Fieri didn't want anything to do with competing on a reality show at first, but his buddies wouldn't stop letting up on him. He finally relented and sent the tape in late, but the casting team almost didn't watch it upon arrival. When they put it into the DVD player at the studio, it didn't work, so the casting director put it in her purse and took it home. By some stroke of serendipity, it fell out of her purse and she was compelled to try watching it again. This time, it worked, and she was blown away by Fieri's audition.