Monday, August 31, 2009

The Guy Fieri brand is "the real deal"

Guy Fieri is his own brand; he's just calling it "Knuckle Sandwich." Witness the Knuckle Sandwich products available on GuyFieri.com, the Knuckle Sandwich Ergo Chef knives, the Knuckle Sandwich NASCAR and the upcoming Knuckle Sandwich road show.

I asked and received permission from Blaine Parker, who runs Slow Burn Marketing, to re-publish his newsletter on branding (the corporate kind; not the cow kind). Read the full article here.

—————————————

SEARING WHITE HOT BRAND

Sunday afternoon, I stumbled upon a Food Network series that tells the stories of their TV personalities.

The episode in question was about the life and career of Guy Fieri.

What came out of that program was a striking lesson in brand authenticity.

If you’re not sure who Guy is, you may have seen him hosting one of the single most popular shows on the Food Network, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He’s a loud, happy, joking guy with spiky blond hair, a goatee, and a fondness for wrap-around sunglasses, bowling shirts and bling.

Guy’s own cooking is wild. His Johnny Garlic Pasta Grill restaurants offer a bold and brash menu of items like deep-fried artichoke hearts, Cajun chicken Alfredo, and Lava Shrimp Sautee. His Tex Wasabi’s Sushi BBQ restaurants are as twisted as it gets, ranging from ribs & steak to nigiri & maki to items like the Jackass Roll, which is a rice & tapioca paper sushi roll of barbecued pulled pork, French fries, and avocado with a garlic chili mayo sauce.

A JACKASS CASH COW

Of all the celebrity chefs who populate the Food Network’s programming, Guy Fieri is the one whom you’re most likely to want to sit down and have a beer with.

That, or you find him the most infuriating.

Guy Fieri’s brand simply isn’t for everyone.

But the thing that’s really stunning about Guy is that his brand is The Real Deal.

He is not a manufactured personality. He isn’t the product of executive consultation. He is exactly who he appears to be: a tattooed nutcase with a kitchen ladle.

His menus reflect that.

And his personality permeates everything about the Guy Fieri brand.

AUTHENTICITY IS KING

Previously, we’ve talked about how important brand is to even the smallest business. Knowing who you are and how you’re going to convey that to your public is key.

So many small businesses, especially in radio advertising where so many of us live, have no brand identity.

They think because they have a logo or a jingle or a lame slogan, they have a brand.

“For all your widget needs” is not a brand. It’s lazy, sloppy thinking.

A brand is huge.

A brand is who you are and what you mean to people.

In the case of Guy Fieri, the brand is a crazy guy with a nutty sense of humor who feeds people in a fun, bold and flavorful way.

GUY FIERI REALLY IS THE GREAT OZ

That’s why he’s such a great example of branding: the wild and crazy restaurant brands of Johnny Garlic and Tex Wasabi would be forced and inauthentic and probably not too successful–if there weren’t an equally wild and crazy man behind them.

When Dorothy & Toto pulled back the curtain, they found a pathetic old man pulling levers and blowing smoke.

You pull back the curtain at Johnny Garlic’s, and there’s a wackjob whose flames are even bigger than in the kitchen.

That’s not to say every business owner is Mr. Toad, and every business’s brand needs to be his Wild Ride. That would be silly.

The point is that every small business brand is in some way a reflection of the business owner’s personality–and that personality typically infuses everything that happens in the business.

...

EVERY SMALL BUSINESS HAS A BRAND WAITING TO BE UNCOVERED

...

(The brand is) always going to start with the business owner.

That individual’s personality is the core of the brand.

How they run the company, what they choose to sell, how they treat their customers, their philosophy on life–everything about all those business choices is the basis for brand. That, and the kind of person the business owner is. These are gold.

ACTUAL GOLD–NOT FOOL’S GOLD

These are not things you can fake.

These are the essential components to brand authenticity.

And they MUST be found before any truly effective advertising campaign can take place.

....

Brand is essential, authenticity is king, and you can take that to the bank wrapped in a Tex Wasabi Jackass Roll.

As always,

Blaine Parker
Your Short, Fat Creative Director in
Park City

—————————————

Related Posts:
Rock Fantasies, Pork Promos, Ribbon Cutting and Cook with your Kids
Will the real Guy Fieri please Twitter
Critique of TGIF tie-in with Food Network and URS-2

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Moroccan the Kazbah (GI0604H) with video

Guy's Big Bite - Moroccan the Kazbah - Aired: 8/30/09

At Guy Fieri's place, when the Kasbah's a-rockin', you better come a-knockin'! Swing by today and get a taste of Guy's smoky grilled lamb chops with herb-loaded charmoula sauce. Also up for grabs: a caramelized artichoke, onion, and potato hash fragrant with garlic, and thick-rolled, flaky Baklava Cigars with a spicy honey syrup only Guy could dream up.

