Graduate degrees, pickleball, and taking over an empire. As Guy's oldest son, Hunter Fieri has some pretty big shoes to fill — but he's proving to be so much more than just the Prince of Flavortown.
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00:00Graduate degrees, pickleball, and taking over an empire.
00:04As Guy's oldest son, Hunter Fieri has some pretty big shoes to fill,
00:08but he's proving to be so much more than just the Prince of Flavortown.
00:12Hunter Fieri didn't jump into the foodie world completely untrained. Just like his father,
00:16he graduated from the Hospitality Management Program at the University of Nevada Las Vegas.
00:21He told UNLV,
00:22"...coming here was a smart choice for me, not to mention the fact that Las Vegas offers endless
00:26opportunities to learn, gain experience, and succeed in the industry."
00:30"...so he's a jack of all trades."
00:32Like a lot of hospitality students, Hunter did some on-the-job training during his studies,
00:36and spent some time interning for Caesars Entertainment. He also managed to negotiate
00:40an opportunity to train with Gordon Ramsay in London. The idea was that he would experience
00:44life in fine dining, thus balancing out the lessons he'd learned working in the fast-casual
00:48environment of his dad's restaurants. This ultimately fell through due to a complication
00:52with the Study Abroad Program credits. While the offer still stood post-graduation,
00:56Hunter is yet to hop across the pond to learn from the famously loudmouthed chef.
01:00Once Hunter graduated from UNLV, he decided to continue his education. In February 2024,
01:06Guy revealed that his eldest son was in the middle of a master's degree at the University of Miami.
01:11While he didn't say what his son was studying,
01:13Guy did make it pretty clear why Hunter's back in college. As he explained to Fox News,
01:17both of his sons have been told that if they want to inherit the Flavortown fortune,
01:21they need to work for it. He told the outlet,
01:23"'Told them the same thing my dad told me. My dad says,
01:27when I die, you can expect that I'm gonna die broke, and you're gonna be paying for the funeral."
01:32These comments caused quite a wave, so Guy later clarified what he meant,
01:35telling Entertainment Tonight,
01:36"'I told them, if these guys want it, they gotta give me two degrees,
01:40two post-grad, and then they can go after it. But they're gonna run this show. I will be out,
01:44folks.'"
01:44While Hunter has expressed doubt that his dad will ever actually retire,
01:47there are definitely much worse ways to motivate your kids to pursue higher education.
01:52Hunter met his now-partner, Tara Bernstein, at the 2023 Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
01:57He was there helping his father host his Flavortown tailgate outside State Farm Stadium.
02:01The two first met when Tara started dancing on stage and asked a random person behind her to
02:06film her having fun. This person ended up being Hunter. While they didn't exchange numbers,
02:10they both happened to hit up the concession stand once the game had started.
02:13The two recognized each other, started talking, and just didn't stop.
02:17Hunter told People magazine,
02:19"'Next thing we know, the game's over. We missed the halftime.'"
02:22Nine months later, the pair were engaged. Hunter's father later joked to People,
02:26"'Come to Guy's Flavortown tailgate and meet your life partner. It's Hunter's love story.'"
02:30While the nuptials aren't set to take place until June of 2025,
02:33the happy couple hosted an engagement celebration in June 2024,
02:37with all their friends and family in attendance. Hunter's father unsurprisingly had something to
02:41say at the event. The Fieri patriarch gave a speech celebrating the pair's relationship
02:45and praising his future daughter-in-law, telling Bernstein,
02:48"'You dream things up, and we love to think big,
02:50but I haven't met too many people who think bigger than us.'"
02:53The chef also revealed to People that the wedding will take place on the Fieri family
02:57ranch in Northern California, and that Hunter wants him to officiate the wedding.
03:00This wouldn't be Fieri's first time marrying a couple. He famously officiated 101 weddings
03:05on Miami Beach in 2015 to celebrate Florida's legalization of gay marriage.
03:10Hunter, however, has stressed that he wants his father to be able to relax and enjoy the day,
03:14so who knows what role Guy will ultimately have in the celebration.
03:17One thing's for sure, the catering is sure to be top tier.
03:21While Hunter was at the Super Bowl for food, his future fiancée was there for the sports.
03:25Bernstein is a professional pickleball player and content creator, who was invited to the
03:29Super Bowl by her sponsor, Franklin Sports. In an interview with People, Bernstein raved
03:34about the sport, saying,
03:35"'It's such a beautiful, all-inclusive sport that anyone could play. It's my passion.'"
03:39He may not be going pro anytime soon, but the sport has definitely rubbed off on Hunter, too.
03:44On his Instagram page, there's nearly as much pickleball content as food.
03:48Hunter and Bernstein have even hosted a handful of pickleball tournaments,
03:51including a Celebrity Chef Tournament at 2024's South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
03:55The duo also held a pickleball-themed engagement party in New York's Central
03:59Park — complete with custom-made rackets emblazoned with,
04:02"'Tara and Hunter, teammates for life.'"
