What Guy Fieri Really Eats In A Day
If you're familiar with Guy Fieri's Food Network show "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," you could be forgiven for thinking that the chef's diet consists mainly of carb-heavy, ultra-caloric meals. After all, the show often features Fieri chowing down on some seriously unhealthy dishes. Some of the craziest foods Fieri has ever eaten on the show include a burger made entirely out of bacon, a pierogi-stuffed grilled cheese sandwich, and lobster poutine. While the chef may be genuine in his praise of how tasty the dishes are, that doesn't necessarily mean he indulges in those types of dishes off-camera.
You may be surprised to hear that many of Fieri's favorite foods are lighter than you may think and much more varied than the typical greasy, meat-centric diner fare. In an interview with Today, the chef said, "While I do love great barbecue and a good burger, even on 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,' they don't represent the majority of things I try." From plant-based dishes to global cuisine, surprising seasonings, and easy-going snacks, these are some of the things Fieri really eats and drinks throughout a regular day.
Read more: The Biggest Scandals To Ever Hit The Food Network
He Starts The Day With An Americano
Like many of us, Guy Fieri starts the day with a hit of caffeine. In an interview with GQ magazine, Fieri said that he typically gets up around 6 a.m. and has an Americano. For those who aren't well-versed in different types of coffee and accompanying lingo, an Americano is simply espresso and water. Usually, the ratio is about half espresso to half water or sometimes one-third espresso to two-thirds water. According to the Courier Journal, Fieri takes his Americano with a splash of cream. We can only assume that his go-to morning beverage is from his Flavortown Roasts line.
With all the traveling he does for work and the long hours he spends filming, you might think that Fieri continues to fuel up on coffee throughout the day. That would explain the exuberance he brings to the screen. However, he's pretty conservative with his caffeine intake. As he said in the GQ interview, "I love really good coffee and I'll have a cup. I would love to have three, but that doesn't do the best for me."
He Rarely Eats Breakfast, But When He Does It's Often Ham And Grits
One thing that many people don't know about Guy Fieri is that he's not big into breakfast. That may come as a shock considering we've watched him eat some of the best breakfasts ever seen on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives." Remember that dreamy pumpkin bread French toast in Massachusetts or the divine soft shell crab benedict in Virginia Beach? Yet, the truth is the chef just isn't a fan of early-morning meals. As he told Business Insider, "I probably eat breakfast, maybe twice a month. I'm not a breakfast guy at all."
If Fieri does eat breakfast, there are only a few dishes he regularly eats in the morning. One of those is grits with ham and red-eye gravy. The chef explained to Insider that his mother is from North Carolina, so she made the dish often when he was a child. His mother also made homemade granola, so that's another go-to for him. More often than not though, he just has fresh fruit and vegetable juices. He told People magazine that he even keeps up his juice ritual while he's on the road, insisting his team drink juices as well to keep their immunity up.
He's A Huge Fan Of Salads
As you can imagine, there are only so many greasy burgers and buttery benedicts you can eat before you need to balance them out with something healthy. Luckily for Fieri, he's a huge fan of salads. In fact, healthy dishes are what Guy Fieri often eats when he's not traveling. The chef said in an interview with CBS News that he doesn't actually eat foods like fried cheeseburgers and corn dogs. He said, "Veggies are my game. Love salad. Love spaghetti squash. Love all the whole grains. Big farro fan!"
While many of the dishes on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" are far from healthy, the chef has showcased several plant-based dishes on the show. For example, he sampled vegan crunch wraps at Pingala Cafe in Vermont and lentil meatloaf at Sweet Melissa Cafe in Wyoming. He has also shared how to create several vibrant salads on his Food Network show "Guy's Big Bite," including a shaved kale and root vegetable salad and a farro salad with citrus vinaigrette.
Any Type Of Asian Food Is His Jam
Visit any of Guy Fieri's restaurants and you'll find mostly American comfort food dishes like burgers, buffalo wings, and barbecue. However, when the chef cooks at home or goes out to eat, he often opts for Asian cuisine. When chef Robert Irvine asked Fieri which food he would take with him to a desert island, Fieri said, "I'm a huge fan of Asian food. I love soy sauce, I love ginger, I love garlic, I love spice, I love fresh vegetables. I'm a huge vegetable junkie."
When it comes to Asian cuisine, Fieri and his family have pretty broad palates. He told GQ magazine that he and his sons like everything from Thai to Vietnamese, Chinese, and Korean food. He also has an affinity for sushi, telling the Tampa Bay Times that he has been eating it since he was eight years old thanks to his father's insistence that he try different foods. Whether it's raw fish, noodles, or curries, Fieri can't get enough of Asian dishes. As he told Today, "That's my jam. Anywhere. Anytime."
