Chef Dustin Valette, Taylor Sheridan and Guy Fieri.Photo:Anders Krusberg
Anders Krusberg
Guy Fierithrew a “high-end fraternity party” — and it was all for a good cause.
The Chefs for Maui fundraiser.Anders Krusberg
“I’m at this point in my life now where my greatest goal is what I can do with what I have for others,” Fieri tells PEOPLE exclusively.
When the Food Network star got the idea to host the event with hisGuy Fieri Foundation, he texted 50 friends and it was “like a slot machine went off.”
Taylor Sheridan and Guy Fieri.Courtesy Guy Fieri
Courtesy Guy Fieri
“I’m in, I’m in. I’ll be there. I’ll be there,” he recalls his chef friends responding. “Not one person blinked when I asked them to help or be involved.”
Michael Voltaggio,Brooke Williamson,Kelsey Barnard Clark, Mei Lin and Antonia Lofaso are just some of the big names who participated.
“I don’t think there’s ever been a collective of this many chefs to this few people, with this many courses for this dire of a need at one time,” Fieri said the morning of the event. “I think it’s going to be one of the most sensational events to ever happen in the food world.”
And that it was. Through $2,500 tickets and live and silent auctions, the fundraiser is able to provide money to displaced natives and thesome 80 restaurants that burned downduring the devastating fires in Lahaina.
“It’s a hug. It’s like, ‘Hey, you brothers and sisters in the business, we understand you. We appreciate you. We know you’re hurting.’ That’s what this is,” Fieri tells PEOPLE.
Hawaii is close to Fieri’s heart. “I’ve shot over 16 locations in Maui for my shows, and I travel to Maui with my family year after year for vacation. It is such a special place, and what makes it special are the people," he told PEOPLE in August. “To think of those people that love their island, and love their families, and make visitors feel welcome, we need to stop what we’re doing and do what we can to help them.”
The Guy Fieri Foundation will continue taking donations for Maui relief efforts on itswebsite.
source: people.com
