HAVERHILL — Matthew Capprini considers Guy Fieri a rock star of the food world. He said Fieri can relate to the next generation of chefs and that he gets some of his culinary ideas from watching Food Network programs that Fieri stars in, such as "Guy's Big Bite."
Capprini, 18, of Haverhill never imagined that he'd work as a prep cook during Fieri's first stop on a national tour.
Capprini, a senior, and four of his fellow culinary arts students at Whittier Regional Vocational High School got to meet Fieri yesterday at Lowell Memorial Auditorium. It was the first stop for "The Guy Fieri Roadshow," a national tour starring Fieri.
"We'll have to set the bar really high and do our best," Capprini said on Monday as he prepared for yesterday's event.
Six of Whittier's culinary arts students were invited to work backstage as prep cooks getting everything ready for Fieri to cook with, or as the French say "misenplace," putting everything in its place. One member of the team could not attend the event due to illness.
"I'm proud to represent our school and be there to kick off Guy's tour," said Capprini.
Whittier culinary arts instructor Cathie Baines said Fieri's producers had contacted the Massachusetts Restaurant Association to ask for a school with students who studied the ProStart curriculum, a national restaurant curriculum for culinary arts students that Whittier participates in.
Baines and other culinary arts teachers picked two seniors and four juniors.
"They are students who have shown a real work ethic and achievement in the kitchen area in the first quarter," Baines said.
When she asked each of them to meet her one day last week, they were convinced they were in some kind of trouble. Instead, Baines held up a picture of Guy Fieri and said, "How would you like to go work for him?"
The students started shrieking and jumping up and down, she said.
"I kept repeating, 'Oh man, I can't believe this is happening,'" said senior Kyle Briggs, 17, of Amesbury.
Rounding out the team are: Angela Silvestri, 16, of Groveland; and Meaghan Sweeney, 16, and Samantha Boyd, 17, both of Haverhill. All three are juniors. Luis Zuniga Jr., 16, of Haverhill, had to bow out due to illness.
"He (Fieri) brings a real personality to the Food TV Network because he speaks to a younger audience," Briggs said on Monday during a team meeting. "I'm excited to be part of this, even though I plan to be a pastry chef."
Samantha Boyd was feeling nervous about working behind the scenes.
"I don't want to chop my fingers off," she said. "This will be a great experience and opportunity."
Meaghan Sweeney is more interested in the hospitality aspect of the food business and hoped to get a few tips from Fieri.
"This week I'm hostess at our school's Poet's Inn for the first time this year," Sweeney said. "I like cooking too, but I might learn a lot from Guy and how he interacts with people."
Angela Silvestri said her boss at the Rock Pond Restaurant in Georgetown, where she works after school, told her to jump at the chance of working behind the scenes for a TV celebrity.
"He said it will be a really good experience, even if it's just for a day," Silvestri said.
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