Why Guy Fieri Is the Perfect SOBEWFF Tribute Dinner Honoree UPDATED

Update February 26, 2022. Rachael Ray has stepped down from her hosting duties for tonight's tribute dinner after she'd been in contact with someone who'd recently tested positive for COVID, according to a spokesperson for the festival. José Andrés has agreed to substitute as master of ceremonies.

Emeril Lagasse. Daniel Boulud. José Andrés.

For the past two decades, the world's most revered and accomplished chefs have been honored at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival (SOBEWFF) Tribute Dinner. At this dinner, where an equally prominent winemaker or member of the hospitality business is celebrated, high-flying chefs prepare multiple courses in their honor.

A celebrity auctioneer — Food Network star Jeff Mauro, this year — holds a live auction, hawking what he has deemed “giant packages that involve copious quantities of great vino along with first-class travel and a VIP behind-the-scenes experience.” And as the dinner's name suggests, colleagues offer toasts and speeches — and sometimes gentle roasts.

Many consider the tribute dinner to be SOBEWFF’s premier event, where for the price of a ticket you can hobnob with the culinary glitterati. This year founder Lee Brian Schrager and his committee chose to commend Guy Fieri.

With his exuberant Food Network television shows (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy’s Grocery Games, Guy’s Chance of a Lifetime, et al.) that highlight casual restaurants and items you can find on grocers' shelves, Fieri isn’t an Iron Chef like 2013 honoree Nobu Matsuhisa. With his Chicken Guy franchises, he’s probably not the first person you connect with epicureans the way you would 2019 tribute dinner honoree Nancy Silverton. With his trademark spiked platinum hair, quick wit, and catchphrases, the self-described Mayor of Flavortown is certainly no starched French chef personality a la 2011 guest of honor Alain Ducasse.

What he is, according to Alex Guarnaschelli, Food Network star and chef/owner of New York City's Butter, is commendably big-hearted and demonstrably ardent about food. “I know I speak for many people that have shared space with Guy on Food Network when I say how generous he is,” she says. “He loves to cook and watch people cook as well.”

Scarpetta’s chef-proprietor Scott Conant (also a Food Network personality) agrees with that assessment, saying, “He is the most generous person I know and is always looking to help people — friends and strangers alike.”

In fact, during the pandemic, Fieri did just that, immediately jumping to the nation's rescue when he saw how COVID-19 would affect restaurants. To date, he has raised $21 million for hospitality workers throughout the U.S. But he's no stranger to charitable work. Before that, he and his crew made more than 2,000 meals for first responders during the 2018 wildfires out west. He also donates the perishable food from Guy's Grocery Games to a nearby shelter, demonstrating a way for others to feed unhoused people and prevent food waste at the same time. Fieri is also personally generous. During his visit to Miami Beach during the 2021 South Beach Wine & Food Festival, the chef left a $5,000 tip at a local restaurant.

“His commitment to his team and our industry represents true hospitality and a genuine desire to reach and help people through food,” says Michael Voltaggio, chef of Voltaggio Brothers Steakhouse, who became close with Fieri over the years through his appearances on Guy’s Grocery Games and Guy’s Ranch Kitchen.

MC and celebrity auctioneer Mauro, who calls Fieri “The Godfather,” also mentions Fieri's devotion to his own people who have supported him along the way. He calls him “a family man who has managed to grow an immense media and food empire while still keeping his family and trusted friends close to him.”

Certainly, munificence and loyalty are qualities worth celebrating now more than ever. And there’s no denying that Fieri, with his seemingly endless energy and enthusiasm for all things food, embodies the spirit of hospitality. Those are just a few reasons his colleagues are eager to prepare a course apiece for him, although they’re only willing to share so many details about that dish.

For instance, Guarnaschelli says, “I recently learned that Guy loves horseradish, so I am making a very vibrant and fresh first course using this ingredient mixed with green beans and other simple flavors.”

Voltaggio is creating a recipe inspired by a family trip Fieri took to Hawaii that he filmed for his fans’ consumption. “He shared this journey with the world and I think it’s one that’s close to his heart,” the chef says. “I’d like this dish to pay homage to him, his family, and all the work they do to help so many people be seen, heard, tasted, helped, and recognized.” What the dish is, though, is anybody's guess.

Conant is also playing it cagey. “We are making some kind of a play between porchetta and pernil,” he says.

Of course, too many details would ruin the surprise, for Fieri and tribute dinner guests alike. And Fieri’s colleagues seem eager to catch Fieri off-guard emotionally — in a good way.

While Fieri initially came on the gastronomic entertainment scene as something of a disruptor, he’s made true, heartfelt friends with other chefs and cookbook authors through his work ethic and appealing, mischievous personality.

Voltagio says that’s because “he’s very good at making everyone feel comfortable and have fun on set. He creates an environment of family and friends and it brings the best out of all involved.”

That environment often extends to after-hours. “The first time I had a night out with Guy was right on the heels of my Food Network Star season seven win,” Mauro recounts. “Needless to say, being a Chicago boy, I thought I could keep up with his crew. Gallons of Jack Daniel's and two cigars later, I was painfully humbled. Barely made it to a Food Network brunch the next day.”

But Fieri isn’t all about excess, either, as much as his shows and outward style may make it seem. “Every time we shoot Guy's Ranch Kitchen at his house, we go on a hike,” Guarnaschelli shares. “There’s this one particular hill that’s not too steep but just long and drawn-out. Every time we get to the base of the hill, he gives me a smile. He knows he’s going to have to motivate me to get up to the top. He will say something simple like, ‘C’mon, Guarnaschelli, we’re almost done and we'll get coffee.’ I know there’s a larger metaphor at work. I love how he’s always pushing others, including me.”

That creative, inspirational drive also comes out via the nicknames Fieri bestows on everyone who participates in his shows, Voltaggio says. “It makes work feel like we are all at summer camp hanging out with our closest childhood friends. Just ask the Great Hambino, the Highlighter Princess, Shenanigans, and the Spice Queen.”

Don’t know who the Highlighter Princess, Shenanigans, and the others are? Neither do we. But we have a feeling guests at the tribute dinner might find out.

Tribute Dinner honoring Guy Fieri, Bill Deutsch, & Peter Deutsch, hosted by Master of Ceremonies Rachael Ray. 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, February 26, at Loews Miami Beach Hotel, 1601 Collins Ave., Miami Beach. Sold out.