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A Possible New Show For Robert Irvine, “Dinner: Canceled”
Posted Feb 29, 2008 by Jeff Houck
Updated Mar 02, 2008 at 08:58 AM

Two weeks ago, St. Petersburg Times writer (and former Tampa Tribune reporter) Ben Montgomery broke the story that Robert Irvine, star of the Food Network show “Dinner: Impossible” had padded his resume and, generally, acted like an ##### in the Tampa Bay area while portraying himself as being on the verge of opening two restaurants in downtown St. Pete. The spaces for those restaurants, named Ooze and Schmooze, remain vacant on Beach Drive, despite more than a year of pronouncements of impending openings. (He did so with me as recently as September during my Table Conversations podcast interview with him.)

Soon after the Times story, Food Network yanked Irvine’s bio from FoodNetwork.com and redacted a few pronouncements from the intro of the show. Irvine also was scheduled to appear at the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival last weekend in Miami Beach, but became chef non grata at the event and canceled at the last minute.

Even Anthony Bourdain, a former Food Network personality who has since become one of the network’s fiercest critics while vaulting to success as host of the Travel Channel series “No Reservations,” joked about Irvine on his blog.

Bourdain posted from the SoBe festival about his bestowing of the dubious Golden Clog food awards with writer Michael Ruhlman. In that post, he mentions that the Food Network actively campaigned for their stars not to attend the makeshift ceremony. (Only Rocco DiSpirito and Aaron Sanchez did.)

Bourdain wrote:

“My other concern, of course, is that Robert (Dinner Inconvenient) Irvine, deranged by his suddenly disappearing [online] biographies and his rudely canceled event, will somehow focus some hormone-fueled rage on ... me - and wrap his tiny little hands around my neck while flexing those oversized guns. My brains would squeeze out of the top of my head like toothpaste coming out of the tube …”

Irvine is still making appearances, including taping an episode of the show Wednesday night in Washington D.C. at the Pink Tie fundraiser for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Washington Post reports that the press was kept very far away from Irvine as he prepared dinner for 250 guests.

At a about 12:15 p.m. today, Food Network spokeswoman Lisa DelColle e-mailed me a statement by network president Brooke Johnson saying that Irvine will finish the rest of the production schedule but will be replaced as host at the end of the season:

“We looked into the situation and found that, as Robert as already admitted, there were some embellishments and inaccuracies in his resume. The few and minor incidents of the inclusion of these embellishments into “Dinner Impossible” have been removed. The show is, and has always been, completely accurate in the depiction of the cooking challenges faced by Robert. We will continue airing both old shows and the new season of programs currently in production. We have not renewed Robert’s contract for future seasons but will fulfill our contractual obligations. We rely on the trust that our viewers have in the accuracy of the information we present, and Robert challenged that trust. We appreciate Robert’s remorse about his actions, and we can revisit this decision at the end of the production cycle, but for now we will be looking for a replacement host.”

The network also released a statement from Irvine that read:

“I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences regarding the Royal Family. I am proud of my work while serving in the Royal Navy and on board the Royal Yacht Britannia, also as part of the Guest Chef program in the White House with the United States Navy, in addition to my culinary accomplishments. I should have stood on those accomplishments alone, without embellishment. I remain committed and enthusiastic about my work with Food Network and other future endeavors. I am truly sorry for the errors in my judgment. To all my family, friends and loyal fans, I will work tirelessly to regain your trust and continue to use my show and life to benefit the less fortunate.”

For those who have never seen the show, check out this trailer:

UPDATE: I just saw that Serious Eats reported this news as well earlier this afternoon. So did TMZ.com

UPDATE NO. 2: Readers of The Stew say: Cut Irvine a break.

Send Us Your Comments

Posted by chef g, italy on 03/03 at 09:37 AM

ingredents come together when mix right and he was doing that…..

Posted by Tammy Sommerville, Colorado on 03/03 at 09:36 AM

You have got to be kidding me. Letting him go for “enhancement of his resume”? PLEASE! Let us review every resume of all other Food Network employees, including the upper managment and see if there are any other “enhancement of resumes”! I can almost guarantee you there are. LEAVE HIM ON AND REKNEW HIS CONTRACT or you will loose me as a faithful watcher of the Food Network and have been for the past 6 years. I will follow Robert anywhere and not look back.

Posted by JS, SC on 03/03 at 09:15 AM

Does it REALLY even matter? I watch the show because I like it, not because of his credentials.

