Robert Irvine | A Life of Food & Service

Food is hope.

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Robert Irvine: Food is the initial equalizer.

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Robert Irvine: I don't care how much money you have, okay,

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Robert Irvine: what big house you have or you live in a

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Robert Irvine: car.

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Robert Irvine: We have to eat.

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Announcer: Welcome to Story and Craft.

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Announcer: Now here's your host, Marc Preston.

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Marc Preston: Hey, welcome back.

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Marc Preston: Glad to have you back for another show.

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Marc Preston: If you're new, my name is Marc Preston and

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Marc Preston: I'm glad to have you here because, hey,

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Marc Preston: we're going to have some fun talking with

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Marc Preston: chef, tv host, entrepreneur, philanthropist,

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Marc Preston: robert Irvine.

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Marc Preston: You probably know him from his work on Food

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Marc Preston: Network dinner impossible, restaurant

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Marc Preston: impossible.

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Marc Preston: Very busy guy doing a lot of stuff.

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Marc Preston: We cover all that.

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Marc Preston: He's been a chef in the White House, he's

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Marc Preston: been in the British Royal Navy, he's done a

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Marc Preston: lot of work on the food network and he's

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Marc Preston: been a chef in the British Royal Navy.

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Marc Preston: Tons of energy, really great chat.

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Marc Preston: Enjoyed my time with him.

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Marc Preston: By the way, don't forget Story and Craft

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Marc Preston: podcom, the website.

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Marc Preston: Everything you could possibly want to know

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Marc Preston: about the show is at Story and Craft podcom.

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Marc Preston: Please do me a favor.

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Marc Preston: Like the show, click that little button,

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Marc Preston: depending on what podcast app you're into.

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Marc Preston: I'm going to hit that little button in the

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Marc Preston: middle of the show so that you can get to

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Marc Preston: know everything about the show.

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Marc Preston: I'll show you everything about that.

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Marc Preston: If you want to know everything about the

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Marc Preston: show, you can get to know everything about

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Marc Preston: it because it's a new episode.

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Marc Preston: Want to have you come on back by Great

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Marc Preston: episodes coming up as we kind of wrap the

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Marc Preston: summer in head into fall.

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Robert Irvine: But right now let's get right into it.

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Robert Irvine: It is Robert Irvine day right here on Story

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Robert Irvine: and Craft helping veterans, I believe, is

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Robert Irvine: that what the okay?

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Marc Preston: So what, what brings you to San Antonio?

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Marc Preston: Is that just kind of?

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Robert Irvine: uh, I've done a lot here, um, with Sinise

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Robert Irvine: and my TVs and whatnot.

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Robert Irvine: So as a military town, usa is a great place

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Robert Irvine: to uh to hold a veterans tournament.

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Marc Preston: The you work with Gary Sinise you say I do

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Marc Preston: very closely.

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Marc Preston: What would that guy I tell you?

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Marc Preston: He is such a philanthropist and just um,

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Marc Preston: really.

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Marc Preston: You know he just seems like a real, as my

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Marc Preston: people say, a real mench.

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Marc Preston: You know he just seems like a really great

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Marc Preston: guy that y'all just came out with a new

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Marc Preston: season of um restaurant impossible.

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Marc Preston: You just kind of kind of rebooted it

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Marc Preston: recently, correct.

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Robert Irvine: We had three.

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Robert Irvine: We had three years uh, I hate us, um and

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Robert Irvine: then 13 years with dinner impossible.

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Robert Irvine: And then that came back.

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Robert Irvine: Uh, so, yeah, you know, after doing 300

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Robert Irvine: plus episodes, um, it was time to take a

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Robert Irvine: break and, um, I don't know, get some

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Robert Irvine: energy back.

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Robert Irvine: I think it's one of these things.

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Robert Irvine: I have a large company, the 4,000 employees,

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Robert Irvine: really, yeah, so, uh, to focus on a little

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Robert Irvine: bit of that, uh, give TV a break and uh,

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Robert Irvine: you know, we never took any downtime on

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Robert Irvine: that show, uh, so it was really the first

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Robert Irvine: time we'd been off air.

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Marc Preston: Of course you were doing different.

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Marc Preston: You were doing different concepts on

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Marc Preston: different television programs concurrently.

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Marc Preston: Yes, the fact you're traveling is that in

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Marc Preston: and of itself can be kind of exhausting Uh

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Marc Preston: travel for the last 10 years, 345 days a

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Marc Preston: year.

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Marc Preston: Now I'm curious that you see you got 4,000

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Marc Preston: employees, Kind of, what's the breakdown of,

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Marc Preston: uh, you have, uh, how many restaurants do

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Marc Preston: you have now?

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Marc Preston: So I have, I don't.

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Robert Irvine: I only have two restaurants one inside the

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Robert Irvine: Pentagon, one in Vegas.

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Robert Irvine: But I have a nutritional company, uh Fit

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Robert Irvine: Crunch.

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Robert Irvine: I have a distillery, the largest in

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Robert Irvine: Pennsylvania, uh boardroom Robert Irvine Um.

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Robert Irvine: I have a clothing company called uh Terra

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Robert Irvine: Armor Um.

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Robert Irvine: And I have a food company, robert Irvine

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Robert Irvine: Foods.

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Marc Preston: Yeah, my son saw something.

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Marc Preston: We were, where were we the other day?

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Marc Preston: Uh, we were a store and he saw yet a uh, a

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Marc Preston: bar, uh, nutrition bars, Like how did I not

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Marc Preston: know you had this out Seven years old, uh,

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Marc Preston: 95,000 retail locations.

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Robert Irvine: So yeah, it's a big company.

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Marc Preston: Uh, just kind of a little origin story.

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Marc Preston: I know you did the the Navy, but was that,

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Marc Preston: was that something that you come up at, a

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Marc Preston: military family where that was a

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Marc Preston: destination for you, or was it just?

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Robert Irvine: uh, well, it's kind of interesting because

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Robert Irvine: my father was in the army, my brother was

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Robert Irvine: in the army, um, at the age of 11, I joined

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Robert Irvine: the secret.

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Robert Irvine: Uh fell in love with uh, going to bases and

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Robert Irvine: warships and and the various other places.

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Robert Irvine: And at 15 and a half years old I was not a

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Robert Irvine: good student.

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Robert Irvine: My mother took me to recruit in her office,

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Robert Irvine: signed me up and, uh, I joined the Navy.

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Robert Irvine: I joined the Navy and, uh, they said well,

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Robert Irvine: when I took the test, the NAMMIT Navy,

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Robert Irvine: english Navy arithmetic test, uh, sorry,

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Robert Irvine: maths, navy arithmetic and math test and

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Robert Irvine: English test, I beg your pardon, nammit.

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Robert Irvine: Um, I got five, five, the lowest of both of

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Robert Irvine: those, and the recruiter said, oh, you can

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Robert Irvine: be a cook.

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Robert Irvine: And I said that's great, cause that's what

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Robert Irvine: I want to do Really.

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Robert Irvine: Yeah.

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Marc Preston: Now you mentioned your mother was was she

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Marc Preston: did she were you in the kitchen with her.

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Marc Preston: A lot Were you cooking.

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Robert Irvine: My mother was a terrible cook.

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Robert Irvine: That's why, yes, I did spend a long time in

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Robert Irvine: the kitchen, Um, but I grew up on a couple

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Robert Irvine: of boxes of cornflakes and a gallon of milk.

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Robert Irvine: Uh, I never used to eat that much.

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Robert Irvine: The only meal that my mother was good at

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Robert Irvine: was, um, a Sunday roast, where all our kids

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Robert Irvine: I have, uh, three other siblings and my uh

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Robert Irvine: mom and dad will sit down and that was our

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Robert Irvine: meal of the week kind of thing.

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Robert Irvine: So, um, yeah, she was not a good cook and I

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Robert Irvine: wrote a book and I put the whole chapter

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Robert Irvine: about her, uh, being a terrible cook and I

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Robert Irvine: had to break it to her before the book was

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Robert Irvine: released.

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Robert Irvine: Hell, little heads up.

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Marc Preston: Yeah, I grew up in a very similar situation.

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Marc Preston: I of course um kind of latchkey kid concept.

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Marc Preston: You know you're kind of on your own for the

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Marc Preston: most part and so it's either sandwiches or,

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Marc Preston: you know the parents weren't necessarily

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Marc Preston: what you would call uh uh culinarians at

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Marc Preston: all.

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Marc Preston: So, um, and one of the things I'm curious

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Marc Preston: about, especially with uh, dinner

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Marc Preston: impossible, were you just kind of geared to

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Marc Preston: cooking in large quantities and more of a

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Marc Preston: banquet style?

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Marc Preston: Was that kind of something you enjoyed, or

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Marc Preston: did you want to move in a more restaurant,

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Marc Preston: like you know, individual serving kind of

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Marc Preston: situation?

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Robert Irvine: No, I don't think the military, yes,

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Robert Irvine: there's.

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Robert Irvine: You know I was on warships and bases um,

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Robert Irvine: 260 men, uh, there was no.

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Robert Irvine: No, uh, females uh allowed on ships of it.