Grilled Lamb Chops with Charmoula - recipe



Artichoke, Onion, and Potato Hash - recipe

Baklava Cigars - recipe

Keywords:
lamb, Charmoula, fingerling potatoes, cipollini onions, artichokes, walnuts, pecans, phyllo pastry, almonds

Related Guy Fieri Recipes:
Main dishes with lamb
Side dishes with potatoes
Desserts

-> more on Guy's Big Bite <-

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Guy Fieri sightings in New York last week

Guy Fieri just finished wrapping up a long trip to New York state last week, with many sightings and tidbits of news to accompany.

The week started off in Western New York with taping "Tailgate Warriors" at the Bears @ Bills preseason football game, August 15 - 16, 2009 in Lot C of the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, NY.


Judges' table at "Tailgate Warriors"

According to Questfor31.com,"Tailgate Warriors will be hosted by Guy Fieri and will follow Guy around the national football league as he pits two tailgating teams, representing the NFL organizations taking the field on gameday, to match wits in a tailgating battle of gameday cuisine preparation."

I expect "Tailgate Warriors" to premier on the Food Network on Saturday, October 17, 2009. But don't quote me, haha.

After taping several locations for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives in WNY and a live cooking demonstration in Niagara Falls, Guy headed to the Food Network studios in Chelsea Market, New York, to tape the 7th season of Guy's Big Bite. Typically, 2 to 3 episodes are taped each day over a 7- to 10-day period. In total, 20 episodes were shot over eight days, August 21 - 28, 2009.

On Friday the 21st Sunny Anderson joined in on Guy's set to tape an episode.


On Saturday the 22nd, Guy Fieri was spotted throwing back nibbles from the raw bar at the sceney Standard Grill, where he commented, "I don't want to be cliché, but I love [Mario Batali's] Otto. It's the first place I had lardo. And the olive oil gelato is fantastic," to Page Six of the New York Post.


On Sunday, August 23, 2009, the studios were closed for taping, so Guy and Anne Burrell spent an afternoon in Chinatown, where Guy learned (?) how to hand pull noodles.


Guy and Anne Burrell in Chinatown

Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles
1 Doyers St. (bet. Pell St. and Bowery)
New York, NY 10013
(212) 791-1817

On the 26th, Michael "the Mad Mixologist" Perea from Las Vegas, Nevada, joined Guy on the set for three episodes.


On August 28, Guy sent out a tweet, "In nyc on set of guys big bite, gettin ready to wrap last of 20 shows. Wow, been a run of great recipes. Such a killer crew workin onda show," which caused a bit of a sensation from his Twitter followers - this isn't the LAST of Guy's Big Bite, just that they wrapped up taping the 7th season. Guy's Big Bite will be back; never fear.

Related Posts:
Guy Fieri taping Triple D in Buffalo, NY
Guy Fieri finishes up a busy week in WNY
Guy Fieri shoots Season 7 of Guy's Big Bite

Friday, August 28, 2009

Guy Fieri returns to Turning Stone

*update*
Those who went to the book signing at Turning Stone in Verona, NY, had their photographs taken with Guy Fieri. You were told to find them on GuyFieri.com. Click here for more information.

Guy Fieri is scheduled to appear at the Turning Stone Resort in Verona, NY on Saturday, September 19, 2009 for a live cooking demonstration at 1:30 p.m.

5218 Patrick Road, Verona, NY 13478 - map

For more information, call 1.800.771.7711 or visit TurningStone.com.

At the time of this writing, tickets are not available online. Check ticketmaster.com to see if a link has been provided.

Guy's appearance is in celebration of the 82nd annual Feast of San Gennaro, originally a one-day religious commemoration, now an 11-day street fair beginning on the second Thursday in September in the Little Italy area of Manhattan, an annual celebration of Italian culture and the Italian-American community. This year, the event is from September 10 - 20, 2009.

San Gennaro (or in Latin: Saint Januarius) was the Bishop of Naples in the early 300's A.D. He is a martyr saint of both the Roman Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox Churches and the the patron of Naples.

For more information on the Feast of San Gennarro, visit their official website at www.sangennaro.org.

Related Posts:
Chefography: Guy Fieri
Guy Fieri Interview from Atlantic City
Fieri kicks off the NY Wine and Food Fest weekend in October

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Guy Fieri recieves a mojito in Atlantic City

From Briarwood Films: BJ taking a mojito to Guy Fieri at the Atlantic City Food & Wine Festival 2009



The man who sips the cocktail first is Guy's friend and blogger, Kevin Cox, a.k.a. Kleetus.

Related Posts:
Guy Fieri Launches Website Re-design
Pictures from UNLV and trip to Atlanta
Review of Feast of Fieri, Atlantic City

Monday, August 24, 2009

Radio interview from the wayback machine

This interview was done just a year ago, in August of 2008, at the radio station of KFGY, of 92.9 fm in Healdsburg / Santa Rosa, California. Guy Fieri chats with DJs Rob & Joss.



