WALL TOWNSHIP — Residents of Wall and the surrounding area got a little taste of Flavortown this weekend, as popular celebrity chef Guy Fieri visited the Wine Outlet to promote his new Santo Spirits tequila brand, and then made the rounds in the area, stopping at several area restaurants along the way.
Thousands of residents waited in line and in the rain on Saturday evening to get a brief meeting with the famous chef and philanthropist. With the line curling around the entire building, there was no shortage of fans who were waiting on getting a chance to meet Fieri and snag a quick picture.
James Holland, of Mount Ephraim, was first in line, arriving at the store around 1 p.m., some 4 hours before Fieri was set to make his grand entrance. After seeing that there was no one in line, Holland grabbed lunch at a nearby store and then officially started the line around 2 p.m.
He told The Coast Star, “I really like Guy Fieri. I have been watching him on TV for years. He’s a cool guy with a really chill vibe. He is not stuck up or pretentious, he doesn’t yell or scream at people and he does a lot of good charity work.”
After meeting Fieri, Holland said, “Absolutely worth it. 100% because I didn’t have to wait outside. I can just go home.” Before leaving, Holland also bought a bottle of Santo to see what all the hype was about.
Right behind Holland was Christine Ivaliotis and Monica Rogrs of Howell, two best friends who made a day out of coming to the outlet to see Fieri.
Ivaliotis said, “I have been a huge fan of his since the start of his career. My grandfather taught me to cook when I was 6 years old and if my grandfather was still alive, he would absolutely love Guy Fieri because he has such a passion and enthusiasm for food and for people in general, and my grandfather was like that.”
“A lot of the elements he brings to his shows and to his cooking and that exuberance is so contagious. It is inspiring for me because he makes his dishes on his own and I do the same thing with my cooking. I never follow a recipe verbatim, I always tweak it along the way,” said Ivaliotis. “I got that from Guy Fieri because he goes to all these different places and he notes all of these different flavor pallets and elements in the food that he likes. He then brings that into his own cooking, and I do that as well.”
Fieri went to different places around the Jersey Shore too, as social media posts placed him at Leggetts SandBar in Manasquan and 10th Ave. Burrito and La Dolce Vita in Belmar.
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