You gotta have freakin' cojones to shove sheep testicles in your mouth. But what about a
burger with a secret sauce of peanut butter? From slimy brains and eggs to feet and guts,
the Mayor of Flavortown can't stomach these funkadelic favs.
"If that isn't heaven, I don't know what is." "We definitely celebrate different gods."
Kicking off the list of things Guy Fieri wouldn't touch with a 50-foot pole,
is eggs. Anyone who's followed his career knows that the protein-packed food inspires
some very bad feelings for Flavortown's head honcho. During Season 14 of "Diners,
Drive-Ins, and Dives," his aversion took center stage when Pizzeria Lola crafted its signature
Sunny Side Pizza — a white-sauce pie topped with two wobbling eggs. To nobody's surprise,
Fieri took a hard pass on those runny yolks. Until he kind of didn't.
"Everybody knows in Triple D world, I don't like eggs. But I will actually have to say, this—"
"Pretty darn good, right?" "That's pretty dynamite."
There are a few anecdotes that explain his hatred of the kitchen staple. In 2018, he recalled a
childhood memory of cracking open an egg to find a fully-formed chicken. He told Extra Crispy,
"I came to a very clear understanding of how chickens grow—when we opened the egg."
But what actually turned him off for good was an overcooked hard-boiled egg,
which smelled bad and tasted of what he called, "chalky yolk."
In general, Fieri isn't a tough egg to crack when it comes to his culinary tastes. He's a sucker for
old-fashioned barbecue, burgers, and Asian fusion like sushi burritos. But when it comes down to it,
eggs cooked in any form will send him screeching down the highway in his cherry-red Camaro.
Fieri's whirlwind
travels have taken him to plenty of down-home diners over the years,
where they sling waffles and bacon straight from the griddle. He's even gorged on a monster-sized
breakfast burrito and pancakes made with mac and cheese and hot dogs. So would it shock anyone to
discover that when the cameras stop rolling, the TV chef isn't big on breakfast. And he usually
skips the early-riser meal altogether. As he plainly stated to Insider in 2021,
"I'm not a breakfast guy at all."
"The only thing that I don't like about this bagel, is that one quarter of it is already gone."
Part of why the first meal of the day doesn't jive
with him probably has more to do with his lifestyle. He explained to Extra Crispy,
"I'm pretty high-energy and I'm on the go,
so usually by the time my feet hit the floor, I'm out and going."
For the record, we should probably clarify that Fieri doesn't hate all breakfast all the time.
According to Insider, he might sit down for a morning meal a couple times a month. And when
the hunger hits, he'll spring for something meaty and savory. His top choices? Old-school
grits or ham bathed in red-eye gravy — a hearty sauce made of pork drippings and black coffee.
Fieri's generous appetite
comes to another screeching halt when faced with liver. Although it's known for its nutrition,
Fieri has no love for it, having called it "nasty" in the past, according to Cheat
Sheet. But his distaste achieves superhuman levels when the meat is done up as liver and onions. It
doesn't even seem that he would eat it if his life depended on it. He told The Daily Beast in 2018,
"The kryptonite of me and food is liver and onions. I can't even be in the same room."
"Wanna go celebrate? I feel like liver and onions."
Fieri's repulsion isn't unique. According to Forbes, many Americans are haunted by
this typically gray, dreary meal. And pop-culture references abound, featuring
the dish as a mealtime punishment. To put a little emphasis on the matter, Fieri claimed,
"You could hide keys to a free Ferrari under liver and onions and I wouldn't be driving it."
"Gonna have some pigs' feet on Triple D."
Keep in mind that Fieri has chowed down on a variety of
polarizing foods — notably grasshopper tacos and pig's feet. So to refuse a
luxury sports car because of a dish speaks volumes. As far as we can tell,
the Triple D crew has never featured this retro entree…and we imagine they probably never will.
In a Reddit
thread discussing Fieri's tastes, one user brought up an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins,
and Dives" noting the time Fieri, quote, "reluctantly tried chitterlings and said he
absolutely hated them." It was a reference to the 2016 feature on Cora Faye's Cafe;
a Denver soul food stop specializing in catfish, oxtails, rabbit, and chitterlings. Also commonly
called "chitlins," they're a staple in Southern restaurants. Essentially they're slow-simmered,
seasoned pig intestines, with an unmistakable fragrance.