Related Posts:
Commercial for Flowmaster
UNLV Interview from the Way Back Machine
Commercial with Guy and Sandra Lee

Sunday, August 23, 2009

Guy Fieri shoots Season 7 of Guy's Big Bite

So I'm relatively new to Twitter (you can follow me, if you'd like), but over the past two weeks or so, I'm finding it an interesting (and in many ways scary) source of information.


I hadn't known that Guy Fieri was scheduled to shoot the 7th season of Guy's Big Bite at the Food Network Studios in Chelsea Market, New York City, until I read his Tweet:

7:35 AM Aug 20th - ChefGuyFieri - "... off to nyc for GBB"

Which is all well and good. So the next morning I climbed around the internet to find some more information, and found:

7:22 AM Aug 21st - jackigarfinkel - "guy fieri just tried to walk undetected thru chelsea market. i think he forgot what his hair looks like."

Which is also well and good! And we all now know what time Guy has to show up for work in the morning. Later the same day, I found:

4:20 PM Aug 21st - angmoore - "Loved seeing Guy Fieri on set today. Holy energy!"

Great! So now we know (or at least can conjecture) what time a day's shoot ends at the studios. Then this morning, Sunday, August 23, 2009

ChefGuyFieri - "In nyc shootin gbb, off today, havin lunch with anne burrell in china town at my fav potsticker joint nice green bo. U gotta check it out!"

... and instantly, over 14,000 Twitter followers know where Guy and Anne ate lunch,

Nice Green Bo Restaurant (no website)
66 Bayard St., New York, NY 10013
(212) 625-2359

which has 4 stars on Yelp. Ok! Then just six hours later:

kc2dpt - "I met food network stars Guy Fieri and Anne Burrell today. Nice people."

And now you know where kc2dpt was today for lunch.

Interesting, yes. And yes, a great source of information. Too much information, I wonder? Now don't get me wrong - I love the Internet, access to news happening all over the country, all over the world. And I'm enjoying Twitter; it's been nice to connect with other fans in that medium, and I'm glad Guy sends out tweets now and then too.

But as I was piecing this post together, I was struck by the fact that a person's daily comings and goings can be so instantaneously documented. Doesn't this seem just a bit ... oh ... like a stalker's wet dream? *shudders*

Let's move forward and talk about Guy's Big Bite.

I have come to know many of Guy Fieri's fans over the past few months. This blog is read by thousands of people each week; dozens of them write to me with questions and comments on various topics. I've learned that FN Humor is wrong: there are NOT two kinds of people in the world, there are many - many kinds of Guy Fieri fans, too.

Certainly Diners, Drive-ins and Dives is Guy's most popular show. Some love the food, love the spotlight on independently owned and operated restaurants, but do not love the host; others love the host but not the food, others both and every imaginable combination.

Fans of Ultimate Recipe Showdown seem to love the show, regardless of the host. In my private conversations with past contestants of that show, to a LAST, they loved Guy and his ability to put them at ease.

But I think it's the fans of Guy's Big Bite with whom I connect the most - it's the show that inspired me to be more creative in the kitchen, to get out those dusty bottles of spices from the cupboard, to use more onions, garlic and peppers, and yes, to use more booze in my food!

Critics may say that Guy's food is just bar food - and I'll get on no high horse to argue. The point is, it's good food. It's tasty! And the recipes from that show are crowd pleasers, raves from everyone on every one I've made and shared with friends and family.

Guy's Big Bite is much more about the man's food; he likes to cook, and he's good at it.

Related Links:
Guy's Big Bite video on YouTube
Guy's Big Bite video on FanCast
Guy's Big Bite on Food Network
Guy's Big Bite on Wikipedia

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More on the set of Guy's Big Bite
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Guy's Big Bite nominated for a Daytime Emmy

Nostalgic Nosh (GI0602H) with video

Guy's Big Bite - Nostalgic Nosh - Aired: 8/23/09

Today Guy Fieri's rockin' the classics... in the kitchen! Tender seared scallops are a sweet contrast to bitter greens with smoky andouille. For a silky side, polenta enriched with vibrant green kale. Rum Pineapple Upside-Down Cake takes a throwback dessert to the next level.

Seared Scallops with Bitter Greens, Fried Shallots and Andouille - recipe

Green Polenta - recipe

Rum Pineapple Upside-Down Cake - dessert recipe



Keywords:
andouille sausage, scallops, lettuce, kale, polenta, cherries, spiced rum, pineapple, creme fraiche

Related Guy Fieri Recipes
Main dishes with shellfish
Side dishes with vegetables
Desserts

-> more on Guy's Big Bite <-

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Food Network gears up for Ultimate Recipe Showdown 3

News releases are starting to leak potential candidates for the next season of Ultimate Recipe Showdown. The final decisions have not yet been made, but it appears as if the first notifications have been sent.

CommercialAppeal.com lists "Gail Churinetz, who teaches pizza classes at Viking Cooking School and was featured in a home chef profile in The Commercial Appeal, has made the first cut for Food Network's The Ultimate Recipe Showdown. If she's selected, she'll compete against other cooks on the show hosted by Guy Fieri. Weekly winners receive $25,000."