He Loves Brussels Sprouts
As we've already learned, Guy Fieri is a huge vegetable fan. But which veggies does he absolutely love eating and cooking with? In a 2022 interview with Business Insider, he revealed that Brussels sprouts were one of his all-time favorite veggies because they're so versatile. However, he did admit that preparation matters. He said, "I do not like boiled Brussels sprouts. You can fry them, you can grill them, you can roast them, you can shave them, you can do just about anything with them."
The celebrity chef has a number of clever ways to make Brussels sprouts more appealing. One way Fieri dresses up his roasted Brussels sprouts is with zesty lemon and Parmesan cheese. He also has a killer recipe for Brussels sprouts gratin that involves tossing the sprouts with panko, herbs, and cheese before baking them until bubbling and golden in the oven. His bumped-up Brussels sprouts are another fan-favorite dish that combines halved Brussels sprouts with pancetta, capers, pine nuts, currants, and raisins.
His Family Eats Plenty Of Plant-Based Meals
Guy Fieri is not the only one in his family who loves greens. Guy's oldest son Hunter Fieri told Mashed in an exclusive interview, "Our family was really big into being plant-based. We're not totally plant-based, but we like to indulge ourselves in it and learn about it... People think, 'Oh, well it doesn't taste as good, vegetables don't taste good like that.' It's all about how you cook it, right?"
In 2021, Hunter Fieri teamed up with plant-based pasta brand ZENB to create a documentary titled "What Plants Can Do." The documentary aimed to raise awareness about the health benefits of plant-based foods. According to Hunter, it was a partnership that his father fully supported. He explained that his aunt (Guy's sister) was vegetarian and she was the reason Fieri decided to master vegetarian food. Hunter said the Fieri family likes to offset the unhealthy foods they eat with veggies. He said, "We will indulge ourselves in the worst foods possible that you can put in your body, but we also [like] to eat salad, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts — we're super-big on that."
He Has A Love Affair With Italian Food
Fieri fans will know that the chef has Italian roots, so it makes sense that he has an affinity for Italian food. When GQ magazine asked what Guy Fieri's favorite country to eat in was, the chef said it was hands-down Italy. He explained that even a gas station sandwich would taste incredible to him in Italy. He told the magazine, "Out of all the cities, I think one of my favorites is Florence. Cacio e pepe in Rome is amazing also."
When it comes to Italian food, Fieri gravitates towards pasta. When Bon Appétit asked him what he would put on his dream dinner party menu, he cited classic pasta dishes like amatriciana and carbonara. He described his dream dish as "a really good pasta" with "small portions, nested beautifully on the plate." Surprisingly, Guy Fieri's Pizza Parlour in Hampton, Virginia is the only one of Guy's restaurants that focuses on Italian cuisine. However, that may change soon. The Columbus Dispatch reported that the chef has plans to open an Italian-American restaurant in his birthplace of Columbus, Ohio.
He Thinks Anchovies Are An Underrated Flavor Developer
Speaking of Italian cuisine, Guy Fieri has a secret ingredient that he loves to add to his Italian sauces. That sneaky addition is anchovies. He told Bon Appétit, "I am a huge anchovy fan — they are a flavor bomb that people don't play with enough. I'll drop them into tomato sauces and I won't tell anybody, and you can just watch people [enjoy the depth of flavor]." He also told the Food Network, "Anchovies don't get enough respect."
Like many chefs, Fieri uses anchovies to add a touch of salt, umami flavor, and depth to various dishes. Anchovies can be delicious in recipes like pasta sauces and salad dressings. The tiny fish are packed with Omega-3 fatty acids and Vitamin B3, making them nutritious. If you're worried that anchovies will ruin a dish by making it taste too fishy, you may find that you can't taste the seafood at all. In fact, you've probably had anchovies in foods before and not even known it. For example, Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies, and many chefs add anchovies to Caesar salad dressing.
His Favorite Snack Is Pretzels
Guy Fieri may lean towards healthier foods when he's not cruising around the country for "Triple D," but just like the rest of us, he gets snack cravings. The "Mayor of Flavortown" told Allrecipes that if he could only eat one snack for the rest of his days it would be salty pretzels. His love of pretzels goes back a long way. According to Fieri's website, "Guy began his love affair with food at the age of ten, selling soft pretzels from a three-wheeled bicycle cart he built with his father called 'The Awesome Pretzel Cart.'"
You can still visit "The Awesome Pretzel Cart" in its original hometown of Ferndale, California today, although it's no longer owned by the celebrity chef. Fieri's Cooking With Kids Foundation donated the cart to the Ferndale Elementary School eighth grade so the students could learn career skills and raise money for school trips. On a visit to his old stomping grounds, Fieri visited the cart and ordered a hot, steamed pretzel with salt and a little bit of cheese. If you can't make the trip to Ferndale to try Fieri's favorite treat, you can try making Fieri's recipe for Everything Pretzels at home.