"You smell the aroma?" "Come on over here so you can see what I'm doing."
Truthfully, chitlins got a little too real for Fieri. During the segment,
the chef's yuck factor was turned all the way up,
with Fieri shifting between mock enthusiasm and sheer revulsion every step of the way.
After a tasting — with a splash of hot sauce — his final verdict left a lot to be desired.
"Wow! I bet that's an acquired taste." "It is!"
Considering the restaurant sells out of the iconic dish every week,
according to owner Priscilla Smith, it appears Fieri remains the odd one out, chitlin-wise.
As any Triple D fan knows, Fieri is all about the comfort food. And those greasy,
carb-heavy bites never fail to get the host coming back for more. Burgers, in particular, seem to be
one of his top temptations. So could there be a burger Fieri would just outright detest? Well,
Triple XXX Family Restaurant in Indiana did the unthinkable with one of their customer favorites.
We're talking about their Duane Purvis All-American Burger,
named after the college football star of the Purdue Boilermakers. It's a cheeseburger,
topped with lettuce, tomato, and onions. And its special sauce? A generous helping
of peanut butter. Fieri tried the dish in 2007 and he didn't hold back on his initial thoughts.
"I absolutely don't enjoy that at all. That's — I want to go home."
Fieri gave another peanut butter burger a shot in Season 31,
and — surprise! — he still wasn't a fan. Frankly,
the only conclusion here is that Fieri simply isn't nuts about this combo. Or is he?
"I see what everybody likes about the peanut butter burger. Maybe it just took
me some time. Hey Triple XXX team, I'll come back. I'll try the burger again, alright?"
Whether it's a juicy
cutlet or slow-cooked carnitas nachos, Fieri is unapologetically team pork. But that doesn't mean
every pig-centric dish will have him squealing for more. The chef did a double-take when he sampled
the stuff at The Dining Car in Philadelphia. For those not in the know, scrapple typically
incorporates pork scraps and grains into a loaf that's traditionally fried on the stove.
But which "pork scraps" you ask? Well, any of the trimmings left behind, such as tendons, limbs,
organs, and skin. It's a regional culinary tradition that Taste noted is rooted in
resourceful cooking, going back to the colonial period. And, of course, using what's available,
and making the most out of it, is definitely trending in today's farm-to-table fixation.
As the dude who once ate a pig ear sandwich as well as pigs' feet — and raved about both — it's
not like Fieri won't give bizarre bites a fair shake. But he couldn't help hesitating as he
stuck a piece in his mouth. Locals give it high praise, but even that wasn't enough to convince
the host who was probably wishing for a slice of honey-baked ham to wash the scrapple down.
"That's funkadelic, man."
If you're noticing a pattern
in Fieri's dietary habits, then you're right on the money. He doesn't exactly have the stomach
for animal entrails, no matter if they're grilled, fried, or dunked in Donkey Sauce. And menudo — a
Mexican soup that features beef tripe as its star ingredient — proved to be no exception.
As we've all witnessed, any footage of Fieri being greeted with animal
guts always has him reeling. Take the episode "Like Mama Made" when he stopped
by a gas station Mexican dive in Phoenix called Roberto's. The joint's chimichangas
and carne asada are staples in Fieri's wheelhouse. But the moment that tripe hit
the pot for a fresh batch of menudo, Fieri was sweating bullets. He finally admitted,
"I'm scared of the tripe."
When the brothy blend was ready to eat, he literally counted to 3 before spooning it into his
mouth and then chasing it with a soft tortilla. Of course, locals have been simmering in tripe
soup for their entire lives. And they describe the staple as a so-called "get well" remedy since it's
believed to be a common cure for hangovers. Still — judging by the grimace on Fieri's
face — he's probably more of a coffee and carbs kind of guy, the morning after a long night out.
