One of television’s most famous celebrity chefs made an appearance today, Nov. 13 on hurricane-ravaged Anna Maria Island, at Holmes Beach City Hall, next to a towering pile of debris.
Guy Fieri, celebrity chef and host of the Food Network series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” visited Holmes Beach along with a Guy Fieri Foundation trailer to distribute meals to first responders in the wake of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Brian Daly, executive director of Guy Fieri Foundation, estimated they fed somewhere between 400 to 500 people.
“We just finished this trailer after two years of building it,” Daly said. “So this is our first run of feeding first responders, and we decided to come out here and feed them all here on the island in Holmes Beach, because we saw the devastation that has happened here.”
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Celebrity chef and television host Guy Fieri visited Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island on Wednesday, Nov. 13, distributing meals to first responders.
Anna Maria Island was among the areas in Sarasota-Manatee hit hardest by hurricanes Milton and Helene, and while several restaurants have since been able to open back up for business, others such as Holmes Beach fine-dining staple Beach Bistro have yet to reopen.
Celebrity chef and television host Guy Fieri visited Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island on Wednesday, Nov. 13, distributing meals to first responders.
Fieri previously visited Manatee County when the since-closed Bradenton restaurant Jose’s Real Cuban Food appeared on a season 12 episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in 2011. The show also featured the Sarasota restaurant Alpine Steakhouse and its turducken — a whole boneless turkey stuffed with whole boneless chicken and duck, and sausage and seasoned bread dressing — on a season two episode in 2007.
Celebrity chef and television host Guy Fieri visited Holmes Beach on Anna Maria Island on Wednesday, Nov. 13, distributing meals to first responders.
Fieri is known for his philanthropy, including helping raise more than $21.5 million for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund during the pandemic, according to Newsweek. On Nov. 18, Fieri and Rocco Mangel — owner of Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, which opened a Sarasota area location in 2023 — will host an event at Rocco’s Tacos in Boca Ration, with proceeds benefitting the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Disaster Relief Fund supporting the hospitality industry.
Brian Daly, pictured here, is executive director of the Guy Fieri Foundation.
Fieri is among the celebrities who have homes in Florida, with a Lake Worth Beach property in Palm Beach County. He also recently appeared at a Total Wine & More in Naples during a meet-and-greet where he took photos with fans and signed bottles of Santo Tequila, which Fieri founded with rock star Sammy Hagar.
Wade Tatangelo is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram and X. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Celebrity chef Guy Fieri feeds first responders on Anna Maria Island
