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Guy Fieri reveals a surprising secret about 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives'

The Mayor of Flavortown is always happy to help out a fellow chef.
/ Source: TODAY

Ever wonder why "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" is so popular?

Maybe it's because Guy Fieri's infectious enthusiasm for pretty much everything he puts in his mouth makes viewers hungry, too.

But it turns out — shocker of shockers! — the Mayor of Flavortown isn't exactly obsessed with every bite of sandwich, meatloaf, pasta, and more that he's ever eaten on the hit show.

In a recent interview on Brian Koppelman's "The Moment," a podcast about the moments that lead to interesting careers, Fieri admitted that, despite his over-the-top reactions on camera, not every dish really makes his heart — or stomach — sing.

After he tries a dish, Fieri said the chef or restaurateur will often ask what he really thought of the food.

"We’ll go to commercial, and they’ll go, 'Well, did you like that?' And I’m like, 'Yeah it was good.' And they’ll go, 'Well you didn’t go, like, ‘This is off the hook.’' And I’m like, ‘Well, it was good.' And I’m like, 'Don’t be offended, I don’t like every single song that’s on the Rolling Stones album.'"

While a Stones album is set in stone (that was hard to resist), food — thankfully — is not. Something as simple as "treating the bun," Fieri said, can take a burger from "eh" to outstanding.

But the real secret sauce behind the show, according to the spiky-haired chef, is actually the overwhelming positivity that each episode features.

"Why highlight the negative? Never call me a food critic. That's the farthest thing that I am," Fieri, whose been the victim of scathing reviews, said to Koppelman. "I'm bringing the greatest hits! It wasn't Casey Kasem's worst music countdown. People listened for the top 40."

Clearly, Fieri knows what he's talking about. After 26 seasons, "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives" is one of Food Network's longest running shows and it's helped jump start several little-known food businesses that have been featured.

Guy Fieri
Celebrity chef Guy Fieri set up a temporary kitchen outside of the Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building in Santa Rosa, California, to cook for evacuees after wildfires ripped through his hometown.Noreen O'Donnell / NBC Bay Area

Naturally, when a chef on the show asks how to make a dish better, Fieri is happy to serve up some advice, too. Behind the scenes, he's even helped chefs "bust it out" in the kitchen before hitting the road again.

"As chefs, we all try and support each other and we all try to help each other grow," Fieri told Koppelman.

And this famous face doesn't just help out in the kitchen. He's been known make a pretty bad situation better with food, like when he barbecued for first responders and evacuees of the California wildfires.

What a guy.