NEED TO KNOW

  • Guy Fieri spoke to PEOPLE about his recovery after a fall down a flight of stairs left him with a torn quad muscle and in a wheelchair for eight weeks, saying he’s “doing better” but still taking it slow after surgery in November
  • The Food Network star told PEOPLE he’ll be “up and ready and healthy and rolling” by Super Bowl weekend as he gears up for his Flavortown Tailgate Presented by SpotOn
  • Fieri also shared with PEOPLE how the injury reshaped his holiday season, from a challenging Thanksgiving to leaning on his sons Ryder and Hunter and his nephew Jules, who will all join him at the upcoming tailgate event

Guy Fieri is on the road to recovery.

The celebrity chef, 57, spoke with PEOPLE about his upcoming Super Bowl tailgate, Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate Presented by SpotOn, and gave an update on his health following a scary fall that’s left him in a wheelchair the past eight weeks.

“I’m doing better. It was definitely a trying holiday, but you know what, you get some real appreciation for having the ability to just get up and walk around and do everything you used to,” Fieri told PEOPLE. “I’m a big CrossFit and hiking guy, so eight weeks of no hiking has driven me kind of crazy. But I’m looking forward to it, trying to take it easy.”

Guy Fieri Hikes with His Dog Cash.

Guy Fieri/Instagram

Fieri fell down a flight of stairs while filming his new series, Flavor Town Food Fight, when “one foot went forward and the other foot got caught on the threshold” causing a brutal tear in his quad muscle. He underwent surgery in November.

The Food Network star admits he’s ready to get back up and moving but notes that the experience with the injury was anything but pleasant.

“My doctors are all like, ‘We know you want to get after it, but let’s not go back to where we were.’ And I’m like, ‘We are never going back to that!’ That was the worst thing I’ve been through in the last 20 years,” he laughs. “But now I’ll be up and ready and healthy and rolling by the time we hit the Super Bowl for sure.”

The injury made for quite an interesting Thanksgiving for the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives star, who shared that his son Ryder, 20, had texted him about helping out in the kitchen ahead of the holiday.

Ryder Fieri, Hunter Fieri, Guy Fieri and guest arrive at Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Mindy Small/Getty

“My son, Ryder, texted me from school and he said, ‘Well, I guess all the training you’ve given me and all the cooking I’ve been doing while I was at school, it was going to be my time to shine,” Fieri told Fox News Digital. “And I said, ‘I am so happy you’re asking me about this versus me telling you [that] you have to do it.’”

Ryder will join Fieri’s older son Hunter, 29, and nephew Jules, 26, in Santa Clara next month for the Flavortown Tailgate which is sure to be a fun-filled family affair.

“We can’t get them to return a text every time you want to text or pick up their phone when you’re trying to find them, but come Super Bowl weekend, everybody’s available now,” Fieri joked to PEOPLE.