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Robert Irvine: And when I was in the Navy, obviously, um,

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Robert Irvine: so for me, I started uh, cooking for 22

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Robert Irvine: officers, uh, a wardroom uh, and, and you

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Robert Irvine: know I would go down and cook for the main

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Robert Irvine: crew.

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Robert Irvine: But you know, for me is, I can cook in any

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Robert Irvine: situation, whether it be 20 or 30,000, uh,

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Robert Irvine: which we've done, or for five presidential

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Robert Irvine: people.

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Robert Irvine: You know it is relevant to me, uh, the

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Robert Irvine: scale doesn't matter, it's the same

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Robert Irvine: processes Uh, and I think that's why, when

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Robert Irvine: I do now my companies or, or TV is, I can

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Robert Irvine: scale any, any education to any people,

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Robert Irvine: whether you're a CEO of a warship, a

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Robert Irvine: company or a mom and pop operation, it

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Robert Irvine: doesn't matter.

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Robert Irvine: And I think the military teaches you that,

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Robert Irvine: that leadership, uh, the skill set, um, and,

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Robert Irvine: and it's adaptable to most any business.

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Marc Preston: I was curious because I remember you did

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Marc Preston: one oh God, was it lost.

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Marc Preston: I think you went to the set.

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Marc Preston: I'm sitting there going.

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Marc Preston: What would I do in that situation?

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Marc Preston: I think I would be like curled up in the

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Marc Preston: fetal position next to a palm tree.

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Marc Preston: I think I would.

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Marc Preston: You know I granted, you're the pro at doing

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Marc Preston: that, did you?

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Marc Preston: Did you find that, when you moved into

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Marc Preston: doing the restaurant, impossible?

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Marc Preston: You're working with people who have just

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Marc Preston: sunk all their life savings into a

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Marc Preston: restaurant?

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Marc Preston: When you go into that kind of a situation,

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Marc Preston: what is your thought about those folks who

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Marc Preston: have not a really a lot of restaurant

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Marc Preston: experience and they put all their money

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Marc Preston: into a restaurant and there's no other

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Marc Preston: business I can think of where people do

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Marc Preston: that as frequently as the restaurant

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Marc Preston: business.

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Robert Irvine: It's interesting because you talk about the

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Robert Irvine: lost episode.

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Robert Irvine: Uh, I have never in my entire career wanted

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Robert Irvine: to know any facts about anything.

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Robert Irvine: Uh, that's why the show is a real and I

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Robert Irvine: mean real unlike any reality show on

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Robert Irvine: television.

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Robert Irvine: Um, and I can tell you that and you can

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Robert Irvine: read online that the folks that have I've

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Robert Irvine: invited over the years to to participate

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Robert Irvine: and watch and see, and from all levels of

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Robert Irvine: business and whatever, um, you're given a

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Robert Irvine: set of situations, just like the military,

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Robert Irvine: and you have to figure out the end goal.

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Robert Irvine: What is the end goal?

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Robert Irvine: Um, and then we're backwards to the steps

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Robert Irvine: to achieve that goal.

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Robert Irvine: When I walk into a restaurant and it's the

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Robert Irvine: same thing, I have never um in the whole

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Robert Irvine: time we've been doing this show in 320

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Robert Irvine: something episodes, um, I don't want to

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Robert Irvine: know the story of the people because I want

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Robert Irvine: to find the story out by myself.

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Robert Irvine: They will tell me based on the questions I

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Robert Irvine: ask, which is almost like an interrogation,

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Robert Irvine: if you like, um, and I can find out more in

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Robert Irvine: five questions in three minutes than than

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Robert Irvine: you can tell me in eight hours, and I think

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Robert Irvine: that's the fun part.

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Robert Irvine: You know, mom says oh, you make great

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Robert Irvine: sources, you make great barbecue, you make

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Robert Irvine: this.

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Robert Irvine: So what do you do?

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Robert Irvine: You're going to get a restaurant.

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Robert Irvine: You max out your credit cards or you put

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Robert Irvine: your house on the line which is the biggest

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Robert Irvine: mistake ever, um as a kind of indemnity

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Robert Irvine: against failure.

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Robert Irvine: Uh, you put your house up and here you are,

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Robert Irvine: six months in, you've invited all your

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Robert Irvine: friends for, for alcohol and food, and you

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Robert Irvine: realize now you're half a million dollars

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Robert Irvine: in debt, um, and that's majority of what's

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Robert Irvine: happened.

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Robert Irvine: Um, and I think the biggest debt was 1.1

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Robert Irvine: million.

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Robert Irvine: Um, and a Cerritos, california.

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Robert Irvine: And when you walk in, all I want to know is

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Robert Irvine: why you got in it.

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Robert Irvine: How did you get into it?

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Robert Irvine: Um, what are your systems and procedures in

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Robert Irvine: place for that restaurant?

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Robert Irvine: Who's in charge?

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Robert Irvine: Um, and then I want to see it.

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Robert Irvine: Now, the biggest thing for me is watching.

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Robert Irvine: I watch people.

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Robert Irvine: I find myself in airports when I go to

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Robert Irvine: military bases, when I look at senior

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Robert Irvine: leadership, not only of our country but

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Robert Irvine: also of our military and fortune 500

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Robert Irvine: companies, then I can tell you what the

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Robert Irvine: problems are.

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Robert Irvine: Yeah, it's funny.

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Marc Preston: You said it because we've just watched an

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Marc Preston: episode.

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Marc Preston: I think you were the um it was called the

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Marc Preston: turnpike.

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Marc Preston: I think it was a small like a little

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Marc Preston: forerunner's worth Um and they said you

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Marc Preston: know who's in.

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Marc Preston: You go in there you say who's in charge,

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Marc Preston: but actually you know, uh, what?

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Marc Preston: Like Ralph Waldo Emerson says what you do

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Marc Preston: speak so loud, I can't hear what you say.

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Marc Preston: It's like obviously somebody else is really

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Marc Preston: making some decisions, um, and it's so

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Marc Preston: competitive, it's a high failure rate and

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Marc Preston: I've always found a very ironic people put

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Marc Preston: so much without a lot of experience at all

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Marc Preston: in the business.

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Marc Preston: But what do you think that is?

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Marc Preston: Why do you, why do you think so many people

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Marc Preston: do that they put so much into something

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Marc Preston: without a lot of experiences?

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Marc Preston: Because, hey, we have a kitchen in our home,

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Marc Preston: we like it, we assume other people will, or

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Marc Preston: what do you think that is that causes that?

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Robert Irvine: It's the same as when you want to be an

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Robert Irvine: actor in California.

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Robert Irvine: Right, what do you do?

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Robert Irvine: You can't get an acting job, so you've got

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Robert Irvine: to become a server because anybody can

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Robert Irvine: serve.

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Robert Irvine: That's not true, by the way.

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Robert Irvine: I think everybody thinks that cooking is

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Robert Irvine: easy and running a restaurant is easy until

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Robert Irvine: you actually get into it.

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Robert Irvine: And I always say to this uh, I always say

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Robert Irvine: this to people when you go to own a

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Robert Irvine: restaurant, you better have your one year's

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Robert Irvine: salary of the way of people, your one

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Robert Irvine: year's revenue and oh, something broke fund.

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Robert Irvine: And once you've done that, then go into the

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Robert Irvine: business After you've worked with somebody

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Robert Irvine: that can teach you.

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Robert Irvine: The food business is a very cutthroat

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Robert Irvine: business.

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Robert Irvine: The biggest group of restaurants is Italian

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Robert Irvine: restaurants, and look how many eight out of

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Robert Irvine: 10 Italian restaurants fail.

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Robert Irvine: Yet the average American eats out 4.2 times

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Robert Irvine: a week.

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Robert Irvine: So how can they fail?

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Robert Irvine: Well, bad management, bad food, overpricing,

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Robert Irvine: underpricing, all of the rest of the things.

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Robert Irvine: Hiring your family Hiring your family, it's

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Robert Irvine: not a business for the faint hearted.

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Robert Irvine: It's not your kitchen at home.

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Robert Irvine: You have a responsibility to people that

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Robert Irvine: walk into your restaurant or business any

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Robert Irvine: business because I believe it's the same

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Robert Irvine: lessons.

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Robert Irvine: You have a responsibility to your people,

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Robert Irvine: or your customers, that walk in there to

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Robert Irvine: give great food, great service, great

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Robert Irvine: drinks with a great attitude.

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Robert Irvine: And that can be a clothing store, it can be

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Robert Irvine: a fuel station, it doesn't matter what it

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Robert Irvine: is, it's the same.

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Robert Irvine: That's why people do it.

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Marc Preston: You know it's funny.

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Marc Preston: You said the thing about Italian

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Marc Preston: restaurants.

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Marc Preston: I was curious.

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Marc Preston: Brings me to a question when I asked is

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Marc Preston: what do you think right now is probably one

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Marc Preston: of the most overdone concepts or ideas or

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Marc Preston: things that people are trying to serve?

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Marc Preston: And flip side of that, what do you think we

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Marc Preston: don't have enough of?

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Marc Preston: Like it would really do well.

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Robert Irvine: Listen, we are creatures of habit and I can

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Robert Irvine: guarantee if I take 10 families from across

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Robert Irvine: the United States of America and give them

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Robert Irvine: a choice of restaurants, that will pick the

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Robert Irvine: same Pretty much.

