[Music]
thousands of eateries around the country
would kill for the opportunity to appear
on diners drive-ins and dives but those
that make the cut have strict guidelines
to follow
here are some of the rules restaurants
have to follow on the hit reality show
hey i'm guy fieri and you know what i
need i need you riding shotgun
i'm on my way to flavor town this is
diners
drive-ins and dives the production team
at diners drive-ins and dives gets
restaurant referrals from a variety of
sources
many people submit ideas directly to the
show and the producers also do an
extensive amount of research
reading local media customer reviews and
more guy fieri once told people magazine
our research team is like i think they
all work for the fbi that's the kind of
group they are
after a restaurant has caught the eye of
the triple d team then the hard work
starts
hours-long phone calls take place to see
if the restaurant is the right fit for
the show
a colorado restaurant that was featured
in season 11 told thrillist
the show reached out to us and we
basically had to sell them on our place
over the course of a few weeks
according to restaurant owners who spoke
to twin cities business after being
approached by diners drive-ins and dives
the businesses had to send all kinds of
pictures of their establishment and
their food along with recipes and
ingredient lists
one restaurant owner who was selected
for the show said they had to submit
half a dozen recipes for fiery and his
team to review
and it's important to note that all this
pitching goes on before the restaurants
ever have a guarantee
of whether or not they will even make it
on the show diners drivings and dives
may be about showcasing the more low-key
under the radar dining establishments
around the country but the flavors they
are looking for are anything but when
the team is combing through dozens and
dozens of restaurants in any given city
trying to narrow it down to just a few
the bar has to be set high
according to david page the creator and
former executive producer of triple d
the producers heavily got the quality of
food at each restaurant they consider
featuring he told heavy table
every place we go has to make real food
and it has to be good enough
the first rule that restaurants have to
follow on the show is that frozen food
will never cut it
page reiterated this has to be handmade
food it better be done from scratch
it better be made right and it better be
good paige also admitted that there have
even been situations where the crew
arrived at a location
and then cancelled their plans because
in his words the key to the show is that
they have to meet that bar
if that is in heaven i don't know what
is we definitely celebrate different
gods
after months of phone calls research and
recipe testing restaurants still won't
know if they made it onto diners
drive-ins and dives until they get the
stamp of approval that matters
and that's guy fieri's everything has to
go through him from the locations to the
restaurants to the specific dishes that
will be featured on the show according
to thrillist
i'm always looking for great restaurants
i'm always on the hunt additionally
things can change up until the last
minute if that's what fiery wants one
restaurant owner in st paul told twin
cities business
i think we cooked every item on the menu
three times with guy he wanted to try
everything on the menu just about then
they decided what to feature
another restaurant owner from wilmington
delaware told a similar story revealing
to town square delaware
the idea looked at the menu and decided
what he wanted to have he picked two
items i would not have predicted
but he loved them if you're going to be
featured on diners drive-ins and dives
you'll be showcasing a lot more than
just some ingredients on a plate the
show is also looking to tell engaging
stories that highlight small town spirit
and american work ethic and that takes a
lot of work to develop for tv
that means that each restaurant triple d
considers has to have some kind of
interesting backstory
how they came about why they're
important to the community or what
they're doing differently from everybody
else
the show's producers and writers work
with each restaurant to hone in on what
their story is
and how to script it for the cameras a
lot of people don't understand the j28
july 28th is for that independence day
yeah and we opened on july 28 also
so it's not just great food it's
peruvian pride the owners of cafe nooner
in eureka california shared a peek at
that process
detailing their experience being
featured on diners drivings and dives on
their website they wrote that during the
screening phase the producers asked them
who the main character for their episode
was going to be
along with a series of questions to make
sure that person could talk about their
food and their restaurant in an engaging
way
the moment a restaurant agrees to be
featured on the show they're agreeing to
pivot on a moment's notice around the
show's production schedule
the businesses don't get any say in the
filming dates but rather are told by the
show when to close up shop and prepare
for the crew's arrival and sometimes
that comes with really short notice
when cafe nooner got the call that
they'd been selected to be on the show
they were told they had six days to get
the restaurant ready for filming
after being told to expect at least a
month's notice and in wilmington
delaware
the owner of one restaurant learned she
was going to be featured just over a
week before the crew showed up according
to town square delaware once the crew
arrives it's a tight schedule of filming
for about two days
the first day cameras capture the
atmosphere of the restaurant plus all
those mouth-watering close-ups and
beauty shots of the food
at some point on day two the eddie
himself shows up and films his kitchen
segment with the chef
as well as his interviews with diners in
the restaurant producer david page
explained to heavy table that the tight
schedule is necessary when the crew
arrives in any given city they're
usually there to shoot several different
