Interview Guy Fieri: Is this man actually Sammy Hagar?

The term “rock star chef” has become commonplace in the last couple of years, but nobody has been more overt about associating food with that image than Guy Fieri, a tattooed Californian with spiked bleach blonde hair, a Jack Daniels belt buckle, sunglasses glued to the back of his head, and an annoying habit of changing Cs to Ks for phrases like “Kulinary Krew.” The undeniable face of Food Network thanks to Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives, Guy’s Big Bite, Guy Off The Hook, Ultimate Recipe Showdown and several other cooking specials, Fieri is also a New York Times bestselling author—his second book, More Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, was released in November—and perhaps the only chef who has ever had a bra thrown at him by an overzealous fan.

Fieri is also something of a love-him-or-hate-him character, thanks to his omnipresent T.G.I. Friday’s commercials and overbearing, catchphrase-spewing persona. But is he really all that bad? Before tonight’s show at the Riverside Theater, The A.V. Club caught up with the self-proclaimed bad boy chef to find out. We talked about his rock star counterparts in the culinary world and why guys in bowling shirts who yell “Más Tequila” while making devil horns should feel comfortable on his show.

The A.V. Club: Now that you have a few road shows under your belt, has the food-meets-rock hybrid met your expectations?

Guy Fieri: Oh, they’ve been met. Exceeded, really. You plan something like this out in your mind and of course, you plan it with the best expectations. How do you take a show that’s about food, about people, about cooking, about fun, and how do you put it all together? But I have two of my best guys out there, a great DJ and some other crazy characters and it’s a total rock ‘n’ roll environment on stage. The biggest crowd we played so far was about 2,300, and, man, we throw a party. It’s been out of control.

AVC: What’s it like having a tour bus with your face plastered on it?

GF: Brother, I’m wowed everyday. I’m wowed on a variety of topics. To see lines of people two hours before a show, people buying tour shirts. A Guy Fieri road shirt? Are you serious? I always wanted to be a rock star. Any kid would want to be. But I couldn’t play any instruments, so I got along with whatever. To think with food, it’s at that point now.

AVC: Did you seek any advice from rock stars before heading out on tour?

GF: The guys from AC/DC told me to take care of myself, pace myself. Don’t go off the Richter scale on the first show. My buddy, Sammy Hagar, talked to me about voice coaching. I never drank tea in my life, but I must have had more tea in four days that I did in my entire lifetime.

AVC: In terms of personality and presentation, if you could pick your musical equivalent, who would it be?

GF: I mean, I’d probably have to say Hagar. He’s always been one of my favorites. He’s an amazing entertainer, an amazing guy. And I get called Sammy a lot, even though there’s a 20-year age difference there. But along those lines, if you’ve been to a Hagar concert, whether it’s Van Halen or Chickenfoot, whatever, he’s a great entertainer. Total passion. Now, I don’t want it to come across that I’m saying I’m the Sammy Hagar of food or anything. But c’mon, Sammy, I told him this when we first started talking and cooking together—that you always want to do something along those same lines and capture that energy he gets from the crowd.

AVC: Let’s talk about the rock star potential of other Food Network chefs. The first one is kind of obvious: Duff Goldman from Ace Of Cakes.

GF: Well, he’s really a rock star. I’ve gone to see his band and they thoroughly jam, man. So I would give him full rock star status. I mean, we’re good buds, shot a couple of shows together. We keep in touch on different projects. But I don’t know, Duff is a different kind of chef. He has a culinary background, but we have different styles. But if you’re talking about rock stars, he’s a guy, without question, that would be one of the first on the list.

AVC: Alton Brown.

GF: Alton would be … you know, Alton is so smart. I don’t know what smart music is. His entertainment ability, what he does with Good Eats, is so informative and entertaining. He’s gonna deliver a message and really get you.

AVC: Bobby Flay.

GF: Bobby is really the James Dean of it all. He’s not a rocker, really. Just a cool cat. He’s a great guy, really laid back. Funny, witty, street smart, a great businessman. What you see is what you get with Bobby, so there’s a lot of components there. He’s more like a movie star to me.

AVC: Rachael Ray.

GF: I don’t know if I’d call her hard-rock or anything. I wouldn’t do it that way. She’s probably not rock. Maybe she’s more adult contemporary.