Foods Guy Fieri Just Couldn't Eat
Thanks to the phenomenon that is "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," Guy Fieri has made the act of eating a spectacle. Across its 20+ year run, viewers have tuned in for the feel-good stories of America's treasured restaurants, but stay in equal measures for the mouthwatering meals the TV chef wolfs down with abandon. It's no exaggeration that Fieri loves most foods that have graced his fork, and he's pretty open-minded when it comes to trying new things. Although anything with melted cheese or barbecue sauce can be counted on to please his tastebuds, a love of veggies and plant-based dishes shows a receptiveness towards complex, interesting flavors.
Seeing how Guy Fieri has made a career out of sampling our nation's hidden gems, it would be surprising to find out there were foods he didn't enjoy eating. Yet just because someone is a food personality doesn't mean they'll like everything, and in Fieri's case, there's plenty he not only dislikes, but outright despises. Some of these instances have come up on Triple D, but the program's positive lens has essentially skipped over these moments, which is why we've compiled them here.
For a dish to qualify, it had to evoke a groan, grimace, or pure loathing from the normally-energetic Food Network star, and bonus points if he refused to touch it at all. For those who have a strong stomach, or claim to have one, these are the foods Guy Fieri just couldn't eat.
Eggs
Starting off the list of foods Guy Fieri will not touch with a 50-foot pole, public enemy number one is eggs. Anyone who's followed Fieri's career knows that the protein-packed ingredient and breakfast food inspires some strong feelings within Flavortown's head honcho. As in, strong feelings of disgust. During Season 14 of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives," his aversion took center stage when Pizzeria Lola prepared its Sunny Side Pizza, a white-sauce pie topped with two wobbling sunny side up eggs. To nobody's surprise, he was the only one on camera who didn't enthusiastically grab a slice (per Food Network).
There's a few anecdotes that explain his hatred of the kitchen staple. In a 2018 interview with Extra Crispy, he recalled a childhood memory of cracking open an egg that contained a fully-formed chicken on the inside. He said, "I came to a very clear understanding of how chickens grow—when we opened the egg." While obviously a rattling experience, what actually turned him off the shelled delicacy for good was consuming an overcooked hard-boiled egg, whose sulfuric stench and "chalky yolk" don't do any favors for the person eating it.
In general, Fieri isn't a tough egg to crack when it comes to his culinary tastes. He's a sucker for old-fashioned barbecue, hamburgers, and Asian fare like sushi. He's even down with most vegetables, as Today has reported. But eggs cooked in any form will send him screeching down the highway in his cherry-red Camaro, you can bet on that.
Breakfast foods
Guy Fieri's whirlwind travels have taken him to plenty of diners over the years, the homey kinds that sling hash browns and bacon straight from the griddle. Heck, he's even gorged on a monster-sized breakfast burrito and pancakes literally made with macaroni and cheese. So would it shock anyone to see that when the cameras stop rolling, the TV chef isn't actually a big breakfast eater? Not only is Fieri indifferent to breakfast foods, but he basically skips the early-riser meal altogether. The food personality stated the truth to Insider in 2021, saying "I'm not a breakfast guy at all."
Part of why the most important meal of the day doesn't jive with him, Extra Crispy notes, probably has more to do with the factors of his lifestyle than loathing brunch. "I'm pretty high-energy and I'm on the go, so usually by the time my feet hit the floor, I'm out and going," he said, which makes sense. Being a busy television star probably makes fitting in meals a challenge, and when the job revolves around eating food even more so.
Technically, we have to preface that Guy Fieri doesn't hate all breakfast. According to Insider, he partakes in the morning ritual "maybe twice a month," and when the occasion presents itself, he'll spring for something meaty and savory. His top choices? Old-school grits or ham bathed in red-eye gravy, which is essentially a sauce composed of the pork drippings infused with hot, black coffee.
Liver and onions
Much like eggs, Guy Fieri's generous appetite comes screeching to a halt when faced with liver. Although it's loaded with essential nutrients like protein and iron, Fieri has no love for the vitamin-rich organ meat, having called it "nasty" in the past, per Cheat Sheet. His distaste for liver achieves superhuman levels, however, when paired in that brownest of Post-War diner concoctions known as liver and onions. Essentially, he would not eat the hot dish if his own life depended on it. "The kryptonite of me and food is liver and onions," he told The Daily Beast in 2018. "I can't even be in the same room."
Fieri's repulsion isn't unique. Although it's frugal and nutritious, many Americans are clearly haunted by this gray, dreary meal (via Forbes). Pop-culture references of liver and onions abound as culinary punishment more than an entree people would go out of their way to eat. To emphasize how much he detests liver and onions, the TV chef put it in especially relevant-to-him terms. "You could hide keys to a free Ferrari under liver and onions and I wouldn't be driving it."