He Loves Beef Jerky
Guy Fieri has hosted several shows on the Food Network, including the cooking competition "Guys Grocery Games." The cooking show is set in a warehouse converted into a grocery store that players have to race through to find ingredients for their dishes. On a set tour of the "Flavortown Market," Fieri revealed he hides a snack on the set of "Guy's Grocery Games." Tucked away behind the rice is Fieri's stash of beef jerky -- Oberto peppered beef jerky to be exact.
Once again, Fieri's snack cravings can be traced back to his childhood. According to the Times Standard, Fieri had an afterschool job at The Ferndale Meat Co., where he would smoke beef jerky. When Fieri heard that the building was for sale years later, he bought it, enabling the company to continue operating as it always had. Fieri seems to love supporting jerky creators. In a Facebook video posted in 2020, the chef gave a shout-out to then-11-year-old Matthew Kuplack for his Matt-Hat Jerky, which Fieri called "dynamite." The chef said, "Love to see young entrepreneurs making it happen."
He Likes A Good Glass Of Wine
When you think of Guy Fieri grabbing a drink, you might think he goes for something like Jack Daniels or tequila (which he told The Daily Beast he often does). However, he's also a lover of wine, especially if it comes from his own vineyard. In 2012, Fieri bought a five-acre vineyard in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma and started working with Guy Davis of Davis Family Vineyards to create a collection of wines for his label Hunt & Ryde. The inspiration behind the name of Fieri's winery comes from his sons, Hunter and Ryder.
Hunt & Ryde currently produces several wines, including a Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, and its signature Trophy line of blended reds. As Fieri told Wine Enthusiast, "I wanted the wine to stand on its own without my name. I wanted quality, organic, and a price that's approachable." He also told GQ magazine, "The wine will speak for itself. I want it to be appreciated." Fieri has succeeded on that front, as the wines have been very well received by experts and casual wine drinkers alike. Wine Enthusiast gave the 2013 Trophy an impressive 93 points and the Zinfandel 92 points.
Barbecue Is A Big Part Of His Life
It's no secret that Guy Fieri loves barbecue. According to Delish, he got the bug early on, receiving his first smoker at the age of 12. His dream was to compete at the American Royal World Series of Barbecue, so the young Fieri joined a barbecue boot camp. It was there that he met other barbecue enthusiasts and formed a crew named Motley 'Que. The crew cooked barbecue and competed together for years, eventually going on to win the American Royal in 2015. In 2012, Fieri was inducted into the Barbecue Hall of Fame.
Fame hasn't changed Fieri's passion for good old-fashioned 'cue. The chef still participates in barbecue events like Smokehouse cooking demos at the Stagecoach Festival of country music and his Surf & Turf BBQ competition at the Humboldt County Fair. Guy's Bar-B-Que Joint in Atlantic City showcases some of the chef's top barbecue recipes including sandwiches and platters piled high with Fieri's signature championship pork butt, barbecue beef, and Blue Ribbon chicken. And of course, you can sample Fieri's signature BBQ sauces with your meat by picking up bottles to take home.
He Loves Whipping Up Stir-Fries At Home
It's a common misconception that chefs love cooking complicated meals. While that may be the case at the workplace, many chefs prefer to cook simple, but flavorful meals at home. Guy Fieri falls in that camp. In a 2008 interview with Delish, the chef said "I'm really into stir-fries, anything that has to do with grilling and marinading. I cook one of two ways — hot and fast or low and slow."
We already know that Fieri has a penchant for Asian cuisine, so it makes sense that stir-fries would be part of his home cooking repertoire. Quick, easy, and typically requiring only a few ingredients, it's easy to see why the chef loves this casual cooking style. With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that the one food Fieri can't live without is soy sauce. The chef told Today that the condiment is an absolute must. As he explained to Business Insider, "Soy sauce is umami. It's got such depth to it." According to the interview, Fieri sometimes uses soy sauce in unexpected ways, like as a flavor blast for blanched green beans.
You'll Never Ever See Him Eating Eggs
If you've followed "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" for some time, you've probably noticed that there are very few foods that Guy Fieri just couldn't eat on the show. However, when it comes to eggs, he just can't stomach the thought of putting them in his mouth. He told MyRecipes that his aversion to eggs comes from two main events in his life. One was when he was about 10 and he opened an egg to find a wholly formed baby chicken inside. Another was when he had a badly done hard-boiled egg that he described as having a "chalky yolk."
To be fair, Fieri isn't against eggs altogether. As he explained on a Food Network Short on YouTube, "I think they're super critical for cooking, and as a matter of fact, I use them all the time. But there's just something about a scrambled egg. It just doesn't work texturally, visually... it's liquid chicken." So while you may find him using eggs for his Caesar salad dressing or Bucatini Carbonara, you won't see him eating any dishes where eggs are the main ingredient.
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