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Robert Irvine: Yeah, we've done it.

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Robert Irvine: I feel that we don't have enough ethnic

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Robert Irvine: restaurants.

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Robert Irvine: So there are certain cities that have

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Robert Irvine: Indian restaurants or Peruvian restaurants,

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Robert Irvine: or but I always say this in interviews that

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Robert Irvine: I do is I wish I could take every head of

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Robert Irvine: state, take their national dishes, put them

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Robert Irvine: all around one table and eat one bite of

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Robert Irvine: each of the dishes and press it to the

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Robert Irvine: right, and once we understand the food and

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Robert Irvine: the culture, there will be no problem.

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Robert Irvine: There will still be problems, but very few

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Robert Irvine: problems in the world, and I think that's

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Robert Irvine: what food does.

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Robert Irvine: Food is hope.

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Robert Irvine: Food is the initial equalizer.

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Robert Irvine: I don't care how much money you have, I

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Robert Irvine: don't care what big house you have or you

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Robert Irvine: live in a car, you can eat.

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Robert Irvine: And food opens the tough conversations.

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Robert Irvine: You sit people around a table and really

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Robert Irvine: have a conversation of hey, where are we

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Robert Irvine: going?

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Robert Irvine: What are we doing?

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Robert Irvine: Why are we doing this?

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Marc Preston: I think Anthony Bourdain was really good

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Marc Preston: about illustrating that it's a one-leveling

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Marc Preston: factor.

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Marc Preston: We all sit down and have a meal and we're

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Marc Preston: more alike than we're different kind of a

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Marc Preston: thing.

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Marc Preston: Did you ever have a chance to spend any

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Marc Preston: time with Anthony Bourdain?

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Robert Irvine: I think they do, but they really don't.

400

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Robert Irvine: Anthony Bourdain will tell you he wasn't a

401

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Robert Irvine: great chef.

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Robert Irvine: He grew up in a good family, but in a

403

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Robert Irvine: different way.

404

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Robert Irvine: I was in Grand Cayman at the Cayman

405

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Robert Irvine: Cook-off, which was kind of interesting,

406

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Robert Irvine: the same year that he passed.

407

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Robert Irvine: He didn't have a good relationship with

408

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Robert Irvine: Food Network.

409

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Robert Irvine: He didn't have a good relationship with

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Robert Irvine: Food Network talent.

411

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Robert Irvine: In fact.

412

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Robert Irvine: I'll never forget one day in Miami, south

413

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Robert Irvine: Beach, while I improved my tour, he got up

414

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Robert Irvine: and he said oh, robert, irvine from dinner

415

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Robert Irvine: is slightly difficult.

416

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Robert Irvine: Well, and I invited him to come and there's

417

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Robert Irvine: a true story and I said, if you can do it,

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Robert Irvine: you're more than welcome to come.

419

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Robert Irvine: He didn't come, but four years later he

420

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Robert Irvine: said on the stage I was wrong.

421

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Robert Irvine: The show is really real and is intense.

422

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Robert Irvine: So I ended up going to Cayman with him.

423

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Robert Irvine: He was there with Eric Repaire, daniel it

424

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Robert Irvine: was me, emeril and José Andrés, and the

425

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Robert Irvine: rest was a French mafia, as I call it.

426

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Robert Irvine: And it was so funny because I had so much

427

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Robert Irvine: respect for all these folks.

428

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Robert Irvine: I would walk behind and Eric Repaire would

429

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Robert Irvine: always put his hand on my back and move me

430

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Robert Irvine: forward and I said, like you know, I'm just,

431

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Robert Irvine: I am in awe at the talent in this place and

432

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Robert Irvine: it's so funny.

433

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Robert Irvine: I did a demo on the beach and Anthony was

434

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Robert Irvine: in a what do you call it?

435

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Robert Irvine: A swing.

436

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Robert Irvine: Not a swing, but laying down in a I forgot

437

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Robert Irvine: the name a hammock.

438

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Robert Irvine: A hammock, thank you In a hammock.

439

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Robert Irvine: And he came up to me after it and said that

440

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Robert Irvine: was the most amazing demo I've ever seen

441

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Robert Irvine: and that was kind of my interaction.

442

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Robert Irvine: Within that week and I went to Scotland

443

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Robert Irvine: where I just come back doing the same thing,

444

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Robert Irvine: actually the YAMP, where we take a thousand

445

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Robert Irvine: wounded warriors from our coalition nation

446

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Robert Irvine: in March, 56 miles across Perth in the

447

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Robert Irvine: Highlands, and whilst I was on that YAMP I

448

00:17:08,770 --> 00:17:12,915

Robert Irvine: was visiting four, five commando and seven

449

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Robert Irvine: Scotscots and on my phone literally was in

450

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Robert Irvine: that meeting was you know, hey, anthony

451

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Robert Irvine: Bordain has died.

452

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Robert Irvine: And I mean I was so shocked because, you

453

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Robert Irvine: know, a couple of months before I just seen

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Robert Irvine: it.

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Marc Preston: Yeah, my daughter was in Los Angeles and

456

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Marc Preston: she called and she's like Daddy, did you

457

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Marc Preston: see?

458

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Marc Preston: And they know that I drew.

459

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Marc Preston: I've always adored him, since his very

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Marc Preston: first show on Food Network.

461

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Announcer: Chef's.

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Marc Preston: Tour and I and I was like no, that's like,

463

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Marc Preston: it's just, it's.

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Marc Preston: you know, you always hear about people a

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Marc Preston: little bit older you know you can like yeah,

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Marc Preston: but that that caught me really kind of off

467

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Marc Preston: guard, you know, and that, but it was.

468

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Marc Preston: I always want to sit down.

469

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Marc Preston: He's one of those guys I always want to sit

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Marc Preston: down, have a beer with.

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Marc Preston: But you were talking about being with him

472

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Marc Preston: and Eric Repair, and Eric Repair always

473

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Marc Preston: remind me of a very kind of a very zen guy,

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Marc Preston: very, I think.

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Marc Preston: I think they shot some footage of his

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Marc Preston: kitchen and his very sedate you know, when

477

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Marc Preston: you're in a kitchen, do you?

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Marc Preston: Do you run it?

479

00:18:11,461 --> 00:18:13,503

Marc Preston: And then the traditional style of you know,

480

00:18:13,523 --> 00:18:14,644

Marc Preston: because it was all built to be like a

481

00:18:14,705 --> 00:18:16,591

Marc Preston: military kind of chain of command more or

482

00:18:16,631 --> 00:18:16,812

Marc Preston: less.

483

00:18:17,867 --> 00:18:18,951

Marc Preston: You know, how do you, you know?

484

00:18:19,031 --> 00:18:20,075

Robert Irvine: are you different?

485

00:18:20,265 --> 00:18:23,446

Robert Irvine: I don't like noise in my kitchen, I don't

486

00:18:23,466 --> 00:18:23,826

Robert Irvine: like break.

487

00:18:23,846 --> 00:18:25,249

Robert Irvine: You know I remember when we opened

488

00:18:25,289 --> 00:18:27,834

Robert Irvine: Tropicana we had 1000 military folks.

489

00:18:27,914 --> 00:18:31,587

Robert Irvine: That was our first opening and I like dead

490

00:18:31,627 --> 00:18:32,068

Robert Irvine: silence.

491

00:18:32,409 --> 00:18:33,050

Robert Irvine: Automation.

492

00:18:33,110 --> 00:18:34,853

Robert Irvine: You should know the job because we trained

493

00:18:34,873 --> 00:18:35,834

Robert Irvine: you well, you know.

494

00:18:35,995 --> 00:18:38,218

Robert Irvine: You know the equipment, you know what I

495

00:18:38,258 --> 00:18:41,469

Robert Irvine: expect and and here's and this is another

496

00:18:41,509 --> 00:18:43,612

Robert Irvine: thing with the restaurants you know you set

497

00:18:43,672 --> 00:18:46,917

Robert Irvine: expectations and you allow people to do

498

00:18:46,957 --> 00:18:48,660

Robert Irvine: their job and you hold them accountable.

499

00:18:49,205 --> 00:18:52,429

Robert Irvine: And I'm really intense, I expect.

500

00:18:52,890 --> 00:18:54,452

Robert Irvine: I mean, before we opened the restaurant, I

501

00:18:54,492 --> 00:18:55,734

Robert Irvine: had a four months.

502

00:18:55,894 --> 00:18:57,917

Robert Irvine: I trained our people for four months

503

00:18:58,457 --> 00:19:01,101

Robert Irvine: because I want not only to know their job

504

00:19:01,842 --> 00:19:02,883

Robert Irvine: but also to know everything.

505

00:19:02,963 --> 00:19:03,144

Robert Irvine: I did.

506

00:19:03,204 --> 00:19:04,005

Robert Irvine: That I like and dislike.

507

00:19:04,586 --> 00:19:06,512

Robert Irvine: So when somebody says, what is Robert

508

00:19:06,592 --> 00:19:07,575

Robert Irvine: Irvine really like?

509

00:19:08,225 --> 00:19:09,974

Robert Irvine: I bought my daughters in, I bought my wife

510

00:19:10,075 --> 00:19:12,145

Robert Irvine: in so they can ask questions.

