Guy Fieri on ‘Tournament,’ pandemic haircare
Guy Fieri is the real deal.
The out-of-bounds chef, restauranteur and self-described “mayor of Flavortown” has a funkalicious Food Network empire spanning “Guy’s Grocery Games” and the catchphrase-filled travelogue “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives.” His latest, “Tournament of Champions” (Sundays, 8 EDT/PDT), is a bracket-style competition that pits 16 chefs in fast-paced cooking battles using different types of protein, produce and equipment.
The show’s second season, which premiered March 7, has a COVID-ERA twist: Every time a chef wins a round, $10,000 is donated to their favorite local restaurant in need. It’s one small part of Fieri’s pandemic relief efforts, raising $25 million for restaurant workers around the country since last March. Many people on Twitter have compared him to Dolly Parton, who donated $1 million to help fund the Moderna vaccine.
“I love to have my name mentioned with Dolly – she’s awesome,” Fieri says. “And there are so many people who did so much that didn’t get all the recognition they deserve. But that’s just what we do as a country: we support and get involved and we help.”
Fieri, 53, is also launching a series of delivery-only pop-ups called Flavortown Kitchen in restaurants that have been affected by the pandemic. He tells USA TODAY about “Tournament of Champions” and more.
Question: How did you wish to incorporate COVID relief into “Tournament of Champions” this season?
Guy Fieri: “Tournament of Champions” is one of my pet projects. I knew we needed to give all my brothers and sisters in the (restaurant) industry a chance to play. As we were getting ready to go in the studio (for Season 2), there was so much happening with restaurant closings and I said, “We’ve got to do something. I want to give money to restaurants and when chefs come to compete, they get to mention who they’re competing for, so that brings awareness (for the restaurant).” And these chefs came and played with their hearts on their sleeves. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Q: Early in the pandemic, lots of people were making sourdough and banana bread. Did you try any new recipes in quarantine?
Fieri: As a chef, I’m always working on recipes. Did we make more pizza at home? Yes. Did we do more smoking meats and making jerky? Yes. We farmed a lot more – we have a big ranch, so we spent a lot of time cutting firewood and clearing brush. But we did spend more time cooking as a family. And boy, did my phone blow up. For some reason, my friends wanted to call for recipes.
Q: With barber shops and salons closed, did you also have to bleach and cut your own hair?
Fieri: This is my natural color – it’s always been this way. (Laughs.) No, my wife, Lori, had to take up her barbering skills. And fortunately, one of my best friends owns a hair salon, so he was closed but I was able to coerce him over here. But we just had to get creative. Did I have some long hair days? Yeah.
Q: When this is all over, where are you most looking forward to going on “Diners, Drive-ins and Dives?”
Fieri: We had a little window in October or November that we shot in South Dakota and North Dakota, and we had never been there before (on “Triple D”). That was to finish out the continental United States, which was a huge milestone for us.
When: 5 p.m. Saturday
TV: Fox Sports Ohio
Radio: WBNS-FM (97.1)