Robert Irvine

[4] Upon completion of his 10-year tour of duty, Irvine performed consultant work in Bali, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City before becoming Executive Chef aboard numerous cruise ships and establishments such as Trump's Taj Mahal,[5] culminating with the five-star MS Crystal Harmony.

[5][7] Irvine also appeared in a December 2007 episode of Iron Chef America with Tyler Florence in a dessert battle (theme ingredient: sugar) against Paula Deen and Cat Cora in which the men lost.

Irvine had impressed a Florida socialite with the claims he was a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order,[9] had a degree in food and nutrition from the University of Leeds,[9] had worked on the wedding cake for Prince Charles and Princess Diana[9] and had served at the White House as a chef,[9] a claim Irvine also made in the opening segment of his Food Network show, Dinner: Impossible.

[10][11] In 2008, Irvine posted to his blog to "set the record straight" regarding his past service and point out erroneous reports made by the St. Petersburg Times.

[12] On 29 February 2008, Food Network announced it would honour its contract with Irvine for a fourth season of thirteen episodes of Dinner: Impossible but was also looking for a replacement host for the series.

[13] On 21 April 2008, Food Network executives released a statement announcing they were expanding the Dinner: Impossible series to a one-hour format and replacing Irvine with recent Iron Chef America addition Michael Symon.

He has taken responsibility and made a conscious effort to clear the air, rebuild the relationship with Food Network and apologize for the earlier inaccuracies.

"[16] In March 2008, Irvine's business partner and landlord issued a joint statement announcing the chef had abandoned his plan to open the restaurants.

[19] On 20 November 2008, Food Network announced that they had rehired Irvine to host six episodes of Dinner: Impossible with a scheduled air date in March 2009.

[26] On 2 December 2012, Irvine appeared alongside Masaharu Morimoto and Ted Allen on the Battle Holiday Gingerbread episode of Iron Chef America representing Food Network against a team of Cooking Channel stars including Michael Symon, Nadia Giosia, and Ben Sargent.

[43] During the pandemic, Irvine also partnered with the tech company WorkMerk to offer the VirusSAFE Pro, a mobile app to be used by restaurants as a checklist to validate their compliance with OSHA, CDC and NIH guidelines.

[44] Between 2012 and 2016, Irvine launched a bevy of healthy food products, including Fit Crunch protein bars, as well as a "better for you" cheesecake and frozen crab cakes.

[47] In the book, he writes about his early life as a "scrawny" kid who read Muscle & Fitness and had aspirations to be like Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He developed a passion for weight training and physical fitness at an early age, played rugby, and by the time he joined the UK's Royal Navy, was strong enough to be a wheelman in the Field Gun Competition, carrying a large cannon wheel for his team.

Fit Fuel combines healthy recipes, Robert's own workouts and the tough love motivation that he became known for on Restaurant: Impossible.

In May 2016, he launched Robert Irvine Magazine,[48] a digital publication that works as a continuation of the concepts presented in Fit Fuel.

[citation needed] Irvine has been involved with the Children Uniting Nations charity that was founded by southern California socialite Daphna Ziman.

For his work in honouring the men and women of the US military, Irvine was honoured with a Patriot Award from the Medal of Honor Society in September 2015,[55] alongside ABC News' Bob Woodruff, Patriots owner Robert Kraft, and US Marine Corps Commandant Joseph F. Dunford Jr.

[citation needed] Explaining his passion for giving back to those who serve in the military, Irvine told Muscle & Fitness, "When you strip it all away, this is what gets me out of bed in the morning—the opportunity to make a real difference in people's lives.

No amount of money I donate or benefits that I attend can ever scratch the surface on the debt we owe to these men and women and their families, but it is imperative that we try.

[75] He typically works in a black T-shirt or chef's jacket bearing the Irvine clan badge with the motto: "sub sole, sub umbra, virens" (flourishing in both sunshine and shade).

Irvine giving culinary advice to cooks aboard a US Navy ship in October 2012
Irvine giving culinary advice to a group of US Marine Corps cooks in January 2015
Irvine conducting calisthenics with US Marines at Sigonella, Italy, in July 2016
Irvine orating before members of the US military in December 2016
Irvine celebrating the opening of his restaurant "Fresh Kitchen" in Allentown by letting Julius DeMicco cook an omelet for him in his own kitchen
Irvine cooking with a US Navy chef in October 2012
Irvine conversing with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General Joseph Dunford in December 2016
Irvine being made an honorary chief petty officer of the US Navy in May 2015 at Washington, D.C.
Irvine weightlifting at a US Air Force base in Florida in July 2015