511

00:19:12,887 --> 00:19:14,852

Robert Irvine: I really wanted them to understand what I

512

00:19:14,912 --> 00:19:17,759

Robert Irvine: stand for and that's helping people, not

513

00:19:17,799 --> 00:19:18,621

Robert Irvine: only great food.

514

00:19:18,681 --> 00:19:20,145

Robert Irvine: Listen, I'm not the best chef in the world.

515

00:19:21,047 --> 00:19:22,531

Robert Irvine: I'm not Erica, I'm not.

516

00:19:22,651 --> 00:19:24,736

Robert Irvine: I'm not a three star mission chef or

517

00:19:24,797 --> 00:19:26,060

Robert Irvine: Dominic Cren or I.

518

00:19:26,280 --> 00:19:27,263

Robert Irvine: Listen, I'm Robert Irvine.

519

00:19:27,443 --> 00:19:28,145

Robert Irvine: This is what I do.

520

00:19:28,806 --> 00:19:30,910

Robert Irvine: But listen, you can put me in a restaurant

521

00:19:31,070 --> 00:19:32,393

Robert Irvine: or in the Pentagon or for the president of

522

00:19:32,413 --> 00:19:32,974

Robert Irvine: the United States.

523

00:19:33,314 --> 00:19:34,997

Robert Irvine: We're in the middle of Afghanistan feeding

524

00:19:35,078 --> 00:19:36,079

Robert Irvine: 30,000 people.

525

00:19:36,446 --> 00:19:37,711

Robert Irvine: Not many people can do that.

526

00:19:39,407 --> 00:19:41,531

Marc Preston: Like you said, it's scale and adaptability,

527

00:19:41,571 --> 00:19:44,617

Marc Preston: and I think that's something I think you

528

00:19:44,657 --> 00:19:45,959

Marc Preston: have to learn in the military certainly.

529

00:19:46,145 --> 00:19:48,389

Marc Preston: And I'm curious what brought you to having

530

00:19:48,409 --> 00:19:50,874

Marc Preston: that be the philanthropy that you it

531

00:19:50,935 --> 00:19:52,558

Marc Preston: definitely sounds like you lean into that?

532

00:19:53,225 --> 00:19:56,573

Marc Preston: How did the military philanthropies, how

533

00:19:56,593 --> 00:19:58,176

Marc Preston: did that come to pass?

534

00:19:59,245 --> 00:20:00,711

Robert Irvine: I was in the military when I came to the

535

00:20:00,772 --> 00:20:03,750

Robert Irvine: States I got a chance to work in the guest

536

00:20:03,770 --> 00:20:05,813

Robert Irvine: chef program at the White House and I still

537

00:20:05,854 --> 00:20:06,254

Robert Irvine: do that.

538

00:20:09,505 --> 00:20:10,567

Robert Irvine: We've done so many events.

539

00:20:10,707 --> 00:20:13,310

Robert Irvine: And then it's so funny I was about to go to

540

00:20:13,870 --> 00:20:18,015

Robert Irvine: Honduras with the Special Forces for the

541

00:20:18,055 --> 00:20:20,077

Robert Irvine: July weekend and I tweeted.

542

00:20:20,618 --> 00:20:25,267

Robert Irvine: Gary Sinise tweeted me and I tweeted back.

543

00:20:25,347 --> 00:20:29,635

Robert Irvine: He was in Alaska to do a Lieutenant Dan

544

00:20:29,675 --> 00:20:33,990

Robert Irvine: Band event and we end up tweeting each

545

00:20:34,070 --> 00:20:36,275

Robert Irvine: other and I said is this the real, gary

546

00:20:36,295 --> 00:20:36,676

Robert Irvine: Sinise?

547

00:20:37,185 --> 00:20:38,691

Robert Irvine: And he said is this the real, robert Irvine?

548

00:20:39,145 --> 00:20:40,438

Robert Irvine: I watch your shows, I love your shows.

549

00:20:41,145 --> 00:20:42,349

Robert Irvine: And I said well, if there's anything we

550

00:20:42,369 --> 00:20:44,035

Robert Irvine: never do, let me know.

551

00:20:44,546 --> 00:20:46,491

Robert Irvine: Well, sure enough, three or four weeks

552

00:20:46,531 --> 00:20:48,456

Robert Irvine: later he said I've got this great idea.

553

00:20:49,165 --> 00:20:50,626

Robert Irvine: And I said, okay, I'm in.

554

00:20:51,107 --> 00:20:54,771

Robert Irvine: And it was feeding 10,000 people at San

555

00:20:54,791 --> 00:21:00,837

Robert Irvine: Diego Naval Medical Center, which I got all

556

00:21:00,877 --> 00:21:03,500

Robert Irvine: the chiefs of the Navy and the Corpsmen and

557

00:21:03,560 --> 00:21:04,561

Robert Irvine: whatnot to help us.

558

00:21:05,165 --> 00:21:07,996

Robert Irvine: And we fed 10,000 people and never get it.

559

00:21:09,061 --> 00:21:11,952

Robert Irvine: It was an amazing event and Gary played the

560

00:21:12,012 --> 00:21:14,623

Robert Irvine: band and I did the food and we visited all

561

00:21:14,663 --> 00:21:16,649

Robert Irvine: the wounded and it was just, and that

562

00:21:16,669 --> 00:21:18,714

Robert Irvine: became a program called the Invincible

563

00:21:18,734 --> 00:21:22,430

Robert Irvine: Spirit Festivals and we would go to all the

564

00:21:22,490 --> 00:21:25,937

Robert Irvine: hospitals and do that every year, which was

565

00:21:25,977 --> 00:21:26,578

Robert Irvine: very special.

566

00:21:27,185 --> 00:21:33,095

Robert Irvine: And after seven plus years I'm like, okay,

567

00:21:33,155 --> 00:21:34,958

Robert Irvine: now I want a foundation because I think we

568

00:21:34,998 --> 00:21:35,499

Robert Irvine: can do more.

569

00:21:36,529 --> 00:21:37,539

Robert Irvine: You know, it was great.

570

00:21:37,620 --> 00:21:38,125

Robert Irvine: I'm not a musician.

571

00:21:39,027 --> 00:21:40,671

Robert Irvine: I don't play an instrument or I do with

572

00:21:40,711 --> 00:21:42,215

Robert Irvine: Gary on the stage, which is funny.

573

00:21:43,966 --> 00:21:46,851

Robert Irvine: I would play the maracas and cymbals and

574

00:21:46,891 --> 00:21:49,576

Robert Irvine: every time because I know we set inside out

575

00:21:50,938 --> 00:21:52,000

Robert Irvine: I would bang the cymbals.

576

00:21:52,145 --> 00:21:53,568

Robert Irvine: He would look around and like who was that

577

00:21:53,629 --> 00:21:55,975

Robert Irvine: crazy dude on the cymbals?

578

00:21:58,570 --> 00:21:59,593

Robert Irvine: But we are very close.

579

00:22:00,205 --> 00:22:01,429

Robert Irvine: I mean I talk to him every couple of days.

580

00:22:04,145 --> 00:22:07,291

Robert Irvine: He supports my foundation here in the golf

581

00:22:07,311 --> 00:22:10,478

Robert Irvine: tournament and I've supported him since day

582

00:22:10,698 --> 00:22:10,798

Robert Irvine: one.

583

00:22:11,185 --> 00:22:13,592

Robert Irvine: I just think he's an amazing guy and that's

584

00:22:13,672 --> 00:22:14,815

Robert Irvine: why I wanted to do more.

585

00:22:15,727 --> 00:22:16,630

Robert Irvine: Gary has a reach.

586

00:22:16,650 --> 00:22:18,035

Robert Irvine: He builds homes and whatnot.

587

00:22:18,225 --> 00:22:20,351

Robert Irvine: My foundation is all about mental and

588

00:22:20,391 --> 00:22:20,992

Robert Irvine: physical health.

589

00:22:23,165 --> 00:22:28,181

Robert Irvine: So we literally I don't know go hand in

590

00:22:28,221 --> 00:22:30,588

Robert Irvine: hand, I suppose you would say along with

591

00:22:30,628 --> 00:22:33,877

Robert Irvine: TAPS, tragedy Systems Program for Survivors.

592

00:22:34,739 --> 00:22:35,561

Robert Irvine: Gold Star Families.

593

00:22:35,641 --> 00:22:37,906

Robert Irvine: I just literally came back from Scotland

594

00:22:39,128 --> 00:22:41,519

Robert Irvine: six days ago straight to Michigan to shoot

595

00:22:41,579 --> 00:22:42,000

Robert Irvine: a show.

596

00:22:42,561 --> 00:22:46,909

Robert Irvine: Left Michigan went to Las Vegas and had 50

597

00:22:47,095 --> 00:22:49,862

Robert Irvine: Gold Star Families at my restaurant, then

598

00:22:49,902 --> 00:22:51,486

Robert Irvine: straight to another show back to Michigan,

599

00:22:51,795 --> 00:22:53,449

Robert Irvine: here to San Antonio.

600

00:22:53,587 --> 00:22:56,453

Robert Irvine: I just think philanthropy of our military

601

00:22:56,591 --> 00:22:58,678

Robert Irvine: and it's not just our military, it's our

602

00:22:58,838 --> 00:23:02,825

Robert Irvine: first responders also that we seem to

603

00:23:02,865 --> 00:23:03,886

Robert Irvine: forget about a lot.

