Gawker: robert irvine

Lying Chef, Lying Governor Supported By Nobodies, Nuts

Hamilton Nolan — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:45:53 EDT

No matter how scandalous the situations that public figures find themselves in, it seems that there will always be some people willing to rise to their defense. Groups have sprung up to save the careers of both scandalized hooker patron/ Governor Eliot Spitzer, and disgraced former Food Network celebrity chef Robert Irvine, who was outed as a big fat liar and subsequently fired. Both those guys can use all the help they can get. Unfortunately for them, the types of people who form ad hoc online groups in support of fallen idols always seem to be non-influential nutcases (like Democrats!).

The "Save Spitzer!" campaign on Democrats.com is truly one for the conspiracy-addled record books:

Dear Governor Spitzer,
Don't let the Republicans and the rightwing media drive you out of office!

You made a lot of powerful enemies in your career because you took on the most powerful crooks on Wall Street. Now your enemies are trying to get even by destroying your career and your life. Don't let them!

The whole investigation by the Bush Administration stinks to high heaven. This isn't a case of "structuring" or "money laundering." The FBI never investigates johns - so why are they investigating you?

The answer is obvious. George Bush and Karl Rove turned the Justice Department into the political destruction arm of the Republican Party. They've prosecuted 5.6 Democrats for every Republican.

That's why former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman is rotting in jail, and that's what they want to do to you.

As Americans, we are outraged by Bush's endless abuses of justice. If anyone should be removed from office, it's George Bush!

Governor Spitzer, please stand and fight against this outrageous and naked partisan Republican assault. We support you!

The "Save Robert Irvine!" campaign lacks the insane flair of the Democrats' grassy knoll defense of Spitzer, but it makes up for it by deploying euphemisms for "lying" that succeed only in drawing further attention to the fact that the nerdy, muscular super chef is a big fat liar:

This website was created to be the official home of the Save Robert! campaign. The goal is to have the Food Network keep Robert Irvine as the host of Dinner:Impossible, even though he might have made some mistakes in his past...
On February 17, 2008 the St. Petersburg Times reported that Robert Irvine may have mis-informed people about his past, including some of the people or projects that he worked for.

Both of these guys are toast.

Famous Lying Chef Properly Canned For The Winter

Hamilton Nolan — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:20:42 EST

Celebrity Food Network chef Robert Irvine, revealed to be a big fat liar recently by a St. Petersburg Times investigation, has been let go by the network. He spent his last day as host of "Dinner: Impossible" in Washington, DC, cooking Japanese food for a party of 250. Maybe he can go back into the Army, they always need fast cooks like that. [TMZ]

Massive Celebrity Chef Also Massive Liar

Hamilton Nolan — Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:26:50 EST

Robert Irvine, the nerdy, crewcut, heavily muscled celebrity chef who rose to fame with his show "Dinner: Impossible" on the Food Network, may be suffering from a serious case of pants-on-fire. Irvine had big plans to transform the fine dining scene in St. Petersburg, FL with two new fancy restaurants. He ran around town entering partnerships, hiring consultants, and generally proclaiming himself to be a food VIP. But the local paper noticed that, three months after the scheduled opening date, the new restaurants are still unfinished construction sites. So they did some investigating [SP Times], and it turns out that most of Irvine's big-shot credentials are just a huge pile of unseasoned poop!

The paper found that Irvine lied about being a knight in England; lied about the nature of his college degree; was not really a full-fledged "White House chef;" has bragged about a "Five Star Diamond Award" that is basically available to any asshole with a credit card; and owes thousands of dollars to people who worked with him on his unopened restaurants. He also may have acted like a jerk while out in St. Petersburg restaurants, possibly the biggest sin of all for a food industry guy. They do acknowledge that he's a good cook, though.

This video repeats a lot of the assertions about his experience; might not get to hear those again. If the cooking thing doesn't work out for him, he'd make a good contestant on "American Gladiators."