Hunter Fieri Brought White Castle When He Asked His Fiancée's Dad for Permission to Marry Her (Exclusive)

"Her dad is the spokesman, the chairman, the congressman of White Castle," Fieri joked of his future father-in-law's love for the fast-food chain

Hunter Fieri knows the way to a man's heart is through his stomach.

Hunter, who is the son of Food Network star Guy Fieri, got engaged to pickleball pro Tara Bernstein on Thanksgiving Day last month. However, before the big proposal went down, Hunter, 27, visited Bernstein's father, Joel Frixx, in New York to ask for his blessing to marry her — and he came armed with an unexpected gift to help win over his future father-in-law.

"I brought her dad a box of White Castle cheeseburgers," Hunter tells PEOPLE. "So get this — her dad loves White Castle. Frixx is the spokesman, the chairman, the congressman of White Castle."

Hunter says he brought 30 burgers for good measure.

"He is literally the president of White Castle," he continues. "So I had to ask him out of respect. And I love Frixx because he's just a great father. So I bring a box of White Castle and I sit down … and then I ask him the question."

Frixx was impressed by Hunter's burger bounty. "He knows the way to my heart there, all right," he jokes to PEOPLE. "No, it was a great gesture and was just all heartfelt. This guy's a wonderful guy, this gal is a wonderful gal, and I love them both."

Hunter also made sure that Frixx was included in the proposal. He invited Bernstein's family to his family's ranch in Northern California for Thanksgiving, where he popped the question by a pond on the property.

Related: Hunter Fieri Opens Up About Being 'Guy Fieri's Son' and His First Solo Project

"I talked to my parents for hours and hours just thinking about ways to do it, how we can surprise [Tara] to where she doesn't catch on what's going on," Hunter explains. "The best thought was we have a pond that's down the hill from our main house with an island on it. And if the sunset's happening, beautiful scenery, all right, why not go on there, take family pictures."

At one point, Hunter and Bernstein were called to take a photo alone together, and that's when Hunter seized the moment and got down on one knee.

"I'm nervous and I'm so happy with emotions," he recalls of the proposal. "She's sitting there with tears in her eyes and then I can hear on the bank of this pond all of her family and friends — 40 people — and you can hear them all sniffling and giggling and being so happy. And I'm like, 'Shut up.' I couldn't focus."

He adds, "It was really beautiful. And thank God she said yes."

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Bernstein says it was an incredibly "emotional" moment. "I was in tears after, especially hearing his dad speak, his mom, my parents, and just all the family and his godfather, just everyone just saying all these genuine statements," she tells PEOPLE.

Related: Guy Fieri's Son Hunter and Fiancée Tara Bernstein Share Their Love Story in First Interview Since Engagement (Exclusive)

Hunter and Bernstein first met at the 2023 Super Bowl and "connected on a deep level really quickly."

"We weren't looking for anything. We weren't looking to find each other. It just happened," she tells PEOPLE.

At the time, she says she had no idea who Hunter's dad was and was completely unaware of his celebrity chef status. "I had no idea that they even had any shows, who they were," she notes. "It was actually embarrassing."

Fieri gave his stamp of approval to the engagement, sharing a photo of his son and future daughter-in-law on Instagram with the caption, "Congrats to @hunterfieri and @taralynn.nyc. You two are made for each other. Welcome to the family, Tara."

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