The Truth About Robert Irvine?
Interesting article yesterday about Robert Irvine in the St. Pete Times (Florida). It's more of an investigative piece about his reputation and some of his prior statements, but I am not sure which side to believe. Regardless, it's a hot topic in this area, since his two restaurants are slated to open in downtown St. Pete, one of these days. I've never met the guy, but I do enjoy his "Dinner Impossible" show from time to time.
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/17/Sou...
-Kevin
UptownKevin
Feb 18, 2008 07:18AM
Wow. I smell a rat. Too much inconsistencies in his tories for the allegations to be completely false.
I always wondered how he had the time to do all of this stuff and how did a brit get to be the chef at the White House? I know German pastry chefs and French execuetive chefs have worked at the White House, but he doesn't have a distinct specialty to justify that.
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I really hate to hear all that about Robert Irvine. While some of it may be false, the article does smack of the truth. I love Dinner Impossible though and watch it as often as I can catch it. I can see where he could be a PITA to work with as he does lose his temper on DI. LOL it always makes me laugh when he plans out a menu to a "T", goes out shopping for the food, and always forgets something important, like one dish calls for hamburger and guess what, no one thought to get any hamburger. I do hope he can get his act together. He stands to gain nothing by lying. Look what happened to JAG on the last Food Network Star.
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I can't decide if that boy needs a good lawyer or a psychiatrist.
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It kind of makes you wonder what he told the Food Network before he got his show.
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I know it's usually not overly difficult to slip one by the HR department when you're giving a CV but you'd think they'd check the stars of these shows a little more carefully before putting all that nonsense on the show's title itself... I mean there aren't that many of them and those places I'm sure have lots of documentation.
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Well, he did get beat in a "cook off" by Guy Fieri on one of the FN shows.( Even though the judges were teenage kids). Sigh.
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I had the unfortunate experience of working for "Chef" Irvine. His culinary skills are "ok" but nothing spectacular. He is, beyond a doubt, the most insecure man I've ever met. I am certainly not a professional psychologist but my only explanation for the ridiculous tales that he spins was a neurotically poor self-image.
In a meeting one afternoon he tried to pass off the story of having made Lady Di's Wedding Cake. Knowing his age and the year she was married I intoned; "Chef, you were like...12, that remarkable!!" Everyones laughter was uncontrollable, his embarrassment was uncomfortable, and retribution was forthcoming.
Other tales of being the only Chef that Tony Blair would allow to cook for him when he was in the States, redoing the plates of Tom Keller, Charlie Trotter, and Eric Rippert at a James Beard event in NYC before they left the kitchen are just too bizarre. Tom Keller would break his arm if he touched his plate!
I could go on, all of the stories were a gas, but not intended to be!
My "insecure" claim is only because I can't imagine any other motivating factor to justify such neurosis. Needless to say, he's not even a very nice person, to know him is to dislike him and pity him. I never met anyone who didn't mock him.
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He could probably use those giant choppers to make ice sculptures if the FN lets hom go.
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Wow, what a pathological liar! I cannot wait to see how, or if, FN responds to this.
I watched his show maybe two or three times. Once when he was cooking in a school cafeteria, and he treated the staff like dirt. I was appalled.
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Once they figure out his resume is not as great as it was originally submitted, I'm afraid they are going to have to give this guy two more shows. ;-)
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Beat me to it. I don't think FN is too interested in credentials, just ratings
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Rachel and Sandra are living proof that you don't need credentials to get on FN, and I know plenty of people who like them anyway (pas moi!).
OTOH, I know plenty of people who graduated from culinary school who cannot pull together a 3-course dinner for four (little rich girls who attend for the status but still have private chefs/caterers do all their cooking in their trophy kitchens).
It's all about profit, not food: people vote with their dollars and tv time.
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Yes, Rachel Ray certainly had no credentials at all. Didn't work her way up in specialty food stores learning about food and cheese and wine. Didn't get asked to do a segment on local TV because she was already doing demonstrations in local markets. Certainly didn't write a cookbook that succeeded well before she had a TV show.
There are many sorts of credentials in the world, not just the few many on this board seem to recognize.
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I absolutely agree. While I have grown to loathe Rachel's on-air "personality", she hardly strikes me as someone who "just got lucky"...
She has positively effected millions more home cooks than even masters like Thomas Keller have.
