It wouldn't be an exaggeration to put Guy Fieri's name among other top reality TV stars. The 54-year-old Emmy Awards-winning restaurateur is a rare, one-of-a-kind treat, receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame thanks to his contribution to hosting numerous culinary shows on the Food Network. By 2022, according to Celebrity Net Worth, his net worth clocks at $50 million, and he's not going to stop there.
Before becoming who he is today, our favorite influential culinary star lived a whole life. He has Italian roots, went to France as an exchange student, met his now-wife while managing a Long Beach restaurant, and many other interesting stories surround Guy Fieri. Here's a brief look into his life before joining the Food Network, and what's next for the cooking star.
6 How Guy Fieri Found Love For Cooking
Guy Fieri's long love for foods actually started at the age of six, when he sold soft pretzels and washed dishes for six years. That money was enough to land him a spot to study abroad in Chantilly, France, where he developed his interest in cooking even further as a foreign exchange student. A rebellious kind, young Fieri was only 16 years old at the time, but his passion to pursue his dream was bigger.
"I remember having this food experience going, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait -- these are all different worlds that have their own thing about food. I was out of my mind. I came back and that was it. I didn't even go back to high school, I went straight to college," he recalled during an interview with Thrillist.
5 Guy Fieri Graduated From University Of Nevada, Las Vegas
Shortly after, Guy Fieri enrolled at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he majored in hotel management back in 1990. The university has birthed some of the most influential people of their respective career paths, including former Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, Imagine Dragons' frontman Dan Reynolds, WWE wrestler Ryan "Ryback" Reeves, UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste, and more. He returned to his college after becoming the Food Network star to headline UNLV's Chef Artist Dinner Series fundraising event back in 2011 and to talk to some hotel college students about his experience.
"It's funny to think that my career has experienced this meteoric rise in the past couple years," said the reality TV star. "I was just this guy who liked to cook. I worked in the kitchen seven days a week. It's who I am. Now people are paying me to talk to high school kids. It's weird."
4 How Guy Fieri Met His Wife
Guy Fieri married his longtime sweetheart Lori back in 1995, just before his career as a restaurateur elevated to a whole new level. The pair met when he was running a restaurant in Long Beach, California, and they immediately clicked. At the time, she was just visiting a friend while cross-country moving from Rhode Island to Southern California. They have two sons, namely Hunter and Ryder.
"Her friend had been let go from the restaurant, and they weren't supposed to be there," Fieri explained. "I was talking to her friend and saying 'Hey, listen, wait a few weeks before you come in,' and standing behind her is this blue-eyed, blonde girl giving me this mean mug."
3 Guy Fieri's 'California Pasta Grill'
Around the same time Guy Fieri met his wife, the entrepreneur linked up with a longtime business partner Steve Gruber to open a "California Pasta Grill" restaurant in Santa Rosa. A second and a third location opened in Windsor and Petaluma in 1999 and 2001, respectively, and another one in Roseville in late 2008.
Unfortunately, the venture didn't last very long. As reported by Courthouse News in 2015, the platinum-tufted chef had been making moves to close his Johnny Garlic's restaurant chain, but Gruber counter-sued him to keep the restaurants afloat. Ouch.
2 Guy Fieri's Collection Of Classic Cars
An avid fan of classic cars, Fieri has never been shy in using his reported $50 million net worth to spice things up in his car collections. The celebrity chef cemented his name as a true petrolhead with bizarre collections of 1969 Chevrolet Corvette, 1976 Jeep CJ-5, CSX Cobra, Pontiac Firebird, a fully-customized Chevrolet C10 truck, a '96 Chevrolet Impala, and more. He also has a few supercars in his garage, including Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder and Aston Martin DB9.
1 What's Next For The Reality TV Star?
So, what's next for the outspoken celeb chef? Last year, he's just signed a 3-year-deal with Food Network, which reportedly is worth up to $80 million. His name currently ranks among cable TV's highest-paid hosts for his popular Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives and Guy's Grocery Games shows. As reported exclusively by People, he also bought another home in Florida to celebrate the deal.
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