Bill Murray and Guy Fieri Will Take Part in a Nacho Battle for Restaurant Relief

Admittedly, my Google Image search for "Bill Murray bleached hair" didn't return any results, but Guy Fieri and the SNL alum still have plenty in common. Fieri brings goofball flair to the serious business of celebrity cheffing while Murray has repeatedly proven his dramatic chops despite specializing in comedy first and foremost. Murray, like Fieri, is also a restaurateur (more on that in a minute). And despite their oversized personalities, both have a reputation for being genuinely good people: Fieri through his extensive hands-on charity work and Murray for his nonstop man-of-the-people antics.

Still, it apparently took a global pandemic for the two to officially meet—as part of a video chat for The Tonight Show, of course. For Jimmy Fallon's big Friday night episode this past week, Murray and Fieri videoed in to teach the late night host how to make "classic" nachos. More than just a chance to teach viewers how to whip up a wonderful stay-at-home comfort food meal, the pair is also promoting their upcoming charity nacho competition to raise money for the Restaurant Employee Relief Fund (RERF).

"Bill and Homer [Murray's eldest son] are in the restaurant business. And, of course, I'm in the restaurant business. And my son is as well," Fieri begins. "The restaurant industry has been hit so hard during this pandemic. It's just been terrible. And we have tens of thousands of restaurants that are closed. We have millions of employees without jobs. So I started a program with the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation called RERF [...] We're up to about $22.5 million right now."

During this appearance at least, Murray was mostly around for moral support. "I'm really happy to be a part of this because, Guy, you're going to get work off of this," the comedian quipped. Then later, since you have Fallon, Murray, and Fieri all working from home, no one should be surprised that things wrapped up with a bit of booze—and Murray proposing a toast "to the restoration of the restaurant business and all its employees."

But as for the actual competition, the "Nacho Average Showdown"—as it's officially called—will take place live this Friday, May 15 at 5 p.m. ET on the Food Network's Facebook Page. The Tostitos-presented event will be hosted by Carla Hall and features guest judges Shaquille O'Neal and Terry Crews. And though Fieri and Murray will provide the "off-the-wall humor and friendly banter," the actual cooking will be a battle between their sons. Hunter Fieri and Homer Murray will "show their dads the secret to making perfect nachos" by preparing up their "signature nachos," the announcement stated.

While enjoying the free entertainment, viewers will be able to donate to the RERF directly through the Facebook page.