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I think you are right. I don’t think people should be rewarded for cheating, but on the other hand, I think sometimes we make it too hard for good people to succeed, by focusing only on a narrow definition of credentials. I don’t know if Robert Irvine lied on his resume, or if he did, to what extent. And since I am never going to meet him or anyone he worked with, I will never know. I will say, as far as how that pertains to my willingness to continue watching the show, that I am a mother of a toddler, and I work more than 40 hours a week, as does my husband, and we are not affluent. We both have really enjoyed watching his show, and have gotten both great general food ideas and much-needed inspiration in how to use the crap already in our kitchen to fix impromptu and exciting gourmet family meals in very little time, with very little money. Rachel Ray is good for that too, although if I have to hear the expression “Delish” one more time I’m going to throw something at the TV. Dinner Impossible just gets you thinking on the fly and it’s a blast to watch. Our toddler was the one who got us addicted. So whatever the truth is about his resume, honestly, I couldn’t care less, I hope he stays on. Whatever his personality differences or insecurities are with other staff is also for them to work out, not me as a watcher. I have noticed though, in his defense, that he seems to make a point, often, to acknowledge the efforts of the folks he works with publicly on the show. I think that giving credit where credit is due is really important, and however rude he is in the kitchen in private, the acknowledgement is a good sign. I also have not seen the episode with the cafeteria, but what I have seen is someone in a hurry with a brusque manner, which can often be mistaken as rude. He did not seem truly rude in the ones I have watched. I guess it depends on how thick your skin is.
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Now that is FUNNY, LStaff! LMAO!
It's probably true...sad, but true!
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Mission Unwatchable.
Oooooh the drama... this time he might not pull it off. Puh-leeze. Horrible even by the current Food Network standards.
We already knew he was obnoxious. Now, as we suspected, he's a fraud as well.
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I have to admit I was always curious as to his background. I always thought it odd that he has 'done' so much very high profile and public work and yet somehow was able to keep himself completely anonymous. Quite a trick.
I thought the picture accompanying the article was interesting. I have never seen any other chef with as many things or ‘logos’ on their jacket. It reminded me of those pictures you see of military dictators who simply cover their uniforms with dozens of awards and epilates that they give themselves.
This is not the first time this has happened on FN. Does anyone remember 'JAG' from TNFNS?
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that's the first thing i thought of when i saw all this. the difference is that jag voluntarily removed himself from TNFNS...something tells me robert irvine won't go quite as willingly...
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Question is: will he go the Jimmy Swaggert route: tearful, repentent, pepper in the eyes for effect, or the Roger Clements route: defiant, hardass, and unrepentent.
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While it looked like Jag voluntarily left TNFNS, I've got this feeling that FN asked him to leave. I'm curious as to what will happen to Robert Irvine.
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Miss Needle's right. I knew someone who worked at the network at the time and asked her about him leaving voluntary. She laughed. Once they got the scoop, they made him leave and give his own resignation.
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oh i know jag didn't initiate his resignation - the whole thing was clearly orchestrated by TVFN. i just get the feeling there won't be a way to handle it quite as gracefully with irvine.
btw, did anyone see the bravo special of the top 20 most outrageous moments from their various reality shows? i found it interesting that the infamous top chef debacle with cliff & marcel incited so much outrage when it occurred, yet it didn't even garner one of the top spots on the list.
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I caught most of that show, and I swear I did see the Cliff/Marcel debacle as one of the top 20. Bravo doesn't have anything on their website, but I'm positive I did see that that was one of the top 20.
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oh it was on the show, just lower down on the list than i would have expected.
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or NASCAR Drivers.
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I have always enjoyed his Dinner Impossible, and he seemed so sweet helping the contestants on Top Chef.
So I signed up for his newsletter.
The first issue arrived yesterday - the same day as the St. Pete Times article, and you know what? In a case of "You Just Can't Make This Stuff Up", he announced he's going to be the subject of a new Food Network show called "Chefography" - focusing on his bio!
Can't wait to see it - he says it'll show in March....we shall see.
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And now I see his biography is no longer on the FN web site.
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I could find his bio on FN web site either, but there is information about 2 new Dinner Impossible shows appearing next week, on February 27.
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To paraphrase and slightly tweak one of the responses to the article...
It appears Mr. Irvine has a BS in BS.
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I found this Tampa Bay blog which has a comment from the FN
http://blogs.tampabay.com/dining/2008...
They also contacted the actual baker of princess Di's wedding cake.
I never liked Irvine...his personality just screams A**hole
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Irvine was born in 1965(?) so that would have made him 14 or 15 when the cake was being made as far as I know that is a little young to be in the Royal Navy.
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He's younger than I am. How depressing.
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Follow up article from the St. Pete Times. Chowhound gets a plug
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/19/Sou...
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I wonder if the poor fellow will ever live this down. Thanks for the followup. I never would have seen it.
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2nd follow up article from the Times. Locally based Home Shopping Channel "drops chef's items"
http://www.sptimes.com/2008/02/21/Sou...
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This is probably the beginning of the end for Irvine. Too bad. He successfully managed to ruin his career. Thanks again, scubadoo!
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Irvine's "pulled out" from TFN's South Beach Food & Wine festival this weekend. Pulled out - or was booted?
And he finally took down his "bio" from his own website. The "About Us" is now "Under Construction" as is the "Events" page. :-/
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Yeah, but the chowhound plug is for those who lOve to eat... Ha!
~TDQ
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Wouldn't be here if I didn't.