And several sources (not sure which was the originator) recently wrote that "Greg Fontenot of Woodlands, Tex., has a winning streak going. Besides being chosen as a Top Tomato 2009 finalist for this recipe, the 48-year-old scientist has a fairly impressive track record of competitive cooking conquests over the past eight years, including his pending status to appear on Food Network's Ultimate Recipe Showdown. The gingerbread and banana napoleon recipe he submitted for that one sounds first-rate."

Were I to make a conjecture, I'd expect Ultimate Recipe Showdown Season 3 to tape in New York City sometime in late September, 2009.
*update*
Dates are September 22 - 30, 2009 blog post


You can watch the previous two seasons of Ultimate Recipe Showdown on FanCast.


Some of the most popular recipes from the show are:
Battered Chicken Wings with Pomegranate and Mango Barbecue Sauce
St. Nino's Chicken
African Ground Nut Stew
Kickin' Chipotle Fried Chicken Tenders with Cool Cucumber Slaw

These and the winning recipes from Season 2 and more are listed on the show's index page.

Related Posts:
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Guy Fieri interview on Ultimate Recipe Showdown
News Spot and Feedback from URS

Friday, August 21, 2009

Guy Fieri's favorite sandwich - Chaps Pit Beef

I missed this episode of "The Best Thing I Ever Ate" on the Food Network when it first aired; I suppose now I can be glad for reruns? (Never thought I'd say that.) "Between Bread" brings Guy back to another Diner, Drive-in or Dive.


This episode airs on the Food Network
Apr 05, 2010 - 9:00 PM ET/PT
Apr 06, 2010 - 12:00 AM ET/PT
May 09, 2010 - 2:00 PM ET/PT

And you can check the show index page or show episode guide for future episodes, and check the Between Bread episode page for future airings.

Guy's offering for this week's program is the 52 Chaps Submarine (which I can not find on the menu), with corned beef, ham and pit beef, at Chaps Charcoal Restaurant (a.k.a. Chaps Pit Beef) in Baltimore, Maryland.

Chaps Charcoal Restaurant - website
5801 Pulaski Highway, Baltimore, MD, 21205 - map
(410) 483-2379
www.chapspitbeef.com

Here's Chaps' segment from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives - "In the Family", which first aired in June of 2008.



From their website, Chaps says, "Chaps Pit Beef was established in 1987 by Gus and Bob. Chaps was a 12 X 15 shack with no electric, and or phone. We simply had beef, ham, and sausage served with joy and the hope of seeing delight, and enjoyment from the faces of our customers. In the beginning chaps struggled, but we soon had electric, and a phone. Donna joined our team and 22 years later were still here. Over the years chaps has grown, as well as our menu serving Hot Dogs, Mexican Ham, Fish platters, and much much more. Chaps has also been in The City Paper, "Baltimore's Best" from 1991-2005."


Related Posts:
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Hodad's Burger
Lou's Fried Chicken
Baltimore Bad Boy Beef (GI0314H)

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Guy Fieri finishes up a busy week in WNY

Elena Cala Buscarino of Buffalo Rising scored a nice interview with Guy Fieri while taping Diners, Drive-ins and Dives in Buffalo, New York. She writes, "I met up with him at Sophia's on Military Road this morning, and I have to say that any national celebrity who can be funny and gracious at 7:45AM is alright with me." Read the full article here.

Guy Fieri in Bernice, the author's '75 LeSabre

Guy listed the places in Buffalo that he's visited already: Lake Effect Diner, Grover's Bar & Grill, Earl's Drive-in, the Blackthorn, and "a Bill's tailgate party hosted on a Pinto at Ralph Wilson Stadium," which POTENTIALLY leaves the Pizza Junction yet to be shot in the afternoon of the 19th or the morning of the 20th.

Moreover, Guy said the "Tailgating Warriors" show, produced by Guy's Production Company, Ragtop Productions, a joint venture between Page Productions and Guy Fieri, is scheduled to air on September 17, 2009. Of course, Kleetus says it will air October 17, 2009. So just stay tuned, and I'll see if I can't sort it all out.

And to comment on the food in Buffalo? "Beef on weck? Oh my God," Guy said, "this could have been the beef on weck tour."

Ok, for those of you NOT from Buffalo, a typical beef on weck sandwich (a.k.a. kummelweck or kimmelweck) is made from slow-roasted, hand carved, rare roast beef. The cut face of the top half of the roll may be dipped in the juices from the roast. Prepared horseradish is usually provided for the diner to spread on the top half of the roll to taste. In the Buffalo area, it is common to see jars of horseradish on eatery tables that serve the sandwich.

As usual, it will take anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months for these restaurants to air on the Food Network.

At the Lake Effect Diner, the parking lot was roped off, and Guy could be seen inside entertaining kids with magic tricks, joking around with the diners, and posing for pictures with fans.

Tucker Curtin, owner of the diner, is an active participant in the local farm movement, working with local farmers and members of his staff to bring fresh, locally grown food to the table. Read more here.