604

00:23:04,507 --> 00:23:07,296

Robert Irvine: I think the country as a whole has

605

00:23:07,336 --> 00:23:09,405

Robert Irvine: forgotten about our military and what our

606

00:23:09,425 --> 00:23:11,534

Robert Irvine: first with the civil unrest and the last

607

00:23:11,554 --> 00:23:14,002

Robert Irvine: couple of years, and COVID and all the

608

00:23:14,062 --> 00:23:16,650

Robert Irvine: things that we still have military in Syria

609

00:23:16,690 --> 00:23:20,341

Robert Irvine: and Afghanistan and Iraq, but we don't hear

610

00:23:20,381 --> 00:23:24,835

Robert Irvine: about it because it's not fully fledged.

611

00:23:25,637 --> 00:23:26,960

Marc Preston: I think it's because so much of the news

612

00:23:27,020 --> 00:23:29,406

Marc Preston: cycle is so absorbed with all the nonsense

613

00:23:29,486 --> 00:23:31,878

Marc Preston: over the last handful of years.

614

00:23:32,259 --> 00:23:34,003

Marc Preston: Most certainly and I think you mentioned

615

00:23:34,023 --> 00:23:34,886

Marc Preston: something to mental health.

616

00:23:35,415 --> 00:23:37,601

Marc Preston: I think that's one of the things that me,

617

00:23:37,621 --> 00:23:39,145

Marc Preston: as kind of a layperson, it seems like we've

618

00:23:39,205 --> 00:23:42,882

Marc Preston: really underserved the military, the people

619

00:23:42,923 --> 00:23:45,492

Marc Preston: who just people getting out.

620

00:23:45,572 --> 00:23:48,483

Marc Preston: Maybe they didn't have an injury you can

621

00:23:48,563 --> 00:23:50,270

Marc Preston: see, but I mean knowing some of the people

622

00:23:50,310 --> 00:23:51,836

Marc Preston: I've known that have actually served and

623

00:23:51,876 --> 00:23:52,297

Marc Preston: come back.

624

00:23:52,338 --> 00:23:54,826

Marc Preston: They're definitely mental, and physical

625

00:23:54,887 --> 00:23:57,496

Marc Preston: health is something that we need to do more

626

00:23:57,536 --> 00:23:58,157

Marc Preston: of that.

627

00:23:58,418 --> 00:24:01,366

Marc Preston: That just seems like Now you mentioned that

628

00:24:01,406 --> 00:24:03,982

Marc Preston: you did the guest chef program at the White

629

00:24:04,002 --> 00:24:04,184

Marc Preston: House.

630

00:24:04,244 --> 00:24:05,695

Marc Preston: Now, which administration did you work in?

631

00:24:05,755 --> 00:24:08,284

Marc Preston: It was 1997, I've been doing that.

632

00:24:08,496 --> 00:24:10,183

Marc Preston: Well, I have to know when Trump did that

633

00:24:10,223 --> 00:24:12,031

Marc Preston: thing where he had all the McDonald's

634

00:24:12,051 --> 00:24:15,181

Marc Preston: brought in, what did you think about that?

635

00:24:15,201 --> 00:24:16,325

Marc Preston: I mean, you're thinking there's some of the

636

00:24:16,385 --> 00:24:17,798

Marc Preston: one most wonderful chefs here Now

637

00:24:17,838 --> 00:24:18,460

Marc Preston: somebody's bringing.

638

00:24:19,082 --> 00:24:19,624

Robert Irvine: McDonald's.

639

00:24:21,982 --> 00:24:23,426

Robert Irvine: The funny thing is I work for Trump for

640

00:24:23,466 --> 00:24:26,535

Robert Irvine: four years at Taj Mahal in Atlantic City as

641

00:24:26,575 --> 00:24:30,321

Robert Irvine: his executive chef.

642

00:24:30,962 --> 00:24:33,887

Robert Irvine: For me, it's when you get a chance to do

643

00:24:33,927 --> 00:24:35,650

Robert Irvine: this and I've worked with some amazing

644

00:24:35,730 --> 00:24:38,762

Robert Irvine: people it doesn't matter what they're

645

00:24:38,822 --> 00:24:39,063

Robert Irvine: eating.

646

00:24:39,545 --> 00:24:41,875

Robert Irvine: Listen, I could tell you stories I want,

647

00:24:41,995 --> 00:24:43,761

Robert Irvine: but I could tell you stories of other

648

00:24:43,821 --> 00:24:45,766

Robert Irvine: presidents that have been strange things.

649

00:24:46,935 --> 00:24:50,727

Robert Irvine: They say this is the presidents don't like

650

00:24:50,787 --> 00:24:51,228

Robert Irvine: each other.

651

00:24:51,790 --> 00:24:53,255

Robert Irvine: It's the smallest club in the world.

652

00:24:53,596 --> 00:24:57,544

Robert Irvine: Oh, indeed, yeah, I got a chance to glimpse

653

00:24:57,624 --> 00:24:58,626

Robert Irvine: into that.

654

00:24:58,646 --> 00:25:00,009

Robert Irvine: I didn't live there, I didn't work there

655

00:25:00,917 --> 00:25:02,140

Robert Irvine: 500 days a year.

656

00:25:03,343 --> 00:25:05,709

Robert Irvine: I got to travel, I got to do some amazing

657

00:25:05,749 --> 00:25:12,822

Robert Irvine: things, but I think food again is that

658

00:25:12,842 --> 00:25:13,683

Robert Irvine: conduit.

659

00:25:13,703 --> 00:25:17,369

Robert Irvine: I can sit in a place and say, oh, there's

660

00:25:17,389 --> 00:25:19,375

Robert Irvine: the president of the United States, joe

661

00:25:19,396 --> 00:25:19,696

Robert Irvine: Biden.

662

00:25:19,736 --> 00:25:22,241

Robert Irvine: We just did a big thing with Joe Biden and

663

00:25:22,702 --> 00:25:23,403

Robert Irvine: military folks.

664

00:25:24,665 --> 00:25:30,757

Robert Irvine: I sit on some panels of food, insecurity

665

00:25:30,838 --> 00:25:33,346

Robert Irvine: and health and fitness and all those kinds

666

00:25:33,366 --> 00:25:33,667

Robert Irvine: of things.

667

00:25:34,329 --> 00:25:36,817

Robert Irvine: I just think it allows me to be able to do

668

00:25:36,837 --> 00:25:38,181

Robert Irvine: the things that I love to do.

669

00:25:39,404 --> 00:25:42,393

Robert Irvine: I don't judge, but when you're 200 pounds

670

00:25:42,474 --> 00:25:44,098

Robert Irvine: overweight and then you've got a heart

671

00:25:44,138 --> 00:25:47,727

Robert Irvine: attack, I'm like, well, how do we get there?

672

00:25:47,987 --> 00:25:50,661

Marc Preston: Right, you know, I think Jamie Oliver did a

673

00:25:50,722 --> 00:25:52,569

Marc Preston: wonderful job pulling some attention.

674

00:25:52,589 --> 00:25:54,959

Marc Preston: I don't know where we're at on this, but

675

00:25:55,501 --> 00:25:57,891

Marc Preston: school lunch programs just the junk that

676

00:25:57,911 --> 00:25:59,176

Marc Preston: they're serving I know my kids when they

677

00:25:59,196 --> 00:26:00,319

Marc Preston: were younger in elementary were going.

678

00:26:00,339 --> 00:26:03,246

Marc Preston: This is barely passable as food.

679

00:26:03,426 --> 00:26:05,420

Marc Preston: I think that he had done one of the shows

680

00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:05,821

Marc Preston: he did.

681

00:26:06,603 --> 00:26:09,613

Marc Preston: He showed how, with only a slightly larger

682

00:26:09,673 --> 00:26:13,061

Marc Preston: budget, they could serve fresh, much better

683

00:26:13,102 --> 00:26:14,625

Marc Preston: food in schools.

684

00:26:14,846 --> 00:26:15,988

Marc Preston: Have you addressed that at all?

685

00:26:17,435 --> 00:26:17,856

Marc Preston: It is a thing.

686

00:26:17,916 --> 00:26:22,083

Robert Irvine: I think, with Jamie, never met him, don't

687

00:26:22,143 --> 00:26:25,248

Robert Irvine: know him, so I'm speaking in riddles here.

688

00:26:27,376 --> 00:26:29,344

Robert Irvine: Listen, jamie did really well with

689

00:26:29,405 --> 00:26:30,630

Robert Irvine: government back in England.

690

00:26:30,690 --> 00:26:32,496

Robert Irvine: He came to the States and he tried to tell

691

00:26:32,596 --> 00:26:34,099

Robert Irvine: moms and dads what to do.

692

00:26:35,261 --> 00:26:36,122

Robert Irvine: You can't do that.

693

00:26:37,444 --> 00:26:40,850

Robert Irvine: You have to get the buy-in of the people.

