It's truly an honor to be able to speak to you directly through these pages. Sure, you've seen me on TV for the past 15-plus years in well over 1,000 episodes of shows, from Guy's Big Bite and DDD to GGG and TOC. I hope you've checked out some of my cookbooks and made dinner for your family. Maybe you've even bought a Knuckle Sandwich chef's knife or rocked a super-flattering Halloween costume complete with a flamed bowling shirt. My point is, I've been around. But what you have never seen is a closer look at my world, from my perspective. So this issue of Food Network Magazine is finally my chance to open the doors a little wider and tell a bit more of my story.

Since I was a kid way up in the tiny Northern California town of Ferndale, all I ever wanted to do was cook. Food has always been how I communicate with my friends, my family and lately, the world. Some people will ask me, "How did you get so lucky?" Well, I'm not a big believer in luck. I've always been me, spoken my food language to anyone who'd listen, and over time I found my people...and that's you, folks. The Food Network fan has been there for me from day one of The Next Food Network Star, and I like to think that we've never left each other's side. Some might even say that together we've created our own special world, a world where we cook and eat out loud and flavor reigns. That's right, we're talking about FLAVORTOWN, baby!

For the life of me, I can't tell you exactly when and where it was founded. I don't remember specifically who planted the first flag on the mountaintop. And I certainly don't have any clue what the actual GPS coordinates are. But what I do know is that Flavortown is real and it's folks like you who have not just brought it to life but spread the gospel and good vibes globally. So, as a loyal citizen of Flavortown, I thank you for your friendship over the years and ask for your support in dedicating this issue to my parents, our Founding Flavors, Jim and Penny (a.k.a. "Jamps" and "Mimi"), without whom our lives would be decidedly more bland. I hope that this issue brings some fun and excitement to your summer table and that you may forever continue to spread the good word and always remember that together, we can build a better, more flavorful world!

Love, Peace & Taco Grease,

Guy

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