…" "And Flavortown, of course."
Big dreams for the future
Though Hunter Fieri is serving as his dad's sidekick right now, he doesn't plan to cook
in Guy's shadow forever. His father is both a friend and a huge inspiration to Hunter,
and Hunter wants to follow in his footsteps — and beyond. Hunter told NY Post,
"My dad opened his first restaurant when he was 28. It's crazy. I want to have the most
knowledge that I can before I go and open a personal restaurant like that."
The Prince of Flavortown is taking his time after completing his degree,
exploring the culinary world as much as he can and following his father's advice: "Keep working,
and keep your head up high. And learn everything you can." As Hunter tells himself:
"Don't be Guy Fieri's son. Be Hunter Fieri. Show them what you've got."
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