694

00:26:42,375 --> 00:26:44,099

Robert Irvine: I'm going to swing back slightly to the

695

00:26:44,139 --> 00:26:48,107

Robert Irvine: military, because up until this last couple

696

00:26:48,127 --> 00:26:50,458

Robert Irvine: of years the military didn't care about

697

00:26:50,518 --> 00:26:50,859

Robert Irvine: food.

698

00:26:51,220 --> 00:26:55,067

Robert Irvine: The military cared about equipment.

699

00:26:55,147 --> 00:26:57,799

Robert Irvine: I can tell you this last two years because

700

00:26:57,859 --> 00:27:00,524

Robert Irvine: I'm involved in it, they've done a great

701

00:27:00,564 --> 00:27:03,898

Robert Irvine: job of trying to figure out how do we make

702

00:27:04,079 --> 00:27:06,548

Robert Irvine: our servicemen and women more resilient to

703

00:27:06,568 --> 00:27:09,697

Robert Irvine: be able to use that $180 million drone or

704

00:27:09,817 --> 00:27:13,003

Robert Irvine: warship or whatever equipment.

705

00:27:13,304 --> 00:27:14,286

Robert Irvine: The same with schools.

706

00:27:14,606 --> 00:27:17,537

Robert Irvine: We have a long way to go with that because

707

00:27:18,078 --> 00:27:22,324

Robert Irvine: schools and federal and state people at the

708

00:27:22,364 --> 00:27:26,791

Robert Irvine: top don't value the schools.

709

00:27:27,396 --> 00:27:29,443

Robert Irvine: They don't value what we put in our kids.

710

00:27:29,986 --> 00:27:32,315

Robert Irvine: It's becoming tougher forget the inflation

711

00:27:32,335 --> 00:27:35,601

Robert Irvine: for a second it's becoming tougher to

712

00:27:35,741 --> 00:27:41,693

Robert Irvine: educate families about food and fitness

713

00:27:42,454 --> 00:27:42,915

Robert Irvine: equals fun.

714

00:27:44,679 --> 00:27:47,104

Robert Irvine: I believe that If we can and it's been a

715

00:27:47,164 --> 00:27:49,289

Robert Irvine: lifelong passion of mine to try and educate

716

00:27:49,835 --> 00:27:52,363

Robert Irvine: people how to eat, how to enjoy each

717

00:27:52,403 --> 00:27:55,572

Robert Irvine: other's company we're also the fitness part.

718

00:27:56,054 --> 00:27:59,080

Robert Irvine: Up until this year or this year.

719

00:27:59,140 --> 00:28:01,846

Robert Irvine: I should say there's not one state in the

720

00:28:01,906 --> 00:28:04,339

Robert Irvine: United States that we could take a young

721

00:28:04,840 --> 00:28:08,153

Robert Irvine: man or woman that would pass getting into

722

00:28:08,173 --> 00:28:08,655

Robert Irvine: the military.

723

00:28:09,216 --> 00:28:13,267

Robert Irvine: Really, yes, it's a national security issue

724

00:28:15,639 --> 00:28:17,243

Robert Irvine: Didn't they reduce the standards?

725

00:28:17,523 --> 00:28:19,588

Marc Preston: They had to lower the standards a little

726

00:28:19,608 --> 00:28:19,848

Marc Preston: bit too.

727

00:28:20,195 --> 00:28:22,322

Robert Irvine: They didn't reduce the Marines that haven't

728

00:28:22,402 --> 00:28:25,933

Robert Irvine: done anything like that, but they increased

729

00:28:26,093 --> 00:28:36,126

Robert Irvine: the training time, Costing more money.

730

00:28:36,326 --> 00:28:37,507

Robert Irvine: But now we're facing that.

731

00:28:37,527 --> 00:28:39,790

Robert Irvine: I can tell you right now, Planet Fitness,

732

00:28:41,195 --> 00:28:43,484

Robert Irvine: Chris Rondo, who's a very good friend of

733

00:28:43,524 --> 00:28:46,033

Robert Irvine: mine, I started this program the last

734

00:28:46,053 --> 00:28:48,579

Robert Irvine: couple of years where in the summer, right

735

00:28:48,619 --> 00:28:51,766

Robert Irvine: now kids can sign up and they can go to

736

00:28:51,806 --> 00:28:52,648

Robert Irvine: gyms for free.

737

00:28:53,116 --> 00:28:55,064

Marc Preston: My son's there right now my son and his

738

00:28:55,124 --> 00:28:55,345

Marc Preston: friend.

739

00:28:55,867 --> 00:28:58,136

Marc Preston: They told me about it and actually they're

740

00:28:58,156 --> 00:28:59,481

Marc Preston: working out at Planet Fitness right now.

741

00:28:59,521 --> 00:29:00,264

Marc Preston: It's funny he said that.

742

00:29:01,115 --> 00:29:01,777

Robert Irvine: They're amazing.

743

00:29:01,837 --> 00:29:04,184

Robert Irvine: I partnered with them a year ago.

744

00:29:05,749 --> 00:29:07,955

Robert Irvine: I've got to tell you, that's my big thing

745

00:29:08,095 --> 00:29:08,296

Robert Irvine: Right.

746

00:29:08,376 --> 00:29:10,424

Robert Irvine: How do we get school kids how old is your

747

00:29:10,444 --> 00:29:10,604

Robert Irvine: son?

748

00:29:11,575 --> 00:29:12,257

Robert Irvine: He's 17.

749

00:29:12,457 --> 00:29:13,699

Robert Irvine: What a great age.

750

00:29:13,779 --> 00:29:18,147

Robert Irvine: How do we get kids from 14, 15, 16, 17, 18,

751

00:29:18,187 --> 00:29:19,068

Robert Irvine: it's up to 19,.

752

00:29:19,088 --> 00:29:21,160

Robert Irvine: The program how do we get them into the gym,

753

00:29:21,200 --> 00:29:24,192

Robert Irvine: get them excited about working out, lifting,

754

00:29:24,533 --> 00:29:26,638

Robert Irvine: running, whatever it is that they want to

755

00:29:26,658 --> 00:29:31,006

Robert Irvine: do, because that then, in turn, not only

756

00:29:31,046 --> 00:29:33,076

Robert Irvine: makes them healthier, makes them choose

757

00:29:33,136 --> 00:29:35,362

Robert Irvine: better food, because they don't feel good

758

00:29:35,422 --> 00:29:37,407

Robert Irvine: when they eat garbage all the time.

759

00:29:38,777 --> 00:29:40,342

Robert Irvine: That's the whole cycle.

760

00:29:40,743 --> 00:29:43,592

Robert Irvine: We get kids invested in food and fitness

761

00:29:43,973 --> 00:29:44,675

Robert Irvine: and they can choose.

762

00:29:46,321 --> 00:29:47,947

Robert Irvine: What do they want to do when they get older?

763

00:29:48,549 --> 00:29:49,954

Robert Irvine: If they go into the military, they've got

764

00:29:49,974 --> 00:29:50,275

Robert Irvine: to be ready.

765

00:29:50,938 --> 00:29:52,888

Robert Irvine: I think that's a great program.

766

00:29:55,721 --> 00:29:57,829

Marc Preston: What do you think it is in the US that led

767

00:29:57,849 --> 00:30:00,981

Marc Preston: to this place we're in now where there is I

768

00:30:01,021 --> 00:30:02,346

Marc Preston: don't call you a centaire, but there is

769

00:30:02,728 --> 00:30:03,853

Marc Preston: just the available food.

770

00:30:05,758 --> 00:30:07,662

Robert Irvine: Yes, well, because it's an opinion, there

771

00:30:07,762 --> 00:30:08,343

Robert Irvine: are facts around it.

772

00:30:12,337 --> 00:30:16,785

Robert Irvine: But the average family doesn't make much

773

00:30:16,966 --> 00:30:18,930

Robert Irvine: money, whether mom and dad both work.

774

00:30:20,016 --> 00:30:23,767

Robert Irvine: I call it the living poor because we've got

775

00:30:23,807 --> 00:30:26,936

Robert Irvine: a feed so we can go to a McDonald's, so we

776

00:30:26,956 --> 00:30:30,384

Robert Irvine: go to a burger king, we go to it and get

777

00:30:30,404 --> 00:30:32,208

Robert Irvine: this amount of food, this amount of money.

778

00:30:32,875 --> 00:30:33,999

Robert Irvine: So it's within that budget.

779

00:30:34,300 --> 00:30:38,352

Robert Irvine: Listen, we have I think is one in five in

780

00:30:38,432 --> 00:30:39,134

Robert Irvine: our military.

781

00:30:39,174 --> 00:30:41,660

Robert Irvine: Is food insecure in our military?

782

00:30:42,381 --> 00:30:43,984

Robert Irvine: Really, that's a real number.

783

00:30:44,085 --> 00:30:46,009

Robert Irvine: As of yesterday it used to be one in eight,

784

00:30:46,155 --> 00:30:47,458

Robert Irvine: today it's one in four.

785

00:30:48,060 --> 00:30:49,824

Robert Irvine: A couple of weeks actually, about a month

786

00:30:49,864 --> 00:30:52,978

Robert Irvine: ago, I was in with NFAM, which is another

787

00:30:53,419 --> 00:30:56,869

Robert Irvine: great foundation that is feeding the

788

00:30:56,929 --> 00:30:58,774

Robert Irvine: insecure military folks.

