The Food Competition Trend Guy Fieri Almost Beat To The Punch
Guy Fieri's love of cooking began as a kid, reports Food Network. By 10 years old, he was selling soft pretzels from a homemade bicycle cart. He saved money for years thanks to pretzel sales and dishwashing jobs and went to study abroad in France.
Fieri has been on television since 2006, when his first show, "Guy's Big Bite," premiered on Food Network. He's since become a household name — thanks, in part, to his recognizable bleach-blonde, spiky hair, iconic sunglasses, and passionate personality. He can frequently be seen hosting "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," where he travels the country telling viewers about the best dishes at restaurants across the nation.
He also has his own competition show, called "Guy's Grocery Games." Contestants create dishes inside a makeshift grocery store, often tasked with various challenges as they complete the meals. Though Fieri has fun with his show, his original competition pitch was turned down — though he was just ahead of the trend.
Fieri pitched this show idea ahead of its time
Fieri told Thrillist he was inspired by his own children and noticed that they enjoyed helping out in the kitchen to make food. Fieri was inspired to create a show involving children cooking, and he said that as soon as he was brought on to the network, he pitched the show idea.
When Fieri brought up the idea for a kids' cooking show, Food Network's executives were reportedly less than thrilled with it and turned the idea down. Fieri said that when talking with his fans of his, they even brought up the idea of the kids' cooking shows. Despite the apparent desire for this kind of content, the network didn't pick up any until years later.
Now, Food Network hosts a variety of cooking shows for children, including "Kids Baking Championship" and "Chopped Junior," which both premiered in 2015. Despite the fact that the network initially turned down Fieri's idea, he doesn't hold any resentment towards Food Network. In fact, he told Thrillist he's excited that they finally embraced the idea.
Fieri is passionate about kids in the kitchen
Guy Fieri told Thrillist that he was glad to see major networks embracing new trends. In addition to Food Network's kids' cooking shows, Fox hosts "MasterChef Junior" with Chef Gordon Ramsay, and Channel 4 in the UK has "Junior Bake Off".
According to Food Network, in 2008, Fieri assisted with drafting legislation in California to designate the second Saturday in May as "Cook With Your Kids Day." By 2011, that legislation had been changed to include every Sunday. Fieri has also spoken with other politicians about potentially introducing it as a nationally recognized holiday.
Fieri told Thrillist that because networks are now open to new ideas like kids in the kitchen, hopefully, they will be open to different ideas in the future. He also told Thrillist that he hopes more networks will embrace farm-to-table ideas, promoting local produce and the use of fresher ingredients when cooking.