Guy Fieri Reveals What His ‘Flavortown’ Catchphrase Actually Means

Guy Fieri has finally explained what his classic catchphrase “Flavortown” actually means.

“It just turned into something and now there’s ‘Flavortown’ foods, sauces and you name it,” he said during an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, February 27.

Indeed, the Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives host has turned “Flavortown” into his own personal brand, with cookware, delivery-only restaurants and books all marketed around the catchphrase. But what, or where, is ‘Flavortown?’

Appearing on The Late Show, Fieri shed some light on coming up with his ubiquitous phrase and its unexpected popularity.

“‘Flavortown’ was this mythical place [I’d go] every time I’d try something really great,” he confirmed. “The first time, I think, it started is I had this gigantic pizza … I held [the pizza pan] and said, ‘Look at this thing! It’s like the steering wheel on the bus going to Flavortown.’ That’s all I said!”

Fieri initially didn’t even realize he’d coined a catchphrase until people actually started shouting “Flavortown” at him on the street.

“I said it a couple of other times about ‘a manhole cover in Flavortown,’ and then people started walking up in airports, going, ‘Hey! Flavortown,’” he revealed. “Then, someone yelled at me [and said], ‘It’s the Mayor of Flavortown’. I looked at my film crew going, ‘What’s that about?’ [The crew explained], ‘You keep repeating this Flavortown thing.’ … I am the appointed mayor. I became the mayor but somebody appointed my son as ‘The Prince of Flavortown.’”

Host Stephen Colbert interjected for clarification: “So, there’s a democratically-elected mayor and a hereditary prince at the same time? Flavortown is in the United Kingdom?”

“Something is wrong,” the chef admitted.

Fieri introduced the world to “Flavortown” after winning the Next Food Network Star reality competition in 2006. The chef became an overnight sensation thanks to the show, but he confessed to Colbert that it almost never happened.

“We had to make an audition tape, and I didn’t want to do the audition,” he remembered. “I was always the guy around my friends who would always push them to do what they didn’t want to do … I’d never seen one show on the Food Network. I’m a chef, and a cook, and a restaurant owner, I don’t watch Food Network … [My friends said,] ‘You would be great on [this show].’ Which, to me, sounded like, ‘Yeah, go on the show and get your ass kicked! This going to be funny.’”

Fieri, who lived in California at the time, eventually agreed to audition but incorrectly sent a DVD rather than the preferred VHS submission method. It was only because a Food Network executive brought his audition DVD home that he landed a spot on Next Food Network Star.

“My audition tape is ridiculous,” he admitted. “I was trying to make sure nobody would call me for the audition!”

He parlayed his reality competition show success into hosting nearly 200 episodes of Guy’s Big Bite and later toured the U.S. on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives looking for underrated eateries.

The chef has founded 17 different culinary brands and has ownership in 90 restaurants across the world, including Chicken Guy! and, of course, Downtown Flavortown.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert airs weeknights at 11.35p.m. ET on CBS.