Guy Fieri at the Lake Effect Diner


Related Posts:
Guy Fieri is headed to New York in August
Guy Fieri to host Tailgate Competition Show in Buffalo NY
Guy Fieri taping Triple D in Buffalo, NY

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Review of Feast of Fieri, Atlantic City

Lauren Buzzeo of the Wine Enthusiast Magazine was in Atlantic City for the Food and Wine Festival in early August, 2009. She wrote of many events, but of interest here are her experiences at The Feast of Fieri, a private dinner with 24 guests, priced at $1000 each. From her blog Uncorking my Passion in Atlantic City:

"But the highlight of the weekend? Without a doubt, the intimate, exquisite, and undeniably delicious Feast of Fieri with Food Network personality Guy Fieri. The man isACFW Guy Fieri awesome, people… I mean, everything that you think he is from his shows and books (cool, friendly, funny, cuddly) HE IS!


And boy oh boy, the man can cook. I had some of the biggest prawns I’ve ever had (wrapped in bacon), a delicious grilled romaine salad (again, with bacon chunks), cedar plank salmon and steak Diane that rivaled any high-end restaurant (sadly, no bacon on that one).

The food was second only to Fieri’s tableside manner, which was immensely real and approachable as he regaled us with personal stories that entertained the whole room."

Recipes:
Bacon Wrapped Prawns with Chipotle BBQ
Grilled Romaine with Blue Cheese-Bacon Vinaigrette
Johnny Garlic's Cedar Plank Salmon

A Filet Mignon Steak Diane used to be on the menu at Russell Ramsay's Chop House, a brief concept restaurant of Guy Fieri and Steve Gruber, located where Johnny Garlic's is now in Santa Rosa, California. But the recipe for this steak Diane is not available online.

See also Guy Fieri takes a big bite out of Atlantic City

Related Posts:
Guy Fieri Interview from Atlantic City
Video of Atlantic City and comments from Rhode Island
Food & Wine Fest in Atlantic City July 30 - Aug 2

Entertainment Weekly gives nod to Triple D

Entertainment Weekly, in their August 14, 2009 issue, takes a look at the 15 tastiest offerings on Food TV right now, including:

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives GUY FIERI VARIOUS TIMES / FOOD NETWORK

(via)

Fieri is living the dream — for four seasons of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, the season 2 winner of The Next Food Network Star has been visiting some of the nation's favorite greasy spoons in small towns and big cities. The boisterous, spiky-haired Fieri seems just as at home chatting up a camera-shy cook about deep-fried chicken gizzards as he does downing a shot of pungent "Mad River" syrup with a soda-shop waitress. The only downside: More than any other food show, it's nearly impossible to watch Triple D without snacking...preferably on something caked in beer batter.

Related Posts:
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Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The best thing Guy Fieri ate with his hands: Lou's fried chicken

I've been enjoying the Food Network's new show, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate." This week's episode was "With My Hands."


This episode repeats on the Food Network
Aug 22, 2009 - 6:00 PM ET/PT

And you can check the show index page or show episode guide for future episodes, and check the With My Hands episode page for future airings.

There is also a Best Thing Blog on FoodNetwork.com, if you're interested in checking that out too.

Guy's offering for this week's program is the fried chicken at Uncle Lou's in Memphis, Tennesee.

Uncle Lou's - website
3633 Millbranch Road, Memphis, TN, 38116 - map
(901) 332-2367
http://unclelousfriedchicken.com

Uncle Lou's first aired on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives in August of 2008 - "Where the Locals Eat"




And if you're interested in making your own "Unclicious" chicken at home, Uncle Lou's has an online store, where you can buy their fried chicken seasoned four, "Sweet Spicy Love" mild or hot sauce and their "Corruption" seasoning mix.


Related Posts:
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The best bacon Guy Fieri ever ate - a Hodad's burger

Monday, August 17, 2009

Guy Fieri cake ... takes the cake

Or rather, the Guy Fieri cake takes a blue ribbon! At the the 134th annual Ventura County Fair in Ventura, CA. Oxnard resident Kristin Shapiro paid homage to the Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. The cake took Best of Show honors in the baked foods competition.



(via)

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Perfect Pork fo' Sizzle (GI0608H) with video

Guy's Big Bite - Perfect Pork fo' Sizzle - Aired: 8/16/09

Guy Fieri's in the kitchen with a cravin' for Asian. Juicy marinated pork roast, smothered in a bold ginger-garlic gravy, is served on crackly sizzling rice cakes. Plus Sweet & Sour Cucumbers and Ginger "O" cocktail.

Ginger Garlic Pork with Sizzling Rice - recipe



Sweet and Sour Cucumbers - recipe

Ginger O - recipe

Keywords:
jasmine rice, pork tenderloin, cucumbers, rum, pomegranate juice

Related Guy Fieri Recipes:
Main dishes with pork
Side dishes with vegetables
Cocktails with rum

-> more on Guy's Big Bite <-

Chefography: Guy Fieri

*Update*
Eat Me Daily has posted two video clips from The Food Network's Chefography: Guy Fieri episode.
Click Here to view.

