Long before there was The Culinary Duo, Peter Martin had a question he loved asking whenever he walked into a restaurant:
“If Guy Fieri walked through that door and you had one chance to serve him something that would impress him and represent your restaurant to the entire country, what would you serve him?”
Peter has been asking some version of that question for more than 15 years.
It started because Peter has always been a huge fan of Guy Fieri and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. But more importantly, he loved what the show represented.
It wasn't simply about eating at restaurants.
It was about discovering the dish, the people and the story that made each restaurant special.
And Peter wanted to experience restaurants the same way.
Don't Just Give Me the Most Popular Dish. Give Me the Dish You're Proud Of.
As Peter became an active Google reviewer, he wanted his reviews to be interesting and useful rather than simply ordering something familiar and reporting whether he liked it.
He wanted to know:
What does this restaurant do that it is truly proud of?
So instead of automatically ordering a burger, steak, pasta or whatever happened to catch his eye, Peter started asking servers, bartenders, managers and chefs his Guy Fieri question.
Sometimes the answer comes immediately.
Sometimes the server has to think about it.
Sometimes they ask another employee.
And sometimes it starts a debate among the entire staff.
Those are often the most fun.
Because when you ask someone what they would serve Guy Fieri if their restaurant were about to be featured for the entire country to see, something changes.
They stop thinking about simply taking an order.
They start thinking about what represents them.
- Their signature dish.
- Their chef's specialty.
- The family recipe.
- The dish regulars know about.
- Or something they believe people simply have to experience.
That's usually what Peter wants to try.
The Question That Became Part of Our Philosophy
Years later, when Peter and Susan created The Culinary Duo, that same idea naturally became part of how they approached restaurants.
We're not walking into a restaurant hoping to find something wrong.
We're looking for what makes it worth talking about.
We want to know what the chef is proud of, what the staff loves, what regular customers keep coming back for and what someone experiencing the restaurant for the first time shouldn't miss.
That's one reason Peter connected so strongly with something Guy Fieri has said about Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives:
He isn't there to be a food critic. He's there to showcase the restaurant and what they do.
That is very close to how Susan and Peter see The Culinary Duo.
We aren't trying to be traditional food critics.
We are storytellers, restaurant enthusiasts and guests who want to discover what you do best and share it with other people.
We want to showcase the food we enjoyed.
Meet the people responsible for creating it.
Learn the stories behind the dishes.
Find those unexpected discoveries that make us say, “You have to try this.”
And then use our reviews, photographs, videos, social platforms and other media to give those restaurants additional exposure.
Sometimes the Question Creates Something Completely New
One of Peter's favorite examples happened years ago at a little restaurant in the backwoods of Florida.
There was a sign in the window claiming they had the best cheesesteak, while the menu also promoted their gyro as the best in town.
Naturally, Peter had a question.
“Okay, which one is better?”
The waitress had an opinion.
Then another member of the staff joined the conversation.
Before long there was a full debate going on about whether Peter should order the cheesesteak or the gyro.
Eventually, even the chef came out of the kitchen and joined in.
Peter finally offered a solution:
Why choose?
They created a cheesesteak using half steak and half gyro meat.
And it was fantastic.
The combination of the seasoned gyro meat with the traditional cheesesteak created an incredible mix of flavors — exactly the kind of unexpected restaurant discovery Peter loves.
It turned out so well that the restaurant later added the creation to the menu.
And Peter still recommends it today.
Try the "Webdoc"
If you ever find yourself at a restaurant that serves both cheesesteaks and gyros, Peter has a challenge for you.
Order the cheesesteak.
Ask them to make it double meat.
But instead of making all of that meat steak, ask them to combine the traditional cheesesteak meat with gyro meat.
Blend the two together with the cheese and the rest of the sandwich.
Then take a bite.
Taste explosion.
And if the restaurant decides it's good enough to put on the menu, there is only one condition:
They have to call it...
The Webdoc
Named after its creator, Peter “Webdoc” Martin.
If you find a restaurant willing to make one, send us a picture. Better yet, tell us where it is. Susan and Peter may have to come try it.
So... What Would You Serve Guy?
Today, Peter still loves asking the question.
Sometimes Susan already knows it's coming before he says it.
A server approaches the table.
Peter looks through the menu.
And eventually:
“Let me ask you something. If Guy Fieri were sitting right here and you had one opportunity to serve him something that would make him want to put this restaurant on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, what would you bring him?”
The reactions are still priceless.
But behind the fun is a question that gets to the heart of what The Culinary Duo is about:
What makes this restaurant special?
That's what we want to discover.
That's what we want to experience.
And when we find it, that's the story we want to share.
Two Perspectives. One Table. And Always Looking for the Dish Worth Talking About.
Susan & Peter Martin
The Culinary Duo
The Culinary Duo and Peter Martin are not affiliated with or endorsed by Guy Fieri, Food Network or Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. References are based on Peter's longtime appreciation of the program and the restaurant-discovery philosophy that inspired this personal tradition.