Back in middle February, we spent a couple of minutes here in this space talking about the premiere of an all new show produced an hosted by travel host Samantha Brown. It was Samantha’s first visit to Savannah in just about a decade. The episode was not food-centric, but did feature a couple of eateries in the area.
That same week, the whispers began to make their way through the system. Arguably the biggest name in American food/travel television was about to arrive in Savannah and spend about a week featuring several different restaurants across Chatham County.
Yes, celebrity chef and TV host Guy Fieri was in Savannah for about a week in February and except for a photo that was posted to Facebook by the Tybee Island Police Department, you really would have never known. It was not on public display.
The first feature with Starland’s Big Bon Bodega aired back on August 14th. Those who watched the episode saw Kay Heritage and her Big Bon Family, but that was the only stop in Savannah during that particular episode. The other locations are soon to come including one this Friday the 28th.
Finding out where Mr. Fieri and his crew stopped isn’t really an industry secret, but it has also not been put on blast since their filming back in February.
“We were told we could not promote it until they (the production company) put it out there.” according to someone with knowledge of how it all worked. “about three days before it airs.”
Geez, why all the secrecy?
It would help to look at it from their perspective. It’s pretty simple. Team Fieri wants the energy around the visit to peak when the actual episodes air, not two months before. They want people to watch it. It does no good to get the fan base all lathered up 2 months ahead of time and then lose the momentum by the time the episode actually airs. So it’s hush hush until closer to showtime.
To that end, it really doesn’t matter to a lot of his fans. Most record every episode anyway. So you will see Savannah in short order. Where else did he stop? We cannot say whether or not this is a complete list because….well, because of the reasons we told you already. We can tell you where we have heard he stopped by to film but we aren’t sure when those episodes will air. Although there’s been a whisper that one of the features (Sea Wolf) will air this Friday, April 28th. Could there be more? Yes. But we don’t think there are less than these. You’ll just have to watch and wait.
For all of you cord cutters out there, the episodes can be streamed on Amazon Prime Video within days of them airing on Food Network. If you don’t have Amazon Prime, then take a bottle of Moscato over to your friends house who does and enjoy.
The others: Big Bon Bodega (aired April 14th) Sea Wolf Sundae Cafe Sisters The Garage at Victory North
