Whether or not you’re a fan of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives or Guy’s Grocery Games, you’re likely familiar with Guy Fieri. The popular Food Network host and food critic has a long-standing passion for good food, one that comes across clearly with his vibrant personality.

Ahead of warmer weather, Fieri is prepping for barbeque season by expanding his popular Flavortown line to include new wing sauces and dry rubs. With the full line launching this May, we got a chance to chat with the mayor of Flavortown to learn more about his controversial food takes, favorite spring dishes and so much more. 

EatingWell: Do you have any controversial ingredients that you refuse to cook with? 

Guy Fieri: I’m not a huge truffle oil fan. Not because it’s not really truffles. The problem is, just because you have a bottle of it doesn’t mean you need to use all of it. It’s kind of like free perfume at the Macy’s counter. Don’t put it all on! Truffle oil is so amazing to work with, but unfortunately, if you don’t use it judiciously, it’ll get away from you.

EW: Springtime means the weather is finally warming up —are there any seasonal dishes you’re excited to make? 

Fieri: Living in California, we’re a little bit spoiled when it comes to seasons because we get a longer season, and an earlier season. I do feel that it’s responsible for all of us to be buying produce that’s grown as locally as possible and not importing produce that’s ripened in warehouses and so forth. 

And so for me, I’m a big vegetable person, I love roasted vegetables, whatever is in season. Cauliflower is one of my all-time favorites, and I think that it’s such a fantastic medium for any sauces or seasonings. I didn’t eat breakfast so I’m sitting here talking about all this and my mouth is watering. You can grill it, you can saute it, you can roast it. You can do anything. I’m a really big cauliflower fan.

EW: Can you share what inspired you to expand the Flavortown line?

Fieri: Well when you’re the mayor of Flavortown, and not jokingly, I take my sauces and condiments very seriously. I don’t think that people really get big flavor the way I get flavor. I think that drove me to create these sauces because they can take the most rookie cooks and help make them look great. This line is something that I think every home cook, anybody that loves food needs to have.  

EW: Can you walk us through some of the new additions to the Flavortown sauces? 

Fieri: So for the wing sauces, we have O.G. Buffalo, it’s a classic buffalo sauce with a rich fiery kick. Then we’ve got the Garlicky Parm, because not everybody wants spicy, some people want herbaceousness. So you get a hit of savory garlic and plenty of that creamy parm and it’s cheesy and delicious. We have the Nashville Hot, which is our sweet and spicy sauce. You get brown sugar, you get cayenne and you get a lot of spices. 

Then we have the Sizzlin’ Asian, and we call it a wing sauce but I would call this more like an “everything sauce”. It’s got soy sauce, nutty sesame oil and ginger. You can take this sauce on a chicken breast, any veggies that you have. Throw it over noodles, throw it over rice, whatever you have on hand because this sauce is a rock star. And the Chili Lime is that sauce that’s gonna give you the chance to grill something up and then cool it down a little bit, but also add a lot of flavor. Everybody looks at it and thinks they’re gonna dip into ranch and all of a sudden, they get this zest, and they get citrus and it’s just refreshing.

EW: Which of the new sauces is your favorite? 

Fieri: I knew you were gonna ask me that question and I was going to try to dodge that because it’s like asking which is your favorite kid. But I think the OG buffalo. It’s creamy, it’s thick, it’s rich and it’s spicy. It’s old-school and I love that. Running a very close second is the sizzling Asian.  And the reason behind that is because when the sauce has the ability to work with multiple dishes and cooking styles, it’s pretty dynamite. 

 EW: What’s your hottest food take?

Fieri: You know, my biggest thing about people and food is moderation. People get so hung up on things to avoid. Like fast food. It’s not my go-to but if you want to eat fast food, have at it. But if you’re gonna eat fast food, eat great fast food, eat quality fast food. I don’t really get hung up on what you shouldn’t do. I talk more about what you should do, and that’s enjoying the food you eat. 

Editor’s Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.