789

00:30:58,814 --> 00:31:01,441

Robert Irvine: I was in Fort Hood, texas, feeding with

790

00:31:01,722 --> 00:31:05,111

Robert Irvine: Tyson and some other folks, 800 food

791

00:31:05,231 --> 00:31:07,537

Robert Irvine: insecure families of our active duty

792

00:31:07,577 --> 00:31:08,058

Robert Irvine: military.

793

00:31:09,001 --> 00:31:09,703

Robert Irvine: How can we do that?

794

00:31:09,743 --> 00:31:11,487

Robert Irvine: That's our active duty, we're United States.

795

00:31:12,575 --> 00:31:13,840

Marc Preston: You've been in the military, you know that

796

00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:15,224

Marc Preston: one of the friends of mine that have been

797

00:31:15,536 --> 00:31:16,881

Marc Preston: that are officers in the military.

798

00:31:17,384 --> 00:31:19,272

Marc Preston: Their primary thing is they want to reduce

799

00:31:19,312 --> 00:31:21,338

Marc Preston: the amount of stress that their enlisted

800

00:31:21,399 --> 00:31:23,304

Marc Preston: folks are dealing with, because if they

801

00:31:23,324 --> 00:31:25,078

Marc Preston: have a lot of stress at home, then it's

802

00:31:25,098 --> 00:31:26,445

Marc Preston: going to affect their performance at work,

803

00:31:26,506 --> 00:31:28,195

Marc Preston: and so I can't think of anything more

804

00:31:28,315 --> 00:31:29,197

Marc Preston: central than food.

805

00:31:29,577 --> 00:31:33,023

Robert Irvine: And this year, for the first time,

806

00:31:33,985 --> 00:31:35,648

Robert Irvine: Secretary of Defense is attacking that,

807

00:31:37,015 --> 00:31:39,565

Robert Irvine: which is great, but there's a long way to

808

00:31:39,606 --> 00:31:39,726

Robert Irvine: go.

809

00:31:39,766 --> 00:31:41,875

Robert Irvine: You know what it's like to move anything in

810

00:31:41,895 --> 00:31:42,977

Robert Irvine: the government right.

811

00:31:43,177 --> 00:31:43,939

Robert Irvine: It takes time.

812

00:31:45,822 --> 00:31:48,187

Robert Irvine: We spend $10 billion a year in

813

00:31:48,247 --> 00:31:50,780

Robert Irvine: obesity-driven disease at 1.4 million

814

00:31:50,840 --> 00:31:51,945

Robert Irvine: active duty men and women.

815

00:31:52,166 --> 00:31:53,732

Marc Preston: Eve and I who's my son?

816

00:31:53,752 --> 00:31:55,057

Marc Preston: Decided he wanted to go running last time,

817

00:31:55,098 --> 00:31:56,624

Marc Preston: like looking at my kids going, I need to

818

00:31:56,664 --> 00:31:59,055

Marc Preston: work out more, so I'm looking at my kids.

819

00:31:59,417 --> 00:32:01,185

Marc Preston: You know they're inspiring me at this point.

820

00:32:01,245 --> 00:32:03,174

Marc Preston: But one of the things that's curious about

821

00:32:03,194 --> 00:32:04,979

Marc Preston: what part of the country are you living in

822

00:32:05,019 --> 00:32:05,180

Marc Preston: now?

823

00:32:05,220 --> 00:32:06,925

Marc Preston: Are you because you're moving around so

824

00:32:07,025 --> 00:32:08,317

Marc Preston: much that I live in Florida?

825

00:32:08,337 --> 00:32:09,180

Marc Preston: Well, I have a house there.

826

00:32:09,220 --> 00:32:13,177

Robert Irvine: I spend 11 days a year there, but I love it

827

00:32:13,237 --> 00:32:13,939

Robert Irvine: when I go home.

828

00:32:14,059 --> 00:32:14,420

Robert Irvine: It's just.

829

00:32:14,540 --> 00:32:15,101

Robert Irvine: I love this.

830

00:32:15,121 --> 00:32:17,827

Robert Irvine: I'm not a cold animal, I love the war.

831

00:32:19,662 --> 00:32:21,611

Robert Irvine: So we're in San Antonio.

832

00:32:21,632 --> 00:32:22,335

Robert Irvine: It's 100 degrees.

833

00:32:24,283 --> 00:32:25,648

Marc Preston: Yeah, I'm in New Orleans right now.

834

00:32:25,668 --> 00:32:26,331

Marc Preston: It's the same thing.

835

00:32:26,351 --> 00:32:27,938

Marc Preston: We got the humidity also, which is a lot of

836

00:32:27,999 --> 00:32:28,160

Marc Preston: fun.

837

00:32:28,682 --> 00:32:29,949

Marc Preston: But you it's funny you mentioned Grant

838

00:32:29,969 --> 00:32:31,757

Marc Preston: Cayman we're going, my kids and I are going

839

00:32:31,897 --> 00:32:33,582

Marc Preston: to jump on a cruise ship and head down

840

00:32:33,622 --> 00:32:35,747

Marc Preston: there here in a couple of weeks.

841

00:32:37,016 --> 00:32:39,586

Marc Preston: I just I'm a big tropical guy, but from

842

00:32:39,606 --> 00:32:40,891

Marc Preston: where you're from, you were in a much

843

00:32:40,971 --> 00:32:41,413

Marc Preston: cooler.

844

00:32:41,554 --> 00:32:44,263

Marc Preston: You're from a consistently cool part of the

845

00:32:44,303 --> 00:32:46,137

Marc Preston: world, so so wet and miserable.

846

00:32:54,491 --> 00:32:55,995

Marc Preston: Now you said you have daughters.

847

00:32:56,195 --> 00:32:56,697

Marc Preston: How old are they?

848

00:32:57,285 --> 00:32:59,030

Robert Irvine: So my one daughter is Annalise.

849

00:32:59,110 --> 00:33:00,113

Robert Irvine: She's 24 years old.

850

00:33:01,345 --> 00:33:03,101

Robert Irvine: She's trained to be a pediatric speech

851

00:33:03,121 --> 00:33:03,505

Robert Irvine: pathologist.

852

00:33:04,387 --> 00:33:07,253

Robert Irvine: In fact, she's got about a couple of months

853

00:33:07,313 --> 00:33:09,197

Robert Irvine: left and she's out in the real world.

854

00:33:09,825 --> 00:33:13,113

Robert Irvine: I have a 21 year old who name is Talia, who

855

00:33:13,293 --> 00:33:15,197

Robert Irvine: is working for the public defender's office

856

00:33:15,766 --> 00:33:16,529

Robert Irvine: in Philadelphia.

857

00:33:17,165 --> 00:33:18,671

Robert Irvine: She is trained to be a criminal lawyer.

858

00:33:19,407 --> 00:33:21,412

Robert Irvine: She went by the school two days ago at

859

00:33:21,492 --> 00:33:21,873

Robert Irvine: Rutgers.

860

00:33:23,145 --> 00:33:25,131

Robert Irvine: So yeah, they're both.

861

00:33:25,833 --> 00:33:26,334

Robert Irvine: It's amazing.

862

00:33:27,265 --> 00:33:31,937

Robert Irvine: I look at my life of service and then I

863

00:33:31,977 --> 00:33:35,065

Robert Irvine: have two amazing kids that have chosen the

864

00:33:35,085 --> 00:33:36,911

Robert Irvine: same thing, but in different formats.

865

00:33:37,705 --> 00:33:39,050

Marc Preston: I was about to say, did they kind of follow

866

00:33:39,070 --> 00:33:39,793

Marc Preston: in your footsteps?

867

00:33:39,885 --> 00:33:41,389

Marc Preston: I guess it was just in a different,

868

00:33:41,810 --> 00:33:43,856

Marc Preston: different, took a different shape, you know.

869

00:33:44,205 --> 00:33:45,652

Marc Preston: But the question is around the house when

870

00:33:45,672 --> 00:33:47,098

Marc Preston: they were growing up, were you?

871

00:33:48,063 --> 00:33:50,050

Marc Preston: I always wonder about chefs when they come

872

00:33:50,070 --> 00:33:50,210

Marc Preston: home.

873

00:33:50,250 --> 00:33:51,715

Marc Preston: Anthony Bourdain, just take it back to him.

874

00:33:52,527 --> 00:33:53,631

Marc Preston: He said well, I don't go home and cook

875

00:33:53,651 --> 00:33:54,494

Marc Preston: anything fancy.

876

00:33:54,585 --> 00:33:56,295

Marc Preston: He likes the kind of the utilitarian, just

877

00:33:56,315 --> 00:33:57,763

Marc Preston: kind of like a nice bowl of spaghetti or

878

00:33:57,824 --> 00:33:58,688

Marc Preston: something like that at home.

879

00:33:59,205 --> 00:34:00,410

Marc Preston: What were you cooking for the kids when

880

00:34:00,430 --> 00:34:01,053

Marc Preston: they were growing up?

881

00:34:01,145 --> 00:34:03,471

Robert Irvine: It was funny because I was never at home

882

00:34:04,273 --> 00:34:05,476

Robert Irvine: when my kids were growing up.

883

00:34:06,265 --> 00:34:06,847

Robert Irvine: I was working.