Chefography: Guy Fieri show index page on FoodNetwork.com

The Times Standard, based in Northern California, interviewed Guy, old friends friends and past employers just before the Food Network premiered Guy's Chefography this past week. I'll also intersperce some quotes from Guy Fieri from an interview with California Conversations.

Guy Fieri's parents came from Ohio. Guy recalled, "they took off in a VW square-back bus with a six-month-old kid and moved to Whittier, CA. They loved it. My mom taught school. My dad worked at the college. Then they got in the van and went farther north on California 101 to Santa Barbara and said this is where we’re going to live. They loved it. Then they drove to Big Sur and said this is where we’re going to live. They loved it there, too. They eventually drove to a town called Ferndale to open a leather store. They sold their purses and leather belts and the candles they made. They eventually opened a store called Dave’s Saddlery, which was a county-western clothing store. (laughs) It was all good."

In Ferndale, apparently Guy's business career all started with doughnuts. And here we were all thinking it started with Pretzels! But no.

When Guy Fieri was in grade school, he recognized the marketing potential of his little sister's cuteness. He would have his sister stand outside The Blacksmith Shop on Main Street and ask for quarters from people passing by.

Then he would take the quarters to the bakers to buy doughnuts, according to Joe Koches, owner of The Blacksmith Shop, where Fieri spent much of his childhood. "It was just one story after another with that kid," Koches said. "He was a good one."

Koches said another time the young Fieri took his toy gun and tried to stick up a bank teller for quarters, for more doughnuts. "He couldn't even see over the marble counter." Guy's mother, Penny Ferry, had to put a stop to the quarter-gathering by telling the baker not to sell Fieri any more doughnuts.

Guy said, "growing up in the town of Ferndale, you were raised by the whole community."

A school-mate of Guy Fieri's said in a blog, "You may remember him as Guy Ferry, Mimi's brother and son of Jim and Penny, one-time owners of Dave's Saddelry. I remember him as the pretzel guy at Redwood Acres and Humboldt County Fairs. I have three childhood memories of Guy.

First, I remember one year the mechanical bull was next to his pretzel stand at Eureka Fair and he would trade a pretzel for a ride on the bull. Those guys would kick his ass. Guy never lasted more than two seconds.

Also, Guy did his "Older Friends" report, Mrs. Dixon's 7th grade, on my grandpa Charlie.

Lastly, he gave my brother fried clams or shrimp one time at Ferndale Fair and Rob got totally sick and found out, the hard way, he was allergic to shell fish. My brother was so sick, I have never eaten any type of shell fish, just in case. He eventually sold the stand to Megan (Gotcher) Lenardo."

And what's the story behind the Awesome Pretzel? "In fifth grade I went to Squaw Valley to go skiing. It was a favorite family trip. We’d get there, and I’d eat the pretzels. I mean I would eat the pretzels. I would eat ten of them. My dad said to me, 'would you like to have a pretzel cart?' I said, 'Dad, I would love to have a pretzel cart...that would be the best thing in the world.'

My dad told me to ask the pretzel guy where he gets his pretzels. So I asked the guy where he got his pretzels. The pretzel guy said, 'I can’t tell you.' I said 'why not?' He said 'because you might open a pretzel cart.' (laughs) I said 'I’m eleven.' My dad told me to sit down and wait until the pretzel guy takes the box to the trash...(still laughing)...and then go get it. The guy went to the trash. I jumped in the dumpster and I got the box. I went back and my dad said 'fine, we’ve got the source.'

We went home and my dad helped me build a cart. I had to go every day after school to his wood shop and work on it. It was us working side-by-side to make this fantasy idea. It had become real. When we were done I had this pretzel cart. I’d sell these pretzels...called the business Awesome Pretzels."

Guy's parents hosted two exchange students in their home. "I was a freshman. I wanted to be an exchange student, but they said you have to be in a language class. I wasn’t in a language class. They said take Spanish. I didn’t want to take Spanish. I wanted to take Italian. They didn’t have Italian.

Of course my parents were always bringing in wayward sailors and we met a cork salesman from France. He was in the wine country during Thanksgiving. He met somebody, my mom’s aunt or something, and came to our house for dinner. I said do you live in France? He said yes. I said I want to go there. He said I will find you a place to live. It happened, just right there.

I wouldn’t lay off until my parents said fine. My mom said if you can take a class and learn French and get a B or better, you can be an exchange student. My mom drove me to the College of the Redwoods, fifteen miles from my high school, every day at lunch. I took the class. I got a B. (laughs) I told my parents I was ready to go.


