Product Description

Robert Irvine has led a one–of–a–kind life. He joined the merchant marine as a teenager, and would go on to become a cook in the Royal Navy where he happened to befriend a man named Prince Charles. Since then, Chef Robert has gone on to cook for presidents, prime ministers, royalty and celebrities.

It's been a remarkable life and career, ranging from cooking on the beaches of Yemen for thousands of refugees to making a seven–course meal for First Lady Laura Bush and her friends on an aircraft carrier.

Trained by the best European chefs, Robert also shares his cooking philosophy, his best recipes and tips on how to add that special twist to any dish.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #96545 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-01
• Released on: 2007-09-18
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

From Publishers Weekly
As the host of Food Network's Dinner: Impossible, chef Irvine routinely pulls off last-minute feats of Herculean culinary might, assembling multi-course meals for large groups in out-of-the-way locations with few resources. Devoted viewers may be surprised to learn that this isn't new for the British chef, who relates other close calls in this combination cookbook-memoir. Alongside tales of his time in the Navy (where he prepared a last-minute meal for 2,000 refugees) and Hollywood (a lavish post-Oscar celebration makes a nail-biting yarn), recipes for impressive dishes like Black Angus Beef Tartare with Toasted Brioche and Fried Quail Egg, Roasted Duck with White Bean Ragout, Truffle Oil and Shaved Parmesan Cheese and simple but flavorful Grilled Winter Vegetables with Pesto Dressing give readers plenty to think about and salivate over. Unfortunately, alternating from storyteller to cooking coach proves awkward, and his advice-"let the food in front of you speak to you and inspire you"-can be of little utility. Still, his enthusiasm is genuine and infectious, and Irvine the storyteller keeps things interesting with tales of his education, the Royal family and the kitchen at Donald Trump's Taj Mahal. Best consumed in small bites, Irvine's war stories will delight foodies, but his recipes may be too daunting for novices.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

Getting to know our Dinner Impossible Hero
Not just your average cook book! This book is filled with stories about Robert Irvine as a child, as a cook for the Royal Family and his journey to becoming a Master Chef. In addition, in each chapter there are great recipes for you to enjoy. I have made a number of the items in the book and every recipe has turned out very well. I even had the nerve to make Beef Wellington according to his recipe for a dinner party with important guests without ever having made it before and it was fantastic. An excellent book for food/cooking enthusiasts!

Mission: Try these recipes!
I really enjoyed this book. Robert is not just a fantastic cook but a wonderful person as well! The book is well written and you can't wait to read his stories and the corresponding recipes that accompany the stories. I encourage anyone reading this book to try and make some of the recipes. The wild mushroom soup is incredible and I can't wait to serve it to my friends at my next dinner party. Do yourself a favor and check it out! There's bound to be something in here that you will want to make and enjoy!

True Lies: The Cookbook
Robert Irvine impressed people with his Food Network "Dinner Impossible!", pulling off extravagant meals in extreme circumstances. Extreme cuisine indeed. He attracted people with his brawny,macho man persona, and his ability to perform with grace under fire. He combined the "you can do it" mentality of Survivor host Jeff Probst with the extreme cuisine of the Iron Chefs. In his "memoir", "Mission: Cook!" Irvine regales readers with stories of his so-called life as well as elaborate recipes that ARE NOT FOR THE WEAK!

"Mission: Cook!" has challenging recipes, like roast beef with Yorkshire Pudding (he is a Brit-that's a fact),roast duck with white bean ragout, truffle oil and Parmesan cheese, duck breast stuffed with apples and chestnuts (eating the chestnuts ARE NOT FOR THE WEAK!),and the quasi-Asian fusion of tea-smoked chicken with chilled sour Brussels Sprouts. This is cooking to impress people. It's catering for a banquet,not take-out for two. Irvine has plenty of culinary talent, and if he stuck to that in this book,he wouldn't be in the hot water he is now.

"Mission: Cook!" offers "anecdotes" about befriending Prince Charles in the Royal Navy, cooking a fancy meal for Laura Bush at the White House, and entertaining the royal family at Buckingham Palace. Unfortunately, these are all soap operas from Irvine's imagination. Somehow, Irvine's convincing writing got readers to think these actually happened.

Now that Irvine no longer works for Food Network (he's been canned like sardines),"Mission: Cook!" puts him in the same category as the imaginary teenager JT Leroy and the once-Oprah-adored James Frey. "Mission: Cook!" shatters all his talents into a thousand little pieces, for the heart is deceitful above all things.