‘Jeopardy!’ Contestant Says Jimmy Buffett Hit Was Inspired By His Grandma’s Cheeseburger

Jeopardy! contestants have shared some interesting anecdotes over the past 60 years, including Austin Rogers meeting the Dalai Lama and Meike Olin dating five men in one day. However, Ferdinand Percentie’s anecdote on Monday’s (April 29) episode is going to take some beating.

As reported by The Mirror, during the show’s anecdote section, Percentie revealed to host Ken Jennings that his grandmother inspired the hit Jimmy Buffett song “Cheeseburger in Paradise.”

Percentie said his family comes from a small island in the Bahamas, Harbor Island, and “According to family lore, Jimmy Buffett came to the hotel/restaurant my grandma founded and [he] had a cheeseburger there. That was his inspiration to write Cheeseburger in Paradise.”

Jennings was impressed, telling Percentie, “Your grandmother’s cheeseburgers were so good that he wrote a hit song about them. That is amazing. I love that.”

“Cheeseburger in Paradise” was a track on Buffett’s 1978 album Son of a Son of a Sailor. It reached No. 32 on the singles charts and became an instant fan favorite.

The legend goes that Buffett was on a boating trip in the Caribbean and, due to a mishap, only had canned food and peanut butter to eat. After eventually making it to land, he found a restaurant and ordered the cheeseburger that became the title of his song.

Various restaurants in the Caribbean have claimed to be the inspiration for the track.

According to Buffet himself in the Parrot Head Handbook, the restaurant was located in Roadtown on the island of Tortola, “where a brand-new marina and bar sat on the end of the dock, like a mirage.”

“The overdone burgers on the burned toast buns tasted like manna from heaven, for they were the realization of my fantasy burgers on the trip,” he added.

Whether Percentie’s story is true or not, fans enjoyed the anecdote.

“I hope that’s true about the Cheeseburger in Paradise #jeopardy What a monumental Alexdote,” wrote one viewer on X, while another added, “Cool story bro” alongside a burger and island emoji.

Unfortunately, the episode itself wasn’t paradise for Percentie, despite heading into Final Jeopardy! with the lead. He was the only one of the three contestants not to get the final clue correct and lost $7,801 of his $21,600 total, leaving him in second place.

Amy Hummel won the episode after guessing the final clue correctly and wagering everything but a dollar, giving her an episode-winning total of $27,599. This marks Hummel’s fourth win in a row, which has almost certainly guaranteed her a spot in the next Tournament of Champions.

As for Percentie, hopefully, he commiserated his loss with a big, juicy cheeseburger.