Celebrity chef Guy Fieri, best-selling author of six cookbooks, the iconic host of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives, host of Guy’s Grocery Games, which just aired its 250th episode, with his name attached to nearly 20 eating establishments across the world, none of it would matter if he couldn’t share his success with his wife Lori, whom he’s been married to since 1995, and their two sons, Hunter and Ryder. The former Minute to Win It host even had his entire family join him on the road to film Food Network’s 2017 mini-series, Guy’s Family Road Trip.
While Fieri’s New York City restaurant, Guy’s American Kitchen & Bar, shut down in 2017, and he sold all his stock in Johnny’s Garlic to his former business partner, the Season 2 winner of The Next Food Network Star is still thriving with his numerous other eateries across the nation, including Guy Fieri’s Chophouse in Atlantic City, Guy Fieri’s El Burro Burracho in Las Vegas, and he recently teamed up with Planet Hollywood to open Chicken Guy in Disney World, a restaurant that serves an array of grilled and fried chicken options with 22 sauce options, which will soon be opening more locations.
While Fieri’s career is “crackalackin” as he would say, he always looks forward to coming home to Santa Rosa, California, not only to see his family, but also because it’s near his Sonoma Valley vineyard, Hunt & Ryde, which he named after his two kids. So, what does the family eat when the get together for dinner? And which of his sons is already on his way to becoming the next Mayor of Flavortown?
Here’s what you need to know about Guy Fieri’s family:
1. The Family Doesn’t Just Eat French Fries & Donkey Sauce
While talking with USA TODAY about what he eats when home with his family Fieri said, “We indulge from time to time but for the most part, we eat well-balanced, often very plant-based meals.”
Of course, his kids love pizza and chicken wings, but with a world famous chef as their father, even his youngest son Ryder has developed a broad palate. “He’s become a great eater and is as down with sushi as he is a burger. People always have a tough time getting their kids to eat the right foods and, under duress, they cave and feed them junk.”
Guy Fieri and son Ryder
In order to get children to eat healthy, Fieri insists the trick is getting them involved in the cooking process. “But don’t give them the tedious gigs like chopping onions,” he said. “Give them something fun, like stirring the pot or, if appropriate, flipping the burgers.”
2. Guy Named his Vineyard, Hunt & Ryde, After His Sons.
While the Diner, Drive-ins and Dives host may not seem like a wine aficionado, he opened up a winery near his family home in Santa Rosa, California, and named it after his two sons. “I wanted the wine to stand on its own without my name,” Fieri explained, to Wine Enthusiast in 2017. “I wanted quality, organic, and a price that’s approachable. If you can give something like that to your kids – God’s not making any more land in the Russian River -it’s a legacy they can have.” AKA “heirloom sh*t,” as he described it to GQ.
When Fieri bought the five-acre Pinot Noir vineyard in Sonoma Valley, he worked with vintner Guy Davis to utilize organic farming methods. “This isn’t juice that somebody else made that we just put in a bottle and put my name on it, which a lot of people do,” Fieri said. Hunt & Ryde Winery sells varieties of “bomb-ass Pinot” which range in price from $50 to $100, and though he said back in 2015 that he wanted to sell sparkling wine, because “sparkling’s sexy,” there are currently no bubbly wines for sale on their site.
3. Hunter is Following in His Father’s Food Network Footsteps
Fieri’s oldest son follows his father everywhere, which understandable when your dad is sitting court side at NBA games, presenting at the NASCAR Awards in Las Vegas, or hitting the VIP area of Coachella, but Hunter has also followed his dad onto the Food Network cameras. The 22-year-old recently helped judge Winner Cake All with the Season 6 winner of Next Food Network Star, Aarti Sequeira, and he’s both guest hosted and judged on Guy’s Grocery Games. “I want to follow in the same path because I feel like I can kill it with that,” Hunter said. “I want to open my own restaurants… to have things that I created and things my dad created, and run this empire.”
While growing up Hunter wanted to be a Supercross racer, he eventually found his way into the kitchen, and started at the bottom, washing dishes at Johnny Garlic’s. But he has goals as big and high as his confidence levels. “I want the restaurants and the shows and the cookbooks — and more. I have to one-up dad, of course,” Hunter said.
Guy Fieri and Hunter Fieri attend TAO Group’s Big Game Takeover
In addition to appearing with the family in Guy’s Family Road Trip, he was aptly dubbed “The Guy of the Future” by delish. He studied college at UNLV, his father’s alma mater, which has one of the top-ranked hospitality programs in America, and interned with Caesar’s group, where his Dad’s famous chef friends like Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, and Gordon Ramsay all have restaurants.
4. Fieri Has a Tattoo of His Little Sister Who Died of Cancer in 2010
Heavy via AOlLGuy’s tattoo honoring his sister
On the bottom side of his heavily inked left arm, Fieri has a tattoo that says ‘namaste’ written around the drawing of a red-headed woman, which he told delish is a tribute to his late sister, Morgan. “My little sister died of cancer eight years and three days ago. It was terrible. It was the worst thing. She’d always say that — namaste – and I never understood it until her passing… Namaste means ‘the god in me sees the god in you.’ There’s different ways people say it, but the way I recognize it is acknowledging the power in somebody.”
As for the picture of the woman, reminiscent of Botticelli’s iconic The Birth of Venus he said, “I got this tattoo with her name on it because this keeps her with me every day. Then I can talk about her. People ask me, ‘What’s that tattoo?’ ‘Oh, that’s my sister, Morgan.”
5. Guy Gets Creative With Leftovers Just Like Any Other Working Dad
While the Food Network star may seem like he’s gone Hollywood, the cookbook author hangs out on the sidelines with the New England Patriots, and performs cooking demonstrations with rapper Snoop Dogg, he’s still views himself as a working Dad who needs to feed his family.
“Repurposing leftovers is a fundamental, economical and time-saving way to cook because it makes the most of your food money and time in the kitchen,” Fieri said, “and in my house, it helps keep the peace when I’m on the road. I try to be home with Lori and Ryder on weekends, but during the week I’m often traveling. I don’t like to leave them high and dry to cook from scratch every night I’m gone. So on the weekend, I’ll cook up a meal with dishes that can be easily turned into other stuff later in the week.”