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TGI Friday’s Guy Fieri hits up Casino El Camino
I’m stoked any time an Austin eatery or foodie gets the national spotlight, but it makes me crazy that Fieri, who won the second season of The Next Food Network Star, is also a spokesman for TGI Friday’s, a chain that may be partially responsible for the deaths of hundreds of these beloved dives. I don’t know Fieri, so I can’t say for sure, but the guy is on his third Food Network show, so he can’t be hurting that badly for dollars, especially from a company so antithetical to the mission of this show.
Of course, Fieri isn’t alone. Tyler Florence hooked up with Applebee’s to promote healthier menu options. Rachael Ray looooves Dunkin’ Donuts (and if you can believe it, she just came out today with a charitable line of premium dog food), and remember, Paula Deen talks ham, not unions.
The celebrity chef sellout question is your call, but thank God — for many reasons — we’ve still got Anthony Bourdain. From this interview:
I’ve had pretty much a full spectrum of offers for business, as well as personal services! Endorsements and reality shows, you know the usual kind of (expletive). It’s a quality-of-life issue, I don’t want to wake up in the morning, look in the mirror and see the Tidy Bowl guy or the spokesman for Lomotil. I won’t be doing a set of steak knives
Personally, Fieri drives me nuts (or maybe it’s just the hair), but like I said, I’ll watch anything with Austin in it.
And at least he snagged a recipe for El Camino’s Amarillo Burger.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment Categories: Chewing the fat, Eating out, Food in the news
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By Scott
July 28, 2008 4:36 PM | Link to this
it’s his hair AND his personality that are awful. I’d seen Fieri in commercials, but for some reason, never realized the irony. What’s next, Paula Dean in a “I can’t believe it’s not butter” commercial or Rachel Ray endorsing crock pots? Well, neither of those are as ironic and underhanded as Fieri.
By jimmycity
July 28, 2008 7:51 PM | Link to this
Fieri is fun to watch in the “Diners, Drive-Ins, & Dives…” show, but that show where he cooks (“Guy’s Big Bite”)grosses me out. I don’t want to see some guy prepping food with more bling on his fingers and wrists than Cyndi Lauper. Please, someone tell the fool to take that stuff off when he is cooking. Gahhhh!
By CodyBill
July 28, 2008 9:41 PM | Link to this
Seriously, what’s wrong with this guy? Ha, get it? The show rocks, The host is a pole.
By Addie Broyles
July 29, 2008 1:19 PM | Link to this
@scott: Re: Paula Deen in “I can’t believe it’s not butter” ads. Hilarious!
@jimmycity: I guess he’ll figure out that bling is no good in a kitchen when he loses a finger in some sort of knife/mandolin/blender accident.
@CodyBill: At least he can go to bed knowing that he’s a blinged-out pole, but I’m not sure that’s any better than a regular pole.
By kat
September 24, 2008 8:40 PM | Link to this
This guy doesn’t DESERVE Casino El Camino. Not fit to lick the floor of the walk-in… much less have a burger. I hope they gave him the out-of-towner-during-SXSW treatment. I heard a cook responding to a guy who was whining about where to eat, because there was a 90 minute wait for a burger. “is there anywhere else I can go around here? “
“Yeah. Wendy’s.”
Buy a round for the kitchen!