GUY’S BIG HEART: Fieri Takes Charitable Efforts “Outta Bounds”

One might argue that the sushi portion of the menu at Guy Fieri’s restaurant, Tex Wasabi’s, gives a glimpse into the persona of the celeb chef: the man digs rock music, fast cars, and sports. Hence sushi rolls named Dark Side of the Moon, The Carburetor, and The Philly Eagle Roll. But as I discovered upon chatting up the man beneath the retro bowling shirts, backward sunglasses atop trademark spiked blond hair, and menagerie of tattoos, there are more layers to the Food Network star than to the Vidalia onions used in his Beer-Battered Onion Rings.

                                  Photo: Press Democrat

Forget Matt Lauer. The real question is, Where in the world is Guy Fieri? Between his duties as host of four Food Network television shows, appearances at a barrage of festivals and events, co-owning five restaurants, being a husband, father, and active leader in his hometown of Santa Rosa, CA, the 41-year-old Fieri, who rose to media fame via his win on the second season of The Next Food Network Star has no shortage of items on his plate, be they grilled, smoked, sauteed, or flash-fried. Lucky for Hugbacker, though, we were able to snag 30 minutes of his time one morning just before he headed out to tape some voice-overs.

HB:  So you’re a tad busy these days. What’s it like when you come home in between gigs?

GF:  It’s always great, lots of activity. Being on the road half the year, coming home can be like coming into a NASCAR pit. We have the opportunity for so many things, whether requests for donations, autographs, chefs’ coats to sign, requests that come in through the website. And because I think I’m seen as such an everyday guy, I get invited to a tremendous amount of weddings and birthday parties too. It can get a bit crazy, but I always want to at least correspond in some way.

With a young fan last month at the Great American Music & Food Fest in Mountain View, CA

                       Photo: Fans of Guy Fieri

HB:  You’ve got a ton going on in terms of charitable efforts, and from what I’ve learned, you’ve been big into giving back way before the Food Network thing happened. I read somewhere that you’ve been quietly donating to the community for years.

GF:  Well you know what? I love it. If I was to the point where I didn’t have to work, philanthropy would be my biggest interest.

HB:  You’re way into it, then.

GF:  Oh yeah. I was always raised to share with others. That’s just the way my parents were–you help out. We’ve been going to Mexico as a family for years and there’s an orphanage there that my parents have been helping out for a long time. For the past couple of years I’ve been cooking a benefit dinner down there too at a local restaurant; we raised money for the school system. It’s been awesome to be able to help out.

Benefit dinner at Palapa Joe's Restaurant y Bar

Photo: Fans of Guy Fieri

HB:  So it came pretty naturally to do so when you went into business?

GF:  I moved up here [to Sonoma County] with five thousand dollars, an old car from college and a pregnant wife. We got the first restaurant going [Johnny Garlic's] and one of the first things we did was make a decision to take a charity organization and give them the night. I met with the executive director of Kid Street Theater and invited them to come in and take the place over. We invited some heavy hitters, executives, chairmen, and asked them to donate eight hours of their time to Kid Street. We’re still doing it to this day. We sponsor baseball teams, soccer teams, and do that kind of night at least once a week now, with the organization keeping 25% of the proceeds. We had a middle school cheerleading team go to the national finals. They needed to raise $14,000 in two weeks, so I told them, look, you’ve got a captive audience here. Let’s do some gift baskets, a raffle. These people are here to support you anyway–let’s make it big. People really do want to help.

Stirrin' it up on the USS Enterprise

When the Next Food Network Star contest had wrapped, but the winner hadn’t yet been announced, Fieri got together with a local DJ, Brent Farris, and organized a dinner where Fieri invited some of his fellow contestants to come out and watch the show, with people paying whatever they wanted to attend. A silent auction was added to the mix, and over $25,000 was raised, and then donated to Valley of the Moon Children’s Foundation, a nonprofit organization in Sonoma County which provides support to neglected and abused children. 

It only makes sense that the man who seems to have a built-in micro-chip for crafting unique ways to give back, would come up with a totally new twist when it came to creating a vision for his own foundation. The Guy Fieri Foundation for Inspiration and Imagination is in the initial stages, but with projects tending to flourish when Fieri throws his colossal energy and contagious spirit behind them, no doubt it’ll be a Michelin-starred endeavor. 

HB:  Tell me about your own foundation. How did you go about creating it?

GF:  We were all in Mexico–my wife, parents, sister, the whole fam–and I said, I’ve figured out what I want my foundation to be about. I want to focus on inspiration and the imagination. And I know it might throw people because it’s not your traditional-type foundation that would maybe focus on a disability. But lots of young people, even though they might not have a disability, don’t have any inspiration or imagination. Think about all the kids that just sit at home, and they might have an idea brewing or an passion for something, but for whatever reason aren’t able to explore it. Maybe their parents don’t have the interest or the money to encourage them. So that’s what we want to do–create programs to generate opportunities for them, so they can go after it. We want to empower them, get them thinking outside the box. We’ve got big aspirations for it; we want to target NASCAR and get a lot of others involved.

Speaking of NASCAR, Fieri sponsored the Tommy Baldwin Racing car at Indy last weekend. His "Knuckle Sandwich" brand's logo adorns the hood.

 Photo: Brickyard 400

HB:  You were involved with the inauguration of Cook With Your Kids Day, [as recognized by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger this past May]. What was that experience like?

GF:  Man, it was amazing, and truly a gateway for the foundation. It’s about letting kids make decisions, having them do something with their enthusiasm. It’s a straight-up initiative now, the second Saturday in May is Cook With Your Kids day. Let’s take it national.

HB:  Segueing into kids–yours–how do you and your wife balance all the craziness? Your schedule’s insane. [Fieri and wife Lori have two sons; Hunter, 13, and Ryder, 3.]

GF:  Well, let’s see. Okay, my analogy of the whole thing would be to compare it to an engine: both take timing, compression, balance…there’s this whole ballet, if you will. This whole thing has been like a synchronized blessing–one I never could’ve planned.

At "We Garden," the first edible garden at a state capitol. The food will be donated to the Sacramento Food Bank.

Photo: Wyatt Buchanan/SF Chronicle

HB:  And you’re passing it on to others, which is what it’s all about.

GF:  That’s it, you know? There’s nothing greater than to be able to provide. I’m so fortunate–family, career, the best friends in the world–I might as well do everything I can to perpetuate it. Plant some seeds.   

It was an absolute pleasure chatting with the larger-than-life chef, not to mention tons of fun. (Fun? Chatting with Guy Fieri? Go figure…) There’s SO much more that the man has brewing–great stuff involving kids, cooking, his foundation, and more. Check back to keep updated on this philanthropic rockstar’s efforts.

Rockstars of kitchen and stage: Fieri with pal Sammy Hagar

 Photo: Wireimage

And how better to end than with a clip from Guy’s hit show, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. For those of you who’ve never seen it, we invite you to climb out from under your rock and watch Guy in action as he rolls into town and shakes up a local eatery.