Rolling in the dough! Food Network stars, including Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay and Ree Drummond, have brought in major money from hosting their own TV shows.
Fieri got his start on the network in 2006 when he won season 2 of The Next Food Network Star. His prize was a six-episode commitment for his own cooking show, and Guy’s Big Bite premiered that June. He is best known for his follow-up series with the channel, Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, which debuted in April 2007.
Over the years, the restauranteur has become a mainstay of Food Network, leading him to negotiate a landmark multimillion-dollar deal in 2021.
“We’ve been offered and enticed, and, yes, there’s probably a way to do this in some different levels, but I’m treated pretty well,” Fieri told The Hollywood Reporter in April of that year, noting that his loyalties lie with programming executives rather than the parent company. “I got a chance of a lifetime, and I think I played it good.”
The Emmy nominee also explained why he remained committed to using his platform to help restaurants, especially as the coronavirus pandemic impacted the industry. “Nothing can replace what this kind of recognition, appearing on TV, can do for these people and their businesses … for their lives,” he said. “I need to keep doing this because it just needs to be done.”
Drummond, for her part, began her lifestyle empire via her blog, The Pioneer Woman, which she launched in 2006. Due to its popularity, she landed her own show on Food Network. The series, which is named after her blog, premiered in August 2011.
The author divulged in October 2017 whether anything could make her walk away from her successful series. “We’ve always approached the show with an open mind,” she exclusively told Us Weekly at the time. “I don’t have a checklist of things that would make me stop doing it. We just reevaluate and make sure it’s working for our family.”
Drummond noted that balance is “always something [she’s] working on” in her life, but it does not come easy given her busy schedule.
“I get up extremely early — at 5 a.m., sometimes before that — and have a big iced coffee. I have cold brew in my fridge at all times!” she shared of her typical day. “Sometimes I’m making food to deliver it to the guys if they’re working. If I’m shooting my show, I try to get rid of my puff[y] eyes and head to the lodge and start shooting. Some days I go into our store and restaurant, the Mercantile in our small town, and spend some time in there getting things done. Never a dull moment. In fact, I aspire to dull moments!”
Sign up for Us Weekly's free, daily newsletter and never miss breaking news or exclusive stories about your favorite celebrities, TV shows and more!
Scroll through the gallery below to find out how much money Food Network stars make.