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Well, of course we all love to eat...but the actual CH tag line is "for those who live to eat"
~TDQ
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While no one is yet sure where the truth lies. Clearly there are what appear to be some major discrepancies. As previously mentioned this is not the first time this seems to have happened at FN., ironically it was also an issue regarding a military service claims.
It seems to illustrate the point that many of us have been feeling for quite sometime that FN has some serious issues of their own just and they just don't know what they are doing.
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Well, let us not forget the George O'Leary fiasco at Notre Dame football, claiming he had a masters degree when he didn't. People do all kinds of little white lies and half truths all the time, but the magnitude of his claims are so outrageous that I have a hard time understanding how he thought he could have gotten away with it. And the flip side is: why didn't people catch it sooner, as most people here had done by doing the math with the Lady Di wedding cake chronology.
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It definitely seems like they're struggling to keep their head above water. I think he's a bit of a meathead and, though I watch the show, really dislike what he's up to. I imagine the food he's cooking really isn't that bad but the concepts/challenges baffle me. It seems like they're just increasingly interested in catering to people who not only don't cook but aren't even necessarily foodies. Not being a cook isn't a huge deal- I am a foodie and love food but am not an amazing cook. But endless shows about diner fare and silly "challenges" with a burly, intimidating chef--- you wonder what they're trying to prove.
I feel sorry for him if only because this could possibly destroy his career, but then again I think FN's grasping at so many straws that they may just keep him around anyway.
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OTOH: Martha's made a huge comeback. On network tv again, back in control of her empire. And she was convicted, sentenced and did her time.
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Wikipedia reflects the current controversy about Chef Irvine, but also contains this about his early life.... Just wondering who, other than Robert, can correct it...
"A native of England, Chef Robert Irvine began his adventures in cooking upon enlisting in the British Royal Navy at the age of fifteen, where his talent in the kitchen was soon discovered by his superiors.
His culinary skills came to the attention of Prince Charles while he was stationed at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, where the Prince was undergoing certification training to fly the Wessex Mark III helicopter, and Robert soon found himself transferred to service as a Leading Cook aboard Her Majesty's Royal Yacht Britannia. He was part of the team that created the wedding cake for Charles and Diana and he continued his service in the palaces of the British Royal Family for the next ten years. He has cooked for presidents and prime ministers, for the royalty and celebrities of many nations, accompanied Her Majesty the Queen to locations around the world, and often traveled in the private entourage of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
Upon completion of his 10-year tour of duty, his travels led him to perform consultant work in Bali, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh City, before embarking on his next challenge as Executive Chef aboard numerous cruise ships, culminating with the world renowned, five-star MS Crystal Harmony."
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None of that is hard to look into. There will be loads of records as to his service or lack there of.
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the wikipedia entry is now gone. hilarious.
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Now, Wiki says: "The factual accuracy of this article is disputed."
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I am a professional Chef who knows Robert, has worked with him, and listened to his tall tales. Allow me to try and weed through this bio....
Yes he's a Brit
He did always claim he was in the Royal Navy at a very young age
He's got terrific knife skills - his wife bought him a set of Porsche knives - they're stunning
Don't recall him boasting about the Prince (he may have recently come up with that one)
Always claimed he was on the Britannia - don't honestly know
He was 12 when she got married
Don't know about the Royal Family - doubt it
There actually was a picture in his office - at the White House
"The Queen" - "...private entourage..." - PLEASE!
He was always babbling about Jakarta etc... if you wanted to spin a tale and feel relatively safe that you wouldn't get caught, Jakarta is a pretty good place.
Ho Chi Minh City !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As far as I know, the Cruise ship story is true.
Don't misunderstand me, the man can coordinate the production of mass quantities of "good" food. We fed 5,000 on New Years Eve once! He's good at that sort of thing. He is not devoid of talent, he just can't be comfortable in his own skin.
Those of us in the culinary world have always ignored him as a blowhard
He has no friends because his pomposity trumps any iota of people skills. He doesn't just burn bridges with people, he nukes 'em
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You've stated twice that he was 12 when the wedding occurred. According to several online sources, he was born in 1965. The wedding was in 1981. That makes him 15 or 16.
I'm not claiming he's not a fraud, but your math is off. Stop saying he was 12. He wasn't.
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Can you really enlist in the British Navy at 15? Why did he decide on St. Petersburg to begin with? I bet he DOES take steroids after reading all of this. It would make perfect sense. I watched his show on Sunday. He was making lunch for a construction crew at a mall in NY or NJ. He was soooo rude to everyone. His arms and neck are enormous but not in a hot way.
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<<He was making lunch for a construction crew at a mall in NY or NJ.>>
it was at the Natick Mall in my hometown, Natick, MA. Home of the US Army testing labs, where many of the space program's items are developed, most notably the food.
Those construction guys were great at improvising and making stuff.
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Thanks for the info.
While watching the local news (Boston) a promo for one of the gossip info shows mentioned that there was a story about a FN "Stars" bio in question.
Well I changed the station and nothing came on Extra and the next show. I think it was on Inside Edition, which I didn't watch.
So