When he's not managing Flavortown's affairs, you might find Guy Fieri making knives, petting goats, or inventing holidays. Just don't be surprised if he's eating healthy while he's at it.
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00:00When he's not managing Flavortown's affairs, you might find Guy Fieri making knives,
00:04petting goats, or inventing holidays. Just don't be surprised if he's eating healthy while he's
00:09at it. Some people are born to do a job, but Guy Fieri was practically born doing his.
00:14At just 12 years old, he entered the food service industry by way of a cart he called
00:19Awesome Pretzels. When Fieri's father noticed how much his son spent on pretzels,
00:23he encouraged Guy to turn his love for the snack into a business.
00:26Gung-ho on the idea, the future TV host staked out a pretzel shop's dumpster,
00:31found a box from their supplier, and started ordering his own bulk pretzels. Before long,
00:35he was selling pretzels at events in and around his home of Humboldt County, California.
00:39And despite the incredible places his career has taken him since, Fieri's carried a piece of this
00:44childhood venture with him. In 2011, he spearheaded the Pretzel Cart Project, where he partners with
00:49nonprofit organizations to pair kids with mentors and set them up with their own pretzel carts.
00:54Working these carts equips kids with skills ranging from business strategy to food safety,
00:58things that Fieri clearly benefited from learning at a young age.
01:02These kids are becoming career-ready, learning how things work.
01:06They've learned salesmanship skills, marketing."
01:10Food isn't Fieri's only childhood passion, to leave a lasting impression.
01:13At 10 years old, he was preparing for an upcoming horse show when the steed he was riding tripped.
01:18He was ejected from the saddle and then stepped on by the horse. While Fieri's horse instructor
01:23got him to the hospital, his parents were in Europe and unable to give the doctor permission
01:26to treat him. He ultimately needed a court order just to get an operation. While he made a full
01:31recovery, that accident left him with a visible scar down the front of his torso and plenty of
01:36bad memories. It turns out the rodeo is no friend to Fieri — he also broke his wrist in a bull
01:42riding accident. And while the bucking horse left its mark, his bull riding days live on
01:46in the mechanical bull in the Guy Fieri's Kitchen & Bar located in Pretoria, South Africa.
01:51We just hope patrons who climb aboard have better luck than young Guy.
01:55If there's one thing Guy Fieri loves more than food, it's helping others.
01:59He started a company where he hires everybody. He pays more than minimum wage.
02:04He gives health benefits before he has to."
02:07Speaking with Robert Irvine Magazine, Fieri explained that his altruism came from his
02:11parents and said,
02:12"...as soon as you get a chance to recognize how lucky you are. Now is the time to start to
02:15recognize how unfortunate a lot of other folks are, and it's time to help."
02:19He's taken those words to heart. Through the Guy Fieri Foundation alone,
02:23the magnanimous mayor of Flavortown has helped feed disaster relief workers,
02:27educate aspiring chefs, feed military veterans,
02:30and promote child literacy near his home in Sonoma County, California.
02:34It's not just Fieri's foundation that does the good work — he officiated wedding ceremonies
02:38for 101 same-sex Florida couples just weeks after the state made it legal.
02:42He's also worked extensively with the Make-A-Wish Foundation and raised a
02:45collective $25 million to help restaurant workers recover financially from COVID-19.
02:51Fieri knows a thing or two about business. In addition to his many shows, he has a winery,
02:55a tequila brand, a cigar brand, and restaurants around the world.
02:58So it doesn't take a mathematician to surmise that thousands of people are on the frosted-tipped
03:04chef's payroll. And despite the size of his brand, those who work directly for him get
03:08genuine opportunities to climb the ladder. Entry-level employees move up the ranks fast.
03:12To Fieri, it's not unheard of for someone to jump from the bottom rung of his company to
03:16a prestigious chef position in as quickly as a year.
03:19When you start opening things up for people and you give them a chance,
03:24you never know what people are going to become."
03:26He likens his workplace to a football team. A punt kicker may not play a huge number of minutes,
03:31but a good kick will make every other player's job easier.
03:34In short, if you work for Fieri, you're not a subordinate — you're a teammate.
03:38When he's not running his empire, Fieri is probably raising his family. He's
03:42the father to two sons, Hunter and Ryder, and the legal guardian of his late sister's son,
03:46Jules. It's easy to call celebrity children nepo-babies and assume they're set for life,
03:51but Fieri does not intend to just hand over his business to the next generation.
03:55"'None of this that I've been building are you gonna get,
03:59unless you come and take it from me.'"
04:01At minimum, Guy expects each of his kids to earn a post-graduate degree, much to Ryder's chagrin.
04:07And he's like,
04:07"'Dad, this is so unfair. I haven't even gone to college yet,
04:10and you're already pushing that I gotta get an MBA.'"
04:13For his part, Jules entered a post-graduate entertainment law program at Loyola Marymount
04:17University. And if anyone is going to come after Dad's legacy, it looks like Hunter has the leg up.
04:22He's already begun working in food media.
04:25No one could contest that Guy Fieri goes big, and his Sonoma home is certainly a testament to that.
04:30A guest on Fieri's property can expect to see a large garage filled with high-end cars,
04:34a functional basketball court, and a home gym — and don't get us started on the pets.
