Fiery Bowling Shirts Are No Longer In Guy Fieri's Life
Celebrity chefs initially become famous for the way they work their magic in the kitchen, and the elaborate and delicious dishes they create out of simple household ingredients. But the most famous celebrity chefs of all, arguably, retain their fame for reasons other than their culinary skills, Vegas restaurants, or winning cooking competitions. While Gordon Ramsay is known for his explicit insults and Jamie Oliver (at least in the UK) is known for his healthy schools programme that angered a generation of school kids, Guy Fieri's signature flair has always been his zany fashion sense.
Most of all, Fieri is known for his flame-adorned bowling shirts, that he first debuted on "Food Network Star" in 2006, and that, alongside his spiky blonde hair, wouldn't look out of place in a '90s sitcom. But despite this long association, you might be surprised to learn that the infamous shirts haven't been a regular fixture in his wardrobe for quite a few years now.
Where did the association come from?
If there's one thing that comes to mind when you think of celeb chef Guy Fieri — that's not food — it's his bowling shirts. "I don't think I even own one [bowling shirt]," Fieri told People. Instead, he usually opts for a more casual, laid back style. "I'm pretty much a T-shirt and jeans guy. Shorts. Flip-flops. I'm not a real fashion icon."
Fieri also admitted that even his most iconic flame bowling shirt was not his own, and was instead simply part of the uniform from his Santa Rosa restaurant Tex Wasabis, which closed down in 2019. "We had several of our staff wear a flame shirt, that's where that picture came from," Fieri said. "It had nothing to do with an image. Someone got it, somebody ran with it. But it's hysterical, don't get me wrong."
Luckily, despite not regularly wearing the shirts, he doesn't seem to mind the association. According to Insider, he even reached out to a sorority who performed a dance on TikTok wearing the signature shirt. "As long as I'm putting a smile on somebody's face, as long as it's making positive energy, that to me is great," Fieri said (per Insider).