Keep in mind that Fieri has chowed down on a variety of polarizing foods, notably grasshopper tacos and pig's feet, so to refuse a sports car speaks volumes. To our knowledge, the Triple D crew hasn't put a spotlight on this retro entree, and for as long as the show airs, we imagine they probably never will.
Chitterlings
In a Reddit thread discussing Guy Fieri's culinary taste, one user brought up an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives" that highlighted when Fieri "reluctantly tried chitterlings and said he absolutely hated them." This person was referring to the 2016 feature on Cora Faye's Cafe, a Denver soul food stop specializing in the classics: catfish, oxtails, rabbit, and of course, chitterlings. Colloquially referred to as "chitlins," they are a staple in Southern restaurants, although pretty polarizing for the uninitiated. Essentially they're slow-simmered, seasoned pig intestines, possessing, as What's Cooking America notes, a notoriously odorous quality before cooked.
Truthfully, Guy Fieri is all about finding authentic cuisine where he can on Triple D, but there's no doubt chitlins got a little too real for him. A look of horror crosses his face as the restaurant unveils a bowl full of slimy pink guts, which they thoroughly clean before stewing in the large pot on the stove. During the segment, the yuck factor is turned all the way up, with Fieri shifting between mock enthusiasm and sheer revulsion every step of the way.
After taste-testing them (with a splash of hot sauce, of course) his final verdict divulges more than what is actually spoken on the surface. "Wow! I bet that's an acquired taste" (per Food Network). Taking into account the restaurant sold out of the stuff every week according to owner Priscilla Smith, it appears Fieri remains the odd one out, at least chitlin-wise. Judging by his reaction, he'll eat 'em when pigs fly.
Peanut butter burgers
As any "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" fan knows, Guy Fieri adores comfort food. The greasier, carb-heavy bites never fail to get the fast-talking host coming back for seconds, even when a full mouth prevents him from doing so. Hamburgers, in particular, seem to be one of his primary temptations. So would anyone believe there was a burger Fieri would outright detest? Triple XXX Family Restaurant in West Lafayette, Indiana proved to be capable of the unthinkable, when Fieri was served a sandwich he just couldn't choke down.
We're talking about the Duane Purvis All-American, an unconventional hamburger named after the college football star of the Purdue Boilermakers. It's a standard cheeseburger, topped with lettuce, tomato, and onions. But what separates this burger from others is its unique signature: a generous layer of peanut butter on the bun. Fieri tried the fan-favorite order in 2007 and a YouTube clip shows his response was far from raving. "I absolutely don't enjoy that at all," he deadpanned, the moment made even more hilarious by the thick pb glob stuck to his face.
Fieri gave peanut butter burgers another shot in Season 31, and although he probably isn't a super fan, he at least acknowledged its flavor does have some merit (per YouTube). Frankly, the only conclusion here is that Guy Fieri isn't nuts about peanut butter burgers. A writer from Journal & Courier even revisited the Duane Purvis burger as Fieri's review had inspired them to avoid it. His impression clearly stuck.
Scrapple
Whether it's a juicy cutlet or slow-cooked carnitas, it's common for Guy Fieri to go hog-wild over a choice piece of pork. That doesn't imply every pig-centric dish will have him squealing for more though. Fieri did a double-take when he sampled scrapple at The Dining Car in Philadelphia, the regional delicacy that incorporates pork scraps and grains into a congealed loaf that's traditionally fried on the stove.
What exactly does "pork scraps" refer to? Essentially, any of the trimmings left behind after butchering the animal, such as tendons, limbs, internal organs, and skin. While this mish-mash of parts doesn't look or sound very appetizing, there's no doubt it's an important culinary tradition that, according to Taste, is rooted in resourceful cooking habits that go back to the colonial period. This history shows that using what's available, and making the most out of it, is definitely not a new concept in today's farm-to-table fixation.
As the same man who's gobbled down a pig ear sandwich and pig hoofs and raved about both, it isn't as though Fieri won't give bizarre bites a fair shake. Yet he couldn't help hesitating as picked up a piece of the charred brown pate, calling it "funkadelic" in a YouTube clip. Locals who were interviewed for the segment gave it high praise, but even that wasn't enough to convince the nauseated host who was probably wishing for a slice of honey-baked ham to wash away the taste.
Menudo
If you think you're noticing a pattern in Guy Fieri's dietary habits, then you would be right on the money. He doesn't have the stomach for animal entrails, no matter if they're grilled, fried, or dunked in Donkey Sauce. In the case of being a boundary-pusher for the Mayor of Flavortown, menudo proved to be no exception. A Mexican soup that's simmered for hours, it features a spiced tomato broth with hominy, onions, lime, and the star ingredient, beef tripe.