Posted by lois petrey, Perryville, MD on 03/03 at 06:45 AM

PLEASE RECONSIDER. THERE ARE ONLY A HANDFUL OF SHOWS THAT I TUNE IN FOR AND ROBERT IS ONE OF THOSE REASONS. I DON’T ARE ABOUT HIS RESUME.
ALL I CARE ABOUT IS THE CONTENT. HE IS GREAT, HIS LARGER THAN LIFE PERSONALITY AND HIS ABILITY TO MAKE IT ALL WORK IS BINDING.
IF HE LEAVES I WILL GO WITH HIM. PROGRAMMING IS FALLING OFF, TOO BAD.

Posted by Douglas Clark, Cody WY on 03/03 at 02:28 AM

please help me, Are you telling me it is ok to lie on a resume?

Posted by Sharon Gonzalez, Clementon, New Jersey on 03/03 at 01:17 AM

Hey, I don’t care what anyone says, I love Robert, sure, he made a mistake, who doesnt? Give him a break, his program is really good, he also has lots of things going here in NJ. Sharon

Posted by Henri Mourey, Los Angeles via France on 03/03 at 01:14 AM

GUYS AND GALS: I am a french pro in Catering, done biz, commerce and high profile people PR (and can prove it). I am for real AND I can only say:

1) the Food Network IS NOT a Food channel to teach you to cook per se, it is an ENTERTAINMENT channel and no more, so that is that and they are good enough at it.

2) Who HAS not EVER fluffed their CV?

3) Who can do his show better than him? Any REAL takers?

To finish, NOBODY IS PERFECT, perfection (and it is my saying) IS to repare your mistake, a be a better being from it as well as to learn to be humble and it takes time. if I am French and I dig that, so the folks in the US can, no?
Be cool!

Posted by Vish Abeygunawardena, Toronto, Ontario on 03/03 at 12:34 AM

I was really sorry to hear of Robert Irvine’s derparture from hosting Dinner Impossible. While not condoning what he did, I do have to say that the dude is one hell of a showman. I really enjoyed the chutzpah he displayed on his shows.

The whole concept of dinner impossible was pretty entertaining and Robert really made it into his own broadway show. I hope he is given a second chance at Food Network or, maybe Bravo can use him along side Top Chef.

Posted by Edward Blume, Kingston NY on 03/02 at 08:18 PM

I boohoo to everyone that wants to fire Robert Irvine for his now regreted lies. Who really cares, not me and the many many who don’t. THE ONLYS WHO DOES are the idiots who are fixaited on the lied so fire him.

If you fire him you will not only lose the, but you may lose the view for the whole network. His show works. Don’t fix what isn’t broken or will boycott it in emailing everyone I know and so on!

Posted by Michael Vincent Henry, hemet ca on 03/02 at 07:55 PM

For about two years I worked as one of Irvine’s chefs in Atlantic City at Caesar’s and he is truly how he portrays himself on TV. Yeah he is a blowhard, egomaniac and image whore, but he really is a great chef who I learned many things from. To get fired from the Food Network for what he did is probably just, but then again the Food Network is for people who have no clue what professional cooking is all about. It won’t be a death blow to his career; many chefs make careers reinventing themselves over and over again. There’s always stories behind the stories.

Posted by L.A.Fugate, Minnesota on 03/02 at 06:44 PM

Yeah, and Anthony Bourdain is the epitome of great character. He’s an admitted “ex” drug abuser. At least Robert is not getting drunk or making snide rude comments about people that are graciously being hosts for him (like Anthony). Anthony Bourdain is not a person that should be making comments about anyone else’s character without taking a hard look at his own faults.

Chef Irvine has apologized, Food Network better rethink their position. They have already let Emeril and Mario go…they would be stupid to let Robert go too. Robert should be repremanded but not fired.
Dinner Impossible has made Food Network money.

Posted by L Brown, oklahoma on 03/02 at 05:14 PM

Robert Irvine makes Dinner Impossible realistic. I don’t think what he did rihtt, however I won’t be watching Dinner Impossible without Robert.

Posted by Sacramento Republicrat, Sacramento, CA on 03/02 at 05:07 PM

Oh give me a break. He embellished on his resume. The dude can cook.I am sure at some point in time he will resurface. The Food Network is making a mistake. Their ratings have been steadily going down. Put him back on the air…

Posted by dls, san antonio,tx on 03/02 at 04:00 PM

I really enjoy watching Robert Irvine and Dinner Impossible. I watch other programs on the Food Network but enjoy Dinner Impossible the most.
I am not going to watch the Food Network any longer as the Food Network seems to tolerate worse issues with other Network hosts but strangely not with Irvine.
I’m sorry that Food Network has made the unfortunate decision to cancel Robert Irvine from “DI”.

