Guy Fieri may seem like a California boy with spiky blond hair and a taste for all foods made in Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives but there is so much more to his story!
Guy before Triple D
Born in 1968, Guy Ramsay Ferry was not yet a California boy! He was born in Columbus, Ohio but he grew up in Ferndale, California. Guy would later spend much of his adult life in the state of California. Ferry also spent time in France as a foreign exchange student in high school where his passion for the culinary arts grew!
After high school, he began pursuing his passion for the culinary arts by working in restaurants as a dishwasher and other positions until he eventually attended the University of Nevada and graduated with his bachelor’s in Science and Hotel Management.
Between 1990 and late 1996, Guy managed several restaurants in California. It wasn’t until late 1996 that Guy would team up with Steve Gruber and open the first of several Johnny Garlic’s restaurants in the country (the first being in California of course).
In 1995, Guy married Lori, and the couple shares two sons, Ryder and Hunter. They currently reside in Santa Rosa, California. When they married, Guy decided to change their last name to Fieri to pay tribute to his late grandfather who had immigrated to the United States from Italy.
Guy has owned, co-owned, and/or managed a laundry list of restaurants over the years.
- Johnny Garlic’s, a “California Pasta Grill” in Santa Rosa, California 1996
- Johnny Garlic’s, a “California Pasta Grill” in Windsor, California 1999
- Johnny Garlic’s, a “California Pasta Grill” in Petaluma, California 2000-2001
- Johnny Garlic’s, a “California Pasta Grill” in Roseville, California 2008
- Tex Wasabi’s (barbecue and sushi) in Santa Rosa, California 2003
- Tex Wasabi’s (barbecue and sushi) in Sacramento, California 2007 (later became a Johnny Garlic’s and then closed permanently)
- Johnny Garlic’s, a ”California Pasta Grill” in Dublin, California 2011
- Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar, New York, New York 2012
- Guy’s Burger Joint, Carnival Cruise Lines, 2011
- Guy’s Pig & Anchor Smokehouse Brewhouse, Carnival Cruise Lines, 2017
- Guy Fieri’s Vegas Kitchen and Bar, Las Vegas Nevada, 2014
- Guy Fieri’s Baltimore Kitchen and Bar, Baltimore’s Horseshoe Casino, Baltimore, Maryland, 2015
- Chicken Guy! Disney Springs Walt Disney World, 2018
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The growth and fame of Guy Fieri
In addition to his extensive laundry list of restaurants and other establishments, Guy has been a very busy bee in the television industry.
- The Next Food Network Star, won the second season and was awarded a 6 part series called Guy’s Big Bite in 2006
- Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, 2007
- Ultimate Recipe Showdown, 2008
- Guy off the Hook, 2008
- Also Rachel vs. Guy: Celebrity cook-off in 2012, and Guy’s Grocery Games in 2013. Among many other shows where he has hosted or taken part in, usually as himself.
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Cook up a Guy Fieri favorite!
The Brick Burger
http://www.guyfieri.com/media/Brick-Burger.pdf
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons sweet pickle relish
- 1/4 cup diced drained jarred pimientos
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef (80% lean)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 5 or 6 turns freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons Roasted Garlic Butter, melted 1/4 cup Donkey Sauce
- 4 sourdough buns
- 1 large kosher dill pickle, thinly sliced
- 1/4 sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 8 slices swiss cheese
- 1/2 pound sliced deli ham
- 1 beefsteak tomato, thinly sliced
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: Heavy-duty aluminum foil 2 bricks
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the pickle relish and diced pimientos. Set aside.
- Preheat a grill to hot. Form the ground beef into four 6-ounce patties, each about 4 inches in diameter. Season the patties on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Grill the patties for 4 to 5 minutes, until they have a nice char and blood begins to come to the surface. Flip and cook for 3 minutes on the second side. Remove the burgers from the grill and set aside to cool.
- Lightly brush the cut sides of the buns with the melted garlic butter. Toast the bun halves on the grill until golden and crisp, about 45 seconds per side. Set aside.
- Reduce the grill heat to medium.
- To assemble the burgers, lightly smear donkey sauce on the cut side of each bun. Cover the bottom bun with 3 pickle slices and 1 or 2 onion slices. Top with the burger, 1 teaspoon of the relish mixture, 2 slices of Swiss cheese, some sliced ham, and 2 tomato slices. Cover with the top bun halves.
- To finish the burgers, wrap each burger in heavy-duty aluminum foil, forming a tight packet and sealing around the edges. Place the burgers back on the grill and put a brick on top of them (one brick will cover two burgers). Cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the brick, flip the packets, place the brick on top, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from the grill and let cool slightly.
- Tear open the foil and serve.
