Resume lies lead to chef’s firing Food Network star admits exaggerating

NEW YORK – After rising to culinary stardom preparing impossible meals on his Food Network series, Robert Irvine has met an obstacle his kitchen prowess couldn’t overcome – an embellished resume.

The star of “Dinner: Impossible” has acknowledged fabricating some of the more fantastic parts of his resume, including having cooked for Britain’s royal family and various U.S. presidents.

After the revelations, the network announced it would not renew Irvine’s contract, though it would air the remaining episodes of the current season, the series’ fourth.

“I was wrong to exaggerate in statements related to my experiences in the White House and the Royal Family,” Irvine said in a written statement. “I am truly sorry for misleading people and misstating the facts.”

The Food Network said it might revisit its decision at the end of this season, but for now would begin searching for a new host for the series, which challenged Irvine to cook under arduous conditions.

“We rely on the trust that our viewers have in the accuracy of the information we present, and Robert challenged that trust,” the network said in a written release.

An episode of “Dinner: Impossible” was filmed on Little Cranberry Island in 2006 and featured Irvine and two sous chefs cooking dinner for 200 people at the island’s Neighborhood House.

The island supper also served as a fundraiser for the community’s volunteer fire department, raising $3,000. Diners chose from among lobster macaroni, crabmeat-and-artichoke stuffed chicken, boiled lobster, salmon, mussels cioppino, chowder, steamed clams, ribs, and half a dozen different salads

Irvine, who is from England, first acknowledged the fabrications in a Feb. 17 story in the St. Petersburg Times.