restaurants for different episodes of
triple d
making an appearance on diners drive-ins
and dives is a once-in-a-lifetime
experience for independent restaurant
owners to get their name out there
so the stakes are high to present their
business proudly and whip up the best
plate of food they've ever made for guy
fieri and a big part of that is being
prepared producers of triple d require
that restaurants have their kitchens
prepped and ready to go before filming
begins
and definitely before fiety arrives that
means having all the ingredients laid
out and ready to go
after that the cameras start rolling
capturing the cooking process
and beautiful plated up dishes sometimes
multiple times that's right restaurants
also need to have their kitchens prepped
for making multiple rounds of the same
menu items
just to make sure the cameras catch
every angle of the food if you don't get
it right the first time
you need a fresh plate of food to
reshoot with much of the charm of diners
drive-ins and dives comes from fiery
spike tipped larger than life
personality and predictably
unpredictable zingers
okay cradle it
[Music]
you want me to cradle these buns cradle
the buns and that's part of the magic of
the show
fieri rolls in the kitchen bringing
totally authentic excitement and energy
into the scene in a mostly unscripted
fashion
going off script may be part of fiati's
job but for everyone else there's a
meticulous plan of action that has to be
followed
and it's a big secret to the show's
success for the restaurant staff
staying on script is absolutely key if
they want to see their episode make it
to air the flow of the episode is
scripted out well in advance
so in order to get the story right
everyone has to stick to the plan
according to heavy table triple d's
intense filming schedule is also to
blame as the crew spends a full day
shooting footage of the cooking and
plating process for each dish then fieri
shows
up the next day to reshoot the whole
process with the restaurant chef finally
the editors take all that footage and
weave it together into the finished
episode we see on tv
so it's crucial that all the food
footage is consistent no matter which
day it was shot on
if fans knew that guy fieri was about to
roll up to their favorite local
restaurant many would probably be
running to snap a selfie but in order to
limit the potential chaos and make room
for a full crew and a bunch of filming
equipment
restaurants are told right up front that
a condition of getting featured on
diners drive-ins and dives is closing up
shop for a few days during the shooting
process
now if you're thinking about all those
happy diners you see in every triple d
episode there's an explanation for that
they're all genuine fans of the food but
for the most part consist of family
friends and a few loyal customers who
are specifically invited by the
restaurants to be a part of the filming
according to people magazine getting the
chance to appear on the show is pretty
much guaranteed to bring in some serious
publicity
and customers for any restaurant the
rigorous production process is almost
like an investment for future success
on top of that being on the show
requires a financial investment as well
restaurants don't get paid to appear on
diners drive-ins and dives
and they don't get paid or reimbursed
for all the ingredients used during
filming
for some restaurants the costs really
add up as some have to spend money
fixing up and preparing their restaurant
for the cameras
the owners of cafe nooner mention the
rush to paint the inside and outside of
their restaurant plus replacing fixtures
removing equipment and more
there's also the added cost of lost
business from spending several days
clothes for filming
several restaurant owners who spoke to
twin cities business about their
experience on triple d
said the overall costs were as high as
fifteen thousand dollars between wasted
food product and cleaning costs in the
end though if the yeti is promising a
200
increase in business thanks to the show
those expenses will all be worth it
obviously getting to be featured on
diners drive-ins and dives is a major
opportunity for any chef
imagine the feeling of putting your
heart and soul into a dish and having
fiery call it funkalicious but as
tempting as it may be to try and put as
many dishes as possible in front of
fiati when you get the chance chefs have
to resist the urge
for one the host isn't interested in
extra meals which makes sense when he's
about to chow down for the cameras
fieri has confessed that on filming days
the only thing he consumes is fruit and
veggie juice and it's not just him
aspietti says he brings a juicer on the
road
and makes everybody drink up to boost
immunity among the whole hardworking
crew according to people
it's also worth noting that the
restaurant owners and chefs on diners
drive-ins and dives
likely won't even get much face time
with vietti himself until the cameras
are rolling
according to the show's executive
producer this is a production trick
designed to keep everything as authentic
as possible for the cameras
being considered for diners drive-ins
and dives brings excitement anticipation
stress long days and lots of fun but
unfortunately
restaurants aren't allowed to share that
excitement with many people until it's
all said and done
during the interview and production
process restaurants are asked to sign
strict confidentiality agreements they
can't let the public know they were
chosen for the show
and if word does get out they aren't
allowed to spell any specific details
about the filming schedule
after the diners drive-ins and dives
crew has come and gone the waiting game
begins
restaurants are told they'll be notified
about 30 days before their episode is
set to air on food network but it can be
several months after filming before that
time comes
of course once the secret is out the
real whirlwind begins
as one restaurant owner explained to
thrillist it changes your life
immediately
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[Music]
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