As we've all witnessed, any footage of Guy Fieri being greeted with animal guts always has him reeling. Take the Triple D episode "Like Mama Made" when he stopped by a gas station dive in Phoenix called Roberto's. The Mexican joint's offerings of chimichangas and carne asada are basically in Fieri's wheelhouse, but the moment the restaurant dumps tripe into the pot for a batch of menudo, the TV personality starts sweating bullets. "I gotta be honest," he says, a shake in his voice, "I'm scared of the tripe" (per YouTube).
When the brothy mixture is ready to eat, he literally counts down from 3 before spooning it down and then cutting it with a soft tortilla as a sort of palate-cleanse. Locals interviewed in the clip describe the Mexican staple as a "get well soup" since it's believed to be a common cure for hangovers, but judging by the grimace on Fieri's face, he's probably more of a coffee and carbs kind of guy the morning-after.
Ghost pepper
When Oppenheimer famously declared "Now I am death, destroyer of worlds," he could have easily been talking about ghost peppers instead of the atomic bomb (per Wired). They're so hot, in fact, they've managed to brand themselves as one of the hottest chili peppers on the planet, landing a top-10 spot on PepperHead and leaving many scorched tongues along the way. Surprisingly, Guy Fieri hasn't been immune from these pungent spice bombs, and as multiple episodes of Triple D show, when the host bites off more than he can chew, he always leaves viewers sweating.
In the Season 14 episode "Dynamic Dishes", a lick of ghost pepper-infused hot sauce from a Jamaican restaurant induced the chef to sink his teeth into a whole pineapple to cool off his mouth (per Daily Motion). In another moment from the same season, he dunked his face into dressing and milk after eating Smalley's Caribbean Barbecue's fear-inducing "Triple 6 Wings." As a Food Network clip highlights, the chicken wings are doused in a fiery red sauce combining the unholy trinity of hot peppers: ghost pepper, scotch bonnets, and habaneros. Essentially what the devil himself probably drinks on a day off.
This is not to say the Mayor of Flavortown can't handle heat, period. He's held his own just fine during an interview on The Hot Ones, which is probably the best method for testing one's limits. Yet if Fieri's craving a little kick to his tacos, just know he'll be passing on the ghost pepper salsa.
Haggis
We've established that Fieri has an impressively varied palate, and is usually game to sample a new-to-him culinary delight. That being said, some foods go so beyond the pale he will flat-out refuse to eat it. "Guy was visibly squeamish over watching someone make Haggis for him to try," a user on Reddit commented, which only begins to describe his horror at the Scottish delicacy that was prepared during a Season 13 visit to Mac's Fish & Chip Shop (via YouTube).
Despite the course's rich historical background, there's no question haggis is perennially polarizing to diners across the globe. For starters, it contains sheep offal, which already disqualifies it from touching Fieri's plate. But the real kicker here is the presentation. The beige mixture of ground sheep innards, which are cooked with suet and oats, are housed inside the animal's stomach, the egg-shaped pouch twist-tied at both ends. Haggis' failure to catch on in the U.S. is probably due to the ongoing ban that's been in effect since the 1970s via Food Navigator. Though really, any of the above traits make it an acquired taste.
Having witnessed plenty of uncomfortable moments on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives," Fieri encountering Haggis has to be one for the books. He's practically wincing as the camera pans over to the grey mush being extruded from a meat grinder. In case viewers are wondering how he felt about it, Fieri admitted that after a bite it wasn't as "crazy and scary" as he thought it would be.
Cow brains
Finally, the mother lode of all inedible foods comes to a head. Out of all the gruesome and downright unappetizing morsels Guy Fieri's attempted to shove down his gullet, there's one that takes the cake for the most stomach-turning he's ever had to swallow. Frankly, it makes the rest of our list look like child's play. Two words: Cow. Brains.
Fieri's worst nightmare came in a Season 7 episode "Blast From The Past," in which the excitable chef entered Oklahoma's oldest-known restaurant, Cattlemen's Steakhouse. At first, the historic eatery showed promise as a guaranteed Fieri-approved spot. Broiled chunks of beef and a lively staff are two things he can never resist. However, the tone shifts once the owners decide to cook the visiting host a special breakfast. The entree in question? Why, just a hearty egg scramble with minced cow brains fried in a pan (per YouTube).
Now, Fieri's played up being grossed out for the cameras in the past whenever he's hesitated to taste something strange. Here though, he is visibly repulsed by the sight of the "brain matter" that's served to him on a plate. "Mind over matter, right?" he wails just before taking that nauseating first nibble, and then frantically washing it down with what's revealed to be lamb testicles. It's hard saying what's worse: The fact that Fieri ate cow brains at all, or that he poked around the eggs so his fork wouldn't come into contact with the protein scramble. The chaos is entertaining, regardless.