At the plane, I was crying my eyes out. I wrote them a letter and slipped it in my mom’s book. My dad said my mom was catatonic for two days. She couldn’t even open the letter. She’d pull the letter out and she’d cry. I landed in Paris. I lived on the third floor of this house. It’s a store room with a bed and a sink. I’m like, oh what have I gotten myself into. Of course, I can’t go home. I just thought I have to figure this out...(laughs)

Okay, what’s the thing we did in school-conjugate the verbs. So, I carried a piece of paper and I would say how do you say that in English? I had this huge French verb book and I’d write them down in all the forms and I decorated my walls with them. By the time I left France there were like 300 up there. But, I taught myself how to speak French, and when I left you couldn’t tell I wasn’t from France...(laughs) they just couldn’t tell where the hell in France I was from. I mixed dialects...I would sound like a New York Southerner with a California twang."

Guy Fieri stayed in France for 11 months.

After coming home, Guy got his first restaurant job at the Red Lion Inn in Eureka. His dinning room manager at the time, Mark Milligan, was “one of the first guys that got me. Or, at least tolerated me,” he added with a laugh. “I think I was a bit of a handful.”

Johnny Wise, a Eureka native who now owns Johnny's Flooring and Window Coverings in Fortuna, CA, said "He was definitely always the go-getter. He's got a lot of character."

Fieri recalled some favorite spots in Humboldt County. "It's not just redwoods. There's Centerville Beach, the mouth (of the river), Samoa Cookhouse, Kinetic Sculpture race, Dungeness crabs. I love coming back -- going to Ferndale, going to the meat market, going to Curly's.”

"I've been trying to make it back for the Fortuna Rodeo for years now,” Guy said. "There are a lot of 'thank yous' deserved in Humboldt. ... I won't ever forget where I was raised.”

Guy Fieri and his partner Steve Gruber opened their first restaurant, Johnny Garlic's in Santa Rosa, CA. "My business partner and I had a choice to open restaurants anywhere in the country. I said I’d like to go to Sonoma County. Sonoma where? I said, you know, wine country. He said it is too expensive up there. We opened our first restaurant, two young guys, we were 26 years old, no money, we had to beg, borrow, and steal to make it happen. And we did it."

Guy then recalled how his friends encouraged him to apply for the Food Network's Next Food Network Star. "My buddy, Mustard, said you have to do the contest for the Food Network. I said, dude, I was approached about two years ago by young guys from LA who wanted to do a show on the Food Network called the Barbecue King. They asked me and my team if we wanted to be on the show. I thought wow, talk about food, do a show. Unfortunately, they didn’t know what they were doing. The show never came to fruition. End of story.

I didn’t want to do the Food Network thing because I didn’t want to put it all out there and then have the dream go away. I think that’s a weird parallel for people to say they don’t try things because they don’t want the dream to leave."

But he did do the Food Network thing, and the dream hasn't gone away. Risk taker.

Sources:
blogs.myspace.com
www.californiaconversations.com
www.times-standard.com

Guy Fieri's Signature Dish:
Cajun Chicken Alfredo

Related Posts:
A DVR alert - Chefography: Guy Fieri

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Taping Triple D outside Cattleman's Cafe

I guess its not as easy as it seems ....

Diners Drive-Ins and Dives Take 1



Diners Drive-Ins and Dives


From the Diners, Drive-ins and Dives episode, Blast From the Past DV0709

Related Post:
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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Guy Fieri taping Triple D in Buffalo, NY

*Update*
To view all of the restaurants Guy Fieri visited in the Buffalo, NY area, click here.

Details about exactly which restaurants will be filmed and exactly when are always sketchy at best before Guy Fieri heads to an area for Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.

But word on the street: (click air dates to see video, recipes, more information)

Pizza Junction - website
1269 Erie Ave., North Tonawanda, NY 14120
(716) 692-6366
www.pizza-junction.com
*airs 1/11/10*

Lake Effect Diner - website
3165 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14214
(716) 833-1952
www.curtinrestaurants.com/lake-effect-diner
*aired 11/16/09*

Grovers Bar & Grill (no website)
9160 Transit Rd., East Amherst, NY 14051
(716) 636-1803
*aired 10/26/09*

Earl's Drive-In
12139 Olean Rd., Chaffee, NY 14030
(716) 496-5125
*airs 3/22/10* click for more info

Sophia Restaurant
749 Military Rd., Buffalo, NY 14216
(716) 447-9661
*airs 2/15/10*

Blackthorn Restaurant & Pub - website
2134 Seneca St., Buffalo, NY 14210
(716) 825-9327
www.blackthornrestaurant.com
*airs 2/1/10*

are on the radar for Guy Fieri's visit to west New York this week. More updates as I learn of them.

On Saturday, August 15, Guy Fieri will host a Food Network Tailgate Competition Show in Lot C of the Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo, NY, the day of a Chicago Bears @ Buffalo Bills NFL preseason game.

And Guy is scheduled for a cooking show live performance at the Seneca Niagara Events Center at Niagara Falls, NY, Sunday, August 16, 2009 at 7:00 p.m.

