How well do you actually know Guy Fieri?
Fieri, whose name is actually Guy Ferry, is of Italian heritage. Fieri never went to cooking school, but got his bachelor's degree from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in Hospitality Management in 1990. After graduating, Fieri took a job at a California restaurant chain before opening his first restaurant, Johnny Garlic's, in Santa Rosa, Calif.
Fans know the celebrity chef as the host of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" on Food Network and the chef behind Johnny Garlic's, Tex Wasabi's, and Times Square's famous Guy's American Kitchen & Bar.
But the blond-hair foodie is more than what's seen on television. From Allen Salkin's new book "From Scratch: Inside the Food Network" here are five things that people don't know about the king of Flavortown.
1. At the age of 16, Fieri moved to Chantilly, France, for a year abroad. According to FOX News Fieri was miserable his entire time there. He said he was given a small room and could not makes phone calls without permission.
2. Fieri said he fell in love with food during steak dinner at a tiny restaurant in the South of France.
3. In the fifth grade, Fieri convinced organizers of the Humboldt County Fair to let him sell balloons and over the next six years he earned enough money to spend a year in France. Fieri also ran a pretzel cart.
4. After graduating, Fieri worked at a California Italian chain called Louise's Trattoria and added tortilla soup to the menu. Fieri said he almost got fired for it.
5. Fieri auditioned for "The Next Food Network Star" twice. The second time he had to be convinced to give it a second try. He went on to win the ultimate prize and landed a handful of TV shows, the newest includes "Guy's Grocery Games," which premiered late October.