04:04The Fieri brand isn't exactly synonymous with health food, which is what makes it so surprising
04:09that Hunter is an ambassador for the plant-based pasta brand, Zenby. In his role for the brand,
04:13Hunter shares tips for making your life more sustainable, and showcases easy recipes for
04:18tasty, meat-free dishes. When he first partnered with Zenby back in 2021,
04:22Hunter filmed a 12-minute documentary with the brand. In it, Hunter visited a farm in
04:26North Dakota to explore how eating more plant-based foods is good for us and for the planet.
04:30Hunter told Green Matters at the time,
04:32"'I was stoked to collaborate and help tell their story. I want to raise awareness of
04:36the vital yet simple way our planet provides everything we need to fuel our bodies.'"
04:41It's a really cool experience to learn and see what food does to our body."
04:45The documentary marked Hunter's first official solo project, and managed to both demonstrate
04:50his chops as an on-screen personality and add a new, greener dimension to the Fieri name.
04:55Guy Fieri is well-known for his philanthropic work,
04:57having founded his own charity, the Guy Fieri Foundation. On the foundation's website,
05:01the celebrity chef said,
05:03"'I was raised that you always help your community,
05:05and you always help people that need help, and you participate. You got to be an active member.'
05:09This is an ethos that he's passed on to his kids,
05:12with Hunter praising his father's work to People magazine. He told the outlet in 2022,
05:16"'Seeing how much he cares and how, even though he is so busy all the time,
05:20he focuses a lot of effort on doing fundraisers. It's eye-opening to me.'"
05:24Unsurprisingly, you can often find him by his dad's side at charity events. Back in 2018,
05:28Hunter and Guy provided meals to both firefighters and victims during a devastating series of
05:33wildfires. Hunter also chipped in to provide meals for athletes and volunteers at a special
05:37Olympics event at his younger brother Ryder's school. The event also raised money for communities
05:42in need. Most memorably, however, Hunter and his dad went head-to-head with Bill Murray and
05:46his son in a virtual nacho-making competition in 2020. The event aimed to generate funds for
05:51the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund, which was created by Guy to support the food industry
05:55during the COVID-19 pandemic.
05:57Beyond cooking and charitable causes, Hunter has made no secret of the fact that he loves
06:02spending time with his father. He told People,
06:04"[He's a great father. He's taught me so much, and he continues to teach me every day.
06:08He doesn't act like a celebrity. He's just a family man."
06:11The duo share a love for fishing and hiking. They can do a lot of both at the family's
06:15Northern California ranch, but have also traveled all the way to Alaska to fish for
06:19Hunter's birthday in 2019. Father and son also share a more daring side. A year before their
06:24Alaskan adventure, they visited the Bahamas to film the Shark Week special Guy Fieri's
06:28Feeding Frenzy. On the special, they performed a 6,000-foot dive into shark-infested waters,
06:33and with no cage in sight.
06:36Worst case scenario, you could die."
06:37The Fieri family has lived in Northern California's Sonoma County since 1996,
06:41so it seemed inevitable that one day they would dip into the celebrity wine business.
06:45That day came in 2015, when Guy launched his own wine label, Hunt & Ride, which took inspiration
06:50from the names of his two sons. In recent years, Hunter's role has expanded from namesake to an
06:55ambassador for the brand. While many of Guy's restaurants have offered the wine in the past,
06:59some non-affiliated restaurants have recently introduced Hunt & Ride to their menus.
07:03Hunter has even done meet-and-greets and tastings at some of these restaurants to promote the brand.
07:08We're selling some Hunt & Ride wine."
07:11But this is more than just a picture-and-autograph kind of setup. Hunter has his own strong opinions
07:15on Hunt & Ride's offerings, and seems to genuinely love the brand. As he previously
07:20told the Business Journal, he's a big fan of their Chardonnay despite not being a big
07:24Chardonnay drinker himself.
07:26It's crisp, it's fruity, it's light, and you get a little hint of oak in there. It's very delicious."
07:34He's equally big on the 2020 Red Blend, which he said goes great with everything.
07:39Hunter is truly primed to take over the Fieri empire,
07:41and is open about the fact that he hopes to one day front his own TV show.
07:45He's my right-hand man."
07:47He's also said that the steps he's taken so far, like his college, degrees,
07:50and appearances on his dad's shows, are part of a bigger plan to make it in the big leagues.
07:54He told People in 2022,
07:56"[I want to get into that realm of walking outside of my dad's shadow.
07:59We're working our way towards that. Ultimately, that's the goal here."
08:02While Hunter will always be a Fieri, he hopes to be known as more than just his father's son.
08:07But in the meantime, he's just making the most of the lessons and opportunities that
08:10come with the connection. As he told Mashed,
08:13"[He's bringing me into all these different aspects of his business to learn and to one
08:16day take it over. I'm trying to really involve myself in all the projects that I can be in."
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