Posted by Abigail Jardine, Los Gatos CA on 03/02 at 03:55 PM

Robert was definitely wrong. However, he has a fantastic show, brings a shining presence to his challenges, and is adored by viewers. His high-energy style is riveting, his innovative and extemporaneously techniques a wonder.He is unique on FNW.

No one condones Robert stretching the truth. To his credit, he has taken full responsibility for his exaggeration and apologized. I hope Brooke Johnson will consider punishment & probationary return vs. firing this core member of the Food Network family. His shows have been a pleasure to us all.

Posted by P.F. Bruns, Seffner, FL on 03/02 at 03:00 PM

<b>James Blishy, Washington DC</b>...

You’re the first person to mention anything about sexuality in reference to this story. Nobody else is talking about whether this cook or that is gay, and it’s certainly not relevant to this story.

To bring you up to speed: Robert Irvine was canned by the Food Network because of concerns about alleged embellishments to his resume and his life experiences. The general consensus in this forum is that this was an error in judgment by the Food Network, and that only he who is without resumé-padding should cast the first stone.

Perhaps you have an opinion about the actual story you might wish to share with us…

Posted by Magdor Grumtor, Seattle on 03/02 at 02:46 PM

He Lied on his resume. If any one reads a basic job application it is against the law to lie about your work experience and a company can sue you to reclaim any money lost by your lie on your job application. Not to mention that he lied to investors in his companies. People that put up a lot of cash for him to bank on his name and reputation in an effort to help him open his shops and make their money back. He should be fired and he should have to give back every penny he has made from Food Network and from the people that invested in his shops.

Posted by Shawn Maurer, Fort Lauderdale on 03/02 at 02:40 PM

Dinner Impossible = is Robert Irvine. So he got caught up in the moment and things got away from him. Who hasn’t embellished their resume or boasted about things that weren’t quite reality. Now he apologized. Now let’s move on.

Food Network - go ahead and fine him and then get over it. Robert has a lot of loyal fans and I bet the majority of people who watch the show have done or said things they wish they could take back.

Food Network should give the people what they want - a high energy human being who tells interesting stories and knows cooking excellence - we want to be entertained - I will go meditate if I am searching for truth - not watch a cooking show.

Posted by kevin lowry, new richmond, oh on 03/02 at 02:10 PM

Just what the hell is the foodnetwork coming to, keep Chef Irvine and renew his contract, Alton, Robert,and the Iron Chefs are the only shows worth watching, and maybe get the past foodnetwork star runnerups Reggie and Rory to do a show, they should have won anyway!!

Posted by James Blishy, Washington DC on 03/02 at 01:33 PM

So let me get this right… only gays can cook? Rubbish! How about putting some non-homosexuals on TV for a change.

Posted by Art, on 03/02 at 01:31 PM

Someone asks: Who cares if he lied on his resume? Well, I guess that sentiment pretty much explains why this country (look around sweetheart) is down the toilet.

Posted by Rheta Perez, Taylor TX on 03/02 at 01:27 PM

I like Robert Irvine and love the show. It is the only cooking show I can get my husband to watch. Do I care that he embellished? Well, honesty is best, but the only royal who impresses me is Harry.

Posted by Jeanette Strunk, nashville tn on 03/02 at 01:07 PM

Roberts in trouble because he lied. But its ok for Paula to have an affair with a married man for years and keep her show. So it looks like it ok with food network to commit adultery but you better not lie.

Posted by paul clemo, wednesbury england on 03/02 at 12:54 PM

I`ve known bob since the eighties when we played in the same rugby team in the UK, he was a very good player, who had courage, dedication and no mean skill. He was always likeable and was always willing to help out with the club, most important he could cook and watching this programme he probably learnt a lot from cooking for 60 players on a ##### old stove using blunt knives. All the best Bob don`t forget to visit.

Posted by Peggy Fothergill, Grandview, TX on 03/02 at 11:26 AM

I say renew his contract. He has apoligized and won’t do it again. I love his show Dinner Impossible and want to continue watching him as the host. No one is perfect and everyone learns from their mistakes. Food Network would be crazy not to give him a second chance.