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Described as a "dude chef," the "rock 'n' roll comfort food king," and "a supernova of kitsch," Guy Fieri transformed food television when he won the reality show Next Food Network Star in 2006. Beyond his several television programs-most notably the Emmy-nominated Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (2007 to present) but also Guy S Big Bite (2006 to present) and Guy S Grocery Games (2013 to present), among others-Fieri's food empire now includes restaurants, cookbooks, rock 'n' roll gastro-tours, food products, and cooking equipment. With an estimated net worth as high as $10 million, he is routinely included on lists of top-earning chefs.1 Infamous for his catchphrases, sensestunning food, bleached-blond spiked hairstyle, casual wardrobe, and copious, garish jewelry, Fieri has for more than a decade been the target of considerable media attention, both complimentary and derogatory. As Julia Moskin wrote in the New York Times, Fieri "has brought a new element of rowdy, mass-market entertainment to American food television. . . . He has a Sarah Palin-like ability to reach Americans who feel left behind by the nation's cultural (or, in his case, culinary) elite."2
Guy Fieri constructs his populist brand of gastronomic entertainment in part through cultural tropes often presented as uniquely "American." Fieri posits his own definition of America, one espoused on his programs, especially Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives and its accompanying cookbooks. The program asks, "What is American food?"-a polemic inquiry that encapsulates the myths, tensions, and paradoxes that make up American identity. A close study of Guy Fieri and the definitions of America and American food that he proffers on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives illuminates some of the motivations behind the most recent rise of populist sentiment in the United States.
Defining Guy Fieri's Populism: "Welcome to Flavortown, USA"
An imagined location, Flavortown, USA, proves challenging to define, even for Fieri himself. In his first cookbook-Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives: An All-American Road Trip.. . with Recipes!, published in 2008-Fieri welcomes readers to "take a trip to Flavortown," a place that he created, one populated by the flavors, ingredients, dishes, restaurants, people, and feelings showcased on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives? Fieri frames Flavortown as a destination, a place not all around us but one that we must travel to visit. Emphasizing this distance,...