If you're curious about what one of Guy's live cooking shows might be like, check out this video from the Celebrity Food Show in Anaheim last weekend:



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A DVR alert - Chefography: Guy Fieri

To date, the Food Network has produced 16 Chefographies: Tyler Florence, Food Network, Mario Batali, Ina Garten, Ace of Cakes, Giada De Laurentiis, Rachael Ray, Wolfgang Puck, Sandra Lee, Bobby Flay, Julia Child, Paula Deen, Emeril Lagasse, Nigella Lawson, The Neelys and


Chefography: Guy Fieri

With multiple series and specials on Food Network, a New York Times best-selling book and millions of fans, Guy Fieri is on top of the world. But the ten-year old who just wanted to cook dinner for his family had no idea where his passion would lead him. . In 2005, he was picked as a finalist on the competition series "Next Food Network Star," and a new chapter began.


Since the Food Network viewers first met Guy Fieri in the 2nd season of the Next Food Network Star, Guy has hosted four shows on the network and appeared in dozens of specials.

Guy's Big Bite - just finished its 6th season - episode guide
Diners, Drive-ins and Dives - now in its 7th season - episode guide
Ultimate Recipe Showdown - soon taping its 3rd season - episode guide
Guy Off the Hook - aired only one season, with no new tapings scheduled at this time - episode guide

The chefography interviews were filmed in December of 2008, with friends, family members and of course with Guy Fieri.

Airs on the Food Network
Mar 13, 2010 - 8:00 PM ET/PT
Mar 14, 2010 - 3:00 AM ET/PT
Mar 14, 2010 - 2:00 PM ET/PT

Forward Post:
Chefography - Guy Fieri

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More on the set of Guy's Big Bite

Monday, August 10, 2009

Pringles Sweepstakes for NY festival

Interested in going to the New York Wine & Food Festival? It's scheduled over Columbus Day Weekend, October 8 - 11, 2009. Proctor & Gamble is sponsoring the Pringles Sweepstakes.

All 102 prizes, with a total approximate retail value of $10,800 will be awarded as follows:

(2) Grand Prizes - A 4-day/3-night trip for 2 to New York City, 10/8/09 - 10/11/09, to attend the Food Network Wine & Food Festival including round-trip coach air transportation from major airport nearest winner's home, hotel accommodations (double occupancy), a pair of admission tickets to the Chelsea Market After Dark hosted by Guy Fieri and Sandra Lee, and various festival events, a $250 Gift Card for winner, ground transportation from/to NY airport/hotel, and the opportunity to meet Guy Fieri (subject to availability).

ARV: $4,000 per prize; there is no retail value associated with meeting Guy Fieri.

(100) First Prizes - A $100 Gift Card. Terms and conditions on Gift Cards apply; Gift Cards are not redeemable for cash.

Pringles is looking for residents of the 50 United States and Washington, D.C., 21 or older at the time of entry, to share how they enjoy Pringles or how they imagine they might enjoy Pringles.

To enter, you must submit, along with your entry, one of the following: an original photograph OR an original video (maximum of 1 minute in length), OR an original 140-character (or fewer) statement (including spaces and punctuation). Entries will be randomly selected and posted on www.pringles.com.

Rules: popart.pringles.com/100ways/rules
Expiration Date: 09/11/2009

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Sunday, August 9, 2009

Ergo Chef Knives: the Guy Fieri line

Many fans of Guy Fieri who have seen his live cooking demonstrations have also learned of or seen the knives Guy uses on his cooking shows, Ergo Chef Knives. Ergo and Guy Fieri's design team have collaborated on a line of signature culinary knives, now available for pre-order. Here are the first two knives in Guy's Knuckle Sandwich Series.


The 5 1/2" 'Dragon Dagger' utility knife features a serrated blade and fork prongs on the tip to pick up food. This knife was designed for slicing small fruits, vegetables, cheese, breads and sandwiches. Price: $45.00.


The 8" Chef's knife features a crisscross knurl on the end, added to pulverize garlic, nuts, etc. This knife is perfect for cutting vegetables, fruits and meats. Price: $76.00.

Visit www.ergochef.com/guyfieriknives for more information or to purchase knives; pre-orders will ship by the end of November.

*update*
The GourmetRetailer.com reviewed Guy's Ergo Chef line of knives and listed them as one of their "favorite things" at a Gourmet Housewares Show®, held August 8 - 10, 2009, at the Moscone Center in San Francisco.
(source)

Read the story behind Ergo Knives, their recent HFN award and Guy Fieri's endorsement of Ergo Chef Knives at ConnPost.com.

New knives have been added to the line. Click the image below for more information.



"Fans of Guy Fieri" is pleased to be able to offer our readers a 10% discount on ALL Ergo Chef cutlery, the introductory two "Knuckle Sandwich" knives (the Chef knife and Utility knife), as well as any other Ergo Chef products, excluding sale items, laser etching and sharpening services.

Visit ergochef.com/categories to see Ergo Chef's complete line of products and go shopping! Use the discount code FIERI10 for a 10% discount, valid Monday, May 31 at 12:00 a.m. through Saturday, June 5, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. EST.

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Pictures from UNLV and trip to Atlanta
Video segments from Disney's Food Festival