Ever since this sensuous, quixotic individual was a young boy, he had a strong love for food.

When he was 10 years old, he used to hate how his mother would cook with vegetables, so she told him if he didn’t like the way she cooked, then he should cook for himself. He took that as the green light.  Fieri went down to the grocery store, picked up a few steaks on his family tab, and grilled them up. His father had told him that it was the best steak he had ever had. That’s when Fieri knew, he wanted to be a chef.

At the same age, he had started his own business, “The Awesome Pretzel Company.” He says he would go to fairs or to any place that would let him sell his soft pretzels. At this time, he was in the sixth grand and said he was, “Rolling around with a checkbook.”

His parents were hippies; they were really into macrobiotic and natural cooking. His sister was a vegetarian, he said, “I wasn’t down with that.”

To save money, Fieri also has his own garden and is a pretty fierce canner. Just before the summer ends, he cans up his favorite bell peppers in the kitchen. It might use up some time, but it tastes better and saves money!