"Hey Flavortown!": Guy Fieri Foundation teams up with hospitality students

Donnell Woods couldn’t contain his excitement about volunteering for his first event as a transfer student to FIU's Chaplin School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Woods and more than a dozen other hospitality students spent two days alongside the team of one of the culinary world’s most famous celebrities and chefs, Food Network personality and restaurateur Guy Fieri.

Woods and the students spoke with Guy Fieri Foundation staff, gaining firsthand knowledge from them about how to run a disaster kitchen and how to plan efficiently and effectively. Woods also worked alongside students to prepare a menu of lemon pepper chicken, pesto pasta, chicken Caesar salad and dinner rolls plated up with sides of Fieri’s new, “Flavortown” sauces. 

This was the first time that hospitality students and the Guy Fieri Foundation team served meals to students and first responders taking part in the university’s 10^th annual disaster field exercise, hosted by FIU’s Stempel College and its Academy for International Disaster Preparedness. The two-day event included more than a dozen emergency agencies collaborating with disaster management students to simulate a real-life disaster response operation to a fictional Category 5 hurricane. 

For his part, Woods said he was excited to do good for the community and help his fellow students during the exercise. He added that the experience also opened his eyes to a growing area of hospitality and a potential new career.

“I wanted to get more involved with helping people," Williams said. "It’s about feeding first responders and people who risk their lives every day."

Graduate student and teaching assistant Laura Rodriguez agreed. “To me hospitality is community. It’s just about helping one another."

"The Guy Fieri Foundation is proud to partner with FIU in helping to ready the next generation for whenever disaster strikes. Supporting current and future first responders is critical to the Foundation’s mission and together, we’re all-in whenever the need arises," Fieri said.

“Our food is our way of saying thank you. We can’t fight fires, we can’t build buildings, but we can thank you through food and that’s really what we do as an organization, thanking people, giving them a hug, giving them the knowledge that we see you out there and we’re here to support you,” said Brian Daly, Guy Fieri Foundation CEO.

Daly and Guy Fieri Foundation Operations Lead Ken Nadeau taught students how to run a disaster field kitchen during the exercise. Nadeau and a handful of foundation employees and volunteers have been serving food from their 40-foot-long, branded food trailer during disasters like the California wildfires and last year’s hurricanes in Florida. Since 2011, the Guy Fieri Foundation has served more than 200,000 meals during major disasters and supported first responders, veterans and communities in crisis through food, cooking and education.

“We’re extremely honored to be part of what Guy Fieri’s Foundation has done here. Guy Fieri has always been a part of the South Beach Wine & Food Festival®. He’s a tremendous individual and works really well with our students,” said Joe Cilli, assistant dean and director of FIU Chaplin School’s Distance Learning program.

Hospitality during times of crisis

This wasn’t the first time hospitality students have gotten a taste of hospitality during disaster relief efforts. In June 2021, students in the food production course cooked meals and served them up to hundreds of fire rescue, paramedics, police and medical personnel responding to the tragic collapse of the Champlain Towers condominium in nearby Surfside. 

Incorporating the Guy Fieri Foundation as partners during this exercise now gives hospitality students hands-on learning experience with managing meal delivery during a disaster operation. In fact, a new certificate of completion in disaster dining field kitchen operations is in the planning stages through FIU Hospitality’s Executive Education program. The focus will be on advanced food production, procurement, cooking, delivery, safety and pre-planning for natural disasters, along with communication and sustainability efforts during a disaster.

“We know that hospitality is always an important part of any experience, but especially when people suffer a disaster, they seek shelter and a hot plate of food,” said Michael Cheng, dean of the Chaplin School. “We are so excited to be able to help spread this shared passion of hospitality in this unique way.”  

The hot meal served during the disaster exercise was a bonus for students and first responders, who in the past have been served a pre-packaged, single serve MRE or Meal Ready to Eat, typically served by the U.S. military. Students and first responders appreciated the warmth of the delicious food and the service.

“One of the greatest things that the students and I have seen, especially today is they’re thanking us. Well, we’re just making a meal, but you know that meal does touch everybody. We’re serving love and giving a hug through food,” Daly added.

For Woods and his fellow students who helped during the exercise, the experience was eye-opening.

“This was such a wonderful experience! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of something greater than myself,” ended Woods with a smile.

The Guy Fieri Foundation is always looking for volunteers and support. Please visit their website for more details. For more information about FIU Hospitality’s Executive Education disaster dining field kitchens operations course, please visit https://hospitalityexed.fiu.edu.