These things boast one heck
of a notorious reputation for packing the heat. Ghost peppers are so hot, in fact, that they've
managed to brand themselves as one of the hottest chili peppers on the planet. They even landed a
top-10 spot on PepperHead and left many scorched tongues along the way. And as brutal as the bite,
Fieri hasn't been immune from these pungent spice bombs. As multiple episodes of Triple D
have shown us, when the host bites off more than he can chew, he always leaves everyone sweating.
In the Season 14 episode "Dynamic Dishes", just a touch of ghost pepper-infused hot sauce from
a Jamaican restaurant made the chef sink his teeth into a pineapple to cool off his mouth.
"That's a lot better now. It's gonna be fine."
Another time that season, he dunked his face into dressing and milk after eating Smalley's
Caribbean Barbecue's fear-inducing "Triple 6 Wings." As fans watched
the restaurant prepare it, the chicken wings were doused in a fiery red sauce,
soaking up the unholy trinity of hot peppers: ghost pepper, scotch bonnets,
and habaneros. It was essentially what the devil himself probably drinks on a chill day off.
Of course, we're not saying the Mayor of Flavortown can't handle heat. Because he's
certainly held his own just fine during a visit to "The Hot Ones," which is probably
the best method for testing one's limits. But, despite his will to survive the pepper fire,
if Fieri's craving a little kick, he'll most likely be passing on the ghost pepper salsa.
OK, yes,
Fieri has an impressively varied palate. And, yes, he is usually game for sampling a
local culinary delight. But, that being said, some foods go so far beyond the pale that he
flat-out refuses to eat it. A user on Reddit commented on Fieri's horror at the Scottish
delicacy that was prepared during a Season 13 visit to Mac's Fish & Chip Shop, noting,
"Guy was visibly squeamish over watching someone make Haggis for him to try."
"Haggis!" "I'm scared."
Despite the rich historical background of the dish, there's no question haggis is deeply
polarizing to diners all around the world. For starters, it contains sheep offal — y'know,
the leftover odd bits — which basically already disqualifies it from even touching Fieri's plate.
But the real kicker here is the presentation. The beige mix of ground sheep innards,
which are cooked with suet and oats, are traditionally housed inside the animal's
stomach. And it ends up looking like an egg-shaped pouch twist-tied at both
ends. Regardless of the modernized deep frying treatment this dish got at Mac's,
the failure of haggis to catch on in the U.S. is probably due to the ongoing ban
on imported sheep lungs that's been in effect since the '70s, according to Food Navigator.
But honestly, any one of the traits we mentioned make it an acquired taste.
"Is it as crazy and scary as I thought it was
gonna be? No. Will it be fun to have Hunter try it? Yes."
Having witnessed plenty of uncomfortable moments on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," Fieri
encountering Haggis has to be one for the books. He's practically wincing as the camera pans over
to the gray mush falling from the meat grinder. And his misery is all of our sheer delight.
Finally, the mother lode of
all inedible foods! Out of all the odd bites Fieri's attempted to shove down his gullet,
there's one that takes the cake for the most stomach-turning thing he's ever had to swallow.
It really makes the rest of our list look like child's play. Two words, friends: Cow brains.
Fieri's worst nightmare came to life as part of the Season 7 episode "Blast From The Past," in
which the chef stopped by Oklahoma's oldest-known restaurant, Cattlemen's Steakhouse. At first,
the historic eatery showed promise as a guaranteed Fieri-approved spot. Broiled
chunks of beef and a lively staff are two things he can never resist. But the tone
quickly shifted once the owners cooked their celebrity visitor a special breakfast. We
already know his feelings on breakfast. And eggs. And they served him a hearty egg scramble with
fried minced cow brains. Because we weren't yet sure about his feelings on cow brains.
"I don't like eggs. And I don't like brains. I definitely don't like egg and brain."
Fieri has played up being grossed out for the cameras whenever he's hesitated to taste something
strange. But in this case, he was visibly repulsed by the sight of the "brain matter."
"Mind over matter, right? Gah! I don't want to do it!"
He then frantically washed it down with what was later revealed to be
lamb testicles. It's hard to point a finger to what's worse: The fact that Fieri ate cow
brains at all? Or that he poked around the eggs so his fork wouldn't come into contact
with the scramble. No matter what the meal, the chaos is pure Flavortown entertainment.