One of television’s most famous chefs made an appearance today, November 13, on Anna Maria Island ravaged by hurricaneat Holmes Beach City Hall, next to a towering pile of debris.

Guy Fieri, celebrity chef and host of the Food Network series “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” visited Holmes Beach with a Guy Fieri Foundation trailer to distribute meals to first responders following Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Brian Daly, executive director of the Guy Fieri Foundation, estimates they fed between 400 and 500 people.

“We just finished this trailer after two years of construction,” Daly said Wednesday afternoon as he packed up the trailer, which was parked at the hurricane-damaged AMI Car Wash at 5804 Marina Drive, across the street from the city ​​hall. “So this is our first first responder feeding operation, and we decided to come here and feed them all here on Holmes Beach Island, because we saw the devastation that happened here.”

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Anna Maria Island was among the Sarasota-Manatee areas hardest hit by Hurricanes Milton and Helene, and while several restaurants have since been able to reopen for business, others, like fine dining staple Holmes Beach, Beach Bistro, have not yet reopened.

Fieri had previously visited Manatee County when the since-closed Bradenton restaurant Jose’s Real Cuban Food appeared on a Season 12 episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” in 2011. The show also featured Sarasota’s Alpine Steakhouse and its turducken – a whole boneless turkey stuffed with whole boneless chicken and duck, plus sausage and seasoned bread dressing – in a second season episode. in 2007.

Fieri is known for his philanthropy, including helping raise more than $21.5 million for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund during the pandemic, according to News week. On November 18, Fieri and Rocco Mangel, owner of Rocco’s Tacos & Tequila Bar, who opened a Sarasota-area location in 2023 – will host an event at Rocco’s Tacos at Boca Ration, with proceeds benefiting the Florida Restaurant & Lodging Association Disaster Relief Fund, which supports the hospitality industry.

Fieri is part celebrities who have homes in Floridawith property in Lake Worth Beach in Palm Beach County. He also recently appeared at Total Wine & More in Naples at a meet-and-greet where he took photos with fans and signed bottles of Santo Tequila, which Fieri founded with rock star Sammy Hagar.

Wade Tatangelo is a story editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida regional dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram And X. He can be reached by email at [email protected]. Email entertainment reporter Jimmy Geurts at [email protected]. Support local journalism by subscribing.

This article originally appeared on the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Celebrity Chef Guy Fieri Feeds First Responders on Anna Maria Island