04:39In addition to peacocks and a tortoise named Pops, Fieri estimates that he has a grand total
04:43of 500 goats. But rest assured, his furry friends don't get any more of a free ride
04:48than his sons. They're responsible for keeping the weeds on his property in check.
04:52Guy's love for animals extends far beyond his own. In September 2024,
04:56three goats were stolen from an employee who lived nearby. Sympathetic to his fellow goat owner,
05:00Fieri shared details of the theft on social media. The goats were recovered not long after.
05:06One look at the red 1968 Camaro Fieri drives on Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives will tell you
05:11he's a car guy. In particular, he loves old collectible models. He's also extremely proud
05:16of his very first hot rod, a vintage 1971 Chevrolet Chevelle. But Fieri's interest in
05:22relics doesn't stop at cars. He's also a history buff and loves collecting big antiques. His home
05:27is a veritable museum of interesting artifacts, many of which are housed in a restored barn
05:32originally hand-built by a California gold miner. In there, you'll find old pinball machines and a
05:37complete 1800s bar he had shipped to his home from Pennsylvania. If all goes well,
05:41maybe one of his button-downs will wind up on someone else's memorabilia wall this time next
05:46century. Fieri isn't exactly known for sharing his political views, but he has been vocal about his
05:51belief in environmental sustainability. As Drew McGarry wrote for GQ in 2015,
05:56he'll talk about putting his hands in the soil and making a connection with
05:59the land and keeping lost arts alive. Every fifth word out of his mouth is sustainable.
06:04Fieri is anti-hunting, an active composter, and a fan of natural European winemaking.
06:09Once again, these philosophies seem to be inherited from his folks, whom he's described as
06:14hippies. As usual, Fieri puts his money where his mouth is by running an organic farming operation
06:19for his own winery. In 2022, he also made a sizable business investment to help fund
06:23PATH, a bottled water brand that utilizes reusable metal bottles.
06:28Lots of people eat like it's their job, but Fieri eats because it's his job. And while the sorts of
06:34dishes he showcases on the Food Network can be pretty decadent, that doesn't mean he lives off
06:38red meat and grease. He actually told CBS News,
06:41"[Veggies are my game. Love salad. Love spaghetti squash. Love all the whole grains. Big farro fan."
06:46Fieri's appreciation for leafy greens was once again influenced by his parents,
06:50who he said enjoy macrobiotic cooking. And just because he shows off a lot of fried
06:54fare on TV doesn't mean Fieri opts for it day in, day out. In fact, he tries to limit carbs and
07:00meat when he's not filming, and told GQ that frying something takes away from the flavor.
07:04So the attention he does bring to greasy diners and their ilk is meant to spotlight small
07:09businesses, not clog arteries. He explained,
07:12"[A lot of these mom-and-pop joints are the fabric of the community. You know,
07:15these are places the kids got jobs. These are places where you got engaged.
07:19These are places where you had your great memories."
07:22Entrepreneur, father, chef, and bull rider are all words to describe Guy Fieri,
07:27but apparently you can count casual blacksmith among those titles as well.
07:31Fieri told Graham Bensinger that his uncle's work as a blacksmith caused him to maintain a
07:35longtime interest in the trade himself. When he has the time, he crafts knives in his own
07:39personal blacksmith shop. Fieri also told Variety in 2022 that he was in the process
07:44of building a leather shop. Like blacksmithing, leather work runs in the family. His parents
07:49once worked in a Ferndale, California leather shop before operating a saddlery.
07:54"...but I love making stuff with my hands. And I love
07:57knives. I love equipment. I love tools."
08:00Teaching kids to cook is a non-negotiable for Fieri. In fact, he's so passionate about getting
08:04kids in the kitchen that he involved the California state government. Thanks to his
08:08efforts, the second Saturday in May in the state is now officially recognized as Cooking With Your
08:13Kids Day. That legislation passed in 2009 with the proclamation delivered by none other than
08:18governator Arnold Schwarzenegger. He wrote,
08:21"...one of our most key responsibilities is to ensure that our children grow up happy and healthy.
08:26It is vital that we give them the care and guidance that they need,
08:29as well the skills that will help them succeed."
08:31A few years later, Fieri attempted to expand the bounds of Cooking With Your Kids Day from
08:35once a year to every Sunday. And while the state senate approved the resolution,
08:39this second initiative was determined to be fiscally unfeasible. The expansion was ultimately
08:44shot down, but getting a holiday on the calendar is one leg up Fieri will always have over Gordon
08:49Ramsay. For about as long as he's been cooking, Fieri has been barbecuing meat. He told Delish
08:55that after first experimenting with a smoker at 12, he got interested in competing at the annual
08:59American Royal Barbecue Competition in Kansas City, Missouri. Fieri described the contest
09:04as the Super Bowl of barbecue, and he worked hard to prepare for it. He enrolled in a boot
09:09camp led by former American Royal winner Lola Rice. There, he formed a team, the Motley Cue,
09:15and the group started competing together. They ended up winning the American Royal in 2011,
09:20and just one year later, Fieri was added to their barbecue Hall of Fame. While his first place
09:24probably informed his Hall of Fame induction, it's worth noting that he was inducted in the
09:28Celebrity Humanitarian category, so his accomplishments in media and philanthropy
09:33were also celebrated by the award.