On Friday, HBS announced that it had concluded its yearlong search for a celebrity chef to partner with on a new on-campus dining establishment specifically geared towards the needs of business school students. Beating out other finalists such as Bobby Flay, Giada De Laurentiis, and Wolfgang Puck was the star of the Food Network television series Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Guy Fieri. Fieri’s new restaurant will be known as “Planet Flavortown” and will open in the fall of 2017 in the space formerly known as the Spangler Grille.
“The genesis of this idea came when Stanford GSB announced their partnership last fall with Iron Chef Cat Cora to bring her line of healthy grain bowls and salads to campus,” said HBS Operations Chief Spokesperson Ferris Wheeler. “When we announced our own celebrity chef search, we knew that we had to kick things up a notch. Our chief concern was bringing in food that would make our international students feel at home. That’s why we decided to bring in Guy Fieri and his unique style of flavor-blastin’, finger-lickin’ good food that is simultaneously adventurous and familiar.”
Planet Flavortown’s menu will feature many new dishes of Fieri’s invention, including Whammo Velveeta Lasagna PierogisTM, Bacon-Wrapped Cinnamon-Spice Pizza DunkersTM, Flamin’-Hot Sriracha Matzo Ball Soup,TM and Mama’s Own Peanut-Butter-and-Jelly Sushi BitesTM.
In announcing the selection HBS Dean Nitin Nohria said “Diversity is the cornerstone of 
everything we hope to accomplish at the Harvard Business School. Just as we want our case protagonists to reflect out students, so too do we want our menus in Spangler. Whether it is with Guy’s Artisanal Cream Cheese Wonton BallsTM, Triple Fried Guacamolita Tempeh ArepasTM, Teriyaki Pesto Arancini BallsTM, or All-Star Pickled Herring Cottage Cheese NibblesTM, we hope every bite offers an unexpected burst of flavor and diversity.”
The dessert menu at Planer Flavortown will feature delectable temptations such as Red-Wine Molten Mochi Volcano Cake,
Vegan 7-Layer Cookie Dough Dip, Salted Whisky Pound Cake Sliders, and a rotating selection of deep-fried cheesecakes.
We met up with Fieri one afternoon as he was filming a Boston edition of “Triple D”, to speak with him about his personal vision for Planet Flavortown. He emerged from a bright-red Mustang slightly sweaty, his platinum tips sparkling under the sun, and emitting a faint aroma of barbeque sauce. We sat down at a nearby café for a chat. “When I got a call from the folks at H-B-Sizzle asking me to open a new restaurant, I was so 
stoked to bring my off-the-hook scratch-made anything-goes food to the future business leaders of the world. You may only get to go to one country for FIELD, but with my tasty creations, every bite will be a business class ticket all the way around Planet Flavortown.”
Look out for Planet Flavortown’s grand opening next fall. The first 100 meals sold will come with a complimentary Guy Fieri S’well Bottle full of Dr. John’s discount-brand Pepto Bismol. Rumor has it that in an attempt to boost applications, Wharton is partnering with celebrity chef Paula Deen to open a similar restaurant in spring 2018.