884

00:34:06,947 --> 00:34:10,266

Robert Irvine: I worked, you know, 18 hours a day and on

885

00:34:10,286 --> 00:34:13,259

Robert Irvine: my days off I would go to the White House,

886

00:34:13,319 --> 00:34:14,826

Robert Irvine: I would do charity events, I would go to

887

00:34:14,866 --> 00:34:17,073

Robert Irvine: food banks, I would do all these sort of

888

00:34:17,133 --> 00:34:17,373

Robert Irvine: things.

889

00:34:18,826 --> 00:34:22,173

Robert Irvine: So my kids up until the age of probably 12,

890

00:34:22,513 --> 00:34:24,437

Robert Irvine: you know, it's almost like a single parent

891

00:34:24,477 --> 00:34:25,926

Robert Irvine: family, even though I was.

892

00:34:25,946 --> 00:34:28,693

Robert Irvine: Yes, I was home every night, but at 11 or

893

00:34:28,753 --> 00:34:30,647

Robert Irvine: 12, one o'clock in the morning and I'd be

894

00:34:30,687 --> 00:34:32,012

Robert Irvine: leaving at six in the morning.

895

00:34:32,185 --> 00:34:36,311

Robert Irvine: So I think now and then we get.

896

00:34:36,892 --> 00:34:39,256

Robert Irvine: When my daughters or my oldest, I should

897

00:34:39,276 --> 00:34:43,669

Robert Irvine: say, annalise, was 21, she said dad, can I

898

00:34:43,709 --> 00:34:44,893

Robert Irvine: go for a drink with you now?

899

00:34:45,725 --> 00:34:47,992

Robert Irvine: And I said, yeah, it was Miami, food and

900

00:34:48,012 --> 00:34:48,233

Robert Irvine: wine.

901

00:34:49,145 --> 00:34:51,230

Robert Irvine: And now my little ones said to me oh, dad,

902

00:34:51,270 --> 00:34:52,894

Robert Irvine: can I go to Miami food and wine now?

903

00:34:53,736 --> 00:34:54,237

Robert Irvine: And now they're old.

904

00:34:54,277 --> 00:34:57,431

Robert Irvine: Now I spend more time with my kids now than

905

00:34:57,491 --> 00:34:59,375

Robert Irvine: I ever have and it's the most important

906

00:34:59,416 --> 00:34:59,636

Robert Irvine: thing.

907

00:35:00,565 --> 00:35:03,550

Robert Irvine: I don't think when you have a family and

908

00:35:03,570 --> 00:35:04,572

Robert Irvine: you've got to work, you don't.

909

00:35:05,914 --> 00:35:10,671

Robert Irvine: I certainly felt what's the word guilty, I

910

00:35:10,711 --> 00:35:12,860

Robert Irvine: suppose, because I wasn't spending that

911

00:35:12,880 --> 00:35:16,991

Robert Irvine: much time, but I was playing money in a

912

00:35:17,071 --> 00:35:18,754

Robert Irvine: house and the things that we do.

913

00:35:21,545 --> 00:35:22,107

Robert Irvine: But now I.

914

00:35:22,509 --> 00:35:24,939

Robert Irvine: It's so interesting because both my girls

915

00:35:24,979 --> 00:35:27,026

Robert Irvine: love to cook, they love to hang out with me,

916

00:35:27,126 --> 00:35:28,669

Robert Irvine: they've been on stage with me, they've been

917

00:35:28,730 --> 00:35:32,016

Robert Irvine: on trips on the road, on buses, and it's

918

00:35:33,425 --> 00:35:36,653

Robert Irvine: just so good when they're old enough to

919

00:35:36,693 --> 00:35:38,497

Robert Irvine: have an opinion and they voice their

920

00:35:38,517 --> 00:35:40,708

Robert Irvine: opinions very quickly, like me pretty much,

921

00:35:40,768 --> 00:35:43,433

Robert Irvine: but, and they don't always gel with my

922

00:35:43,453 --> 00:35:44,796

Robert Irvine: opinions and I like that.

923

00:35:45,417 --> 00:35:45,637

Marc Preston: You know?

924

00:35:46,465 --> 00:35:46,786

Marc Preston: Well, it's always.

925

00:35:46,806 --> 00:35:47,809

Marc Preston: It's always interesting when you get

926

00:35:47,849 --> 00:35:49,434

Marc Preston: challenged by your kids and they end up

927

00:35:49,454 --> 00:35:49,955

Marc Preston: being right.

928

00:35:50,285 --> 00:35:51,168

Marc Preston: You know, that's always kind of a

929

00:35:51,228 --> 00:35:52,191

Marc Preston: revelation, isn't it?

930

00:35:52,211 --> 00:35:55,429

Marc Preston: Yeah, but you know, one of the things I was

931

00:35:55,469 --> 00:35:57,034

Marc Preston: curious about when it came to, when you go

932

00:35:57,094 --> 00:35:59,048

Marc Preston: into a restaurant and one of the things I

933

00:35:59,128 --> 00:36:01,095

Marc Preston: love about the show is the sociology of it,

934

00:36:01,385 --> 00:36:03,049

Marc Preston: like you mentioned, who's running the

935

00:36:03,109 --> 00:36:06,256

Marc Preston: restaurant, who's in charge is the way you

936

00:36:06,296 --> 00:36:06,456

Marc Preston: put it.

937

00:36:07,585 --> 00:36:08,728

Marc Preston: When you go in somewhere and you've asked

938

00:36:08,749 --> 00:36:10,574

Marc Preston: the questions and you watch it run and then

939

00:36:11,165 --> 00:36:13,211

Marc Preston: you help them make changes that you are

940

00:36:13,351 --> 00:36:14,675

Marc Preston: pretty confident are going to help them,

941

00:36:15,645 --> 00:36:17,350

Marc Preston: and then you do you ever go revisit it and

942

00:36:17,370 --> 00:36:17,571

Marc Preston: go?

943

00:36:18,233 --> 00:36:18,734

Marc Preston: How are they doing?

944

00:36:18,775 --> 00:36:18,955

Marc Preston: Now?

945

00:36:19,325 --> 00:36:22,232

Marc Preston: You know a case in point we go down to

946

00:36:22,272 --> 00:36:24,778

Marc Preston: South Padre Island every year and you did

947

00:36:24,798 --> 00:36:27,732

Marc Preston: something down there and I remember going

948

00:36:27,753 --> 00:36:29,040

Marc Preston: to the restaurant down in New Orleans.

949

00:36:29,060 --> 00:36:30,627

Marc Preston: I was evacuated for a hurricane a couple of

950

00:36:30,667 --> 00:36:32,071

Marc Preston: years ago and I decided to go down there

951

00:36:32,693 --> 00:36:35,269

Marc Preston: and it didn't look at all like what you had

952

00:36:35,289 --> 00:36:37,014

Marc Preston: done and they had kind of adjusted it.

953

00:36:37,185 --> 00:36:37,366

Marc Preston: Does that?

954

00:36:37,406 --> 00:36:39,051

Marc Preston: Does that frustrate you ever, whenever you

955

00:36:39,091 --> 00:36:40,965

Marc Preston: see somebody not really sticking with a

956

00:36:41,005 --> 00:36:41,768

Marc Preston: program, as it were?

957

00:36:43,425 --> 00:36:44,006

Robert Irvine: In the last.

958

00:36:44,147 --> 00:36:47,373

Robert Irvine: So the early days of the show I think it

959

00:36:47,433 --> 00:36:49,297

Robert Irvine: was so different because people wouldn't

960

00:36:49,377 --> 00:36:52,008

Robert Irvine: change and the last three years of doing

961

00:36:52,028 --> 00:36:55,274

Robert Irvine: the show, where 96% successful, of the

962

00:36:55,354 --> 00:36:59,488

Robert Irvine: restaurant's return during COVID and after

963

00:36:59,509 --> 00:37:00,874

Robert Irvine: COVID, I think, is.

964

00:37:01,095 --> 00:37:03,385

Robert Irvine: I think what I say is look, I'm going to

965

00:37:03,425 --> 00:37:05,850

Robert Irvine: put a menu in that I believe will help you,

966

00:37:06,452 --> 00:37:08,476

Robert Irvine: based on the talent you have in the kitchen,

967

00:37:09,265 --> 00:37:10,508

Robert Irvine: based on the equipment you have in the

968

00:37:10,569 --> 00:37:13,866

Robert Irvine: kitchen and the terms of the tables, and

969

00:37:13,886 --> 00:37:16,814

Robert Irvine: that's how I strictly look at food.

970

00:37:17,565 --> 00:37:19,410

Robert Irvine: But it doesn't mean that you have to keep

971

00:37:19,430 --> 00:37:20,132

Robert Irvine: with that menu.

972

00:37:22,105 --> 00:37:23,771

Robert Irvine: You can do whatever you wish to do.

973

00:37:24,465 --> 00:37:26,710

Robert Irvine: But what I always tell them is hey, the

974

00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:28,093

Robert Irvine: minute you go back to what you're doing,

975

00:37:28,113 --> 00:37:28,734

Robert Irvine: you're going to fail.

976

00:37:30,605 --> 00:37:33,535

Robert Irvine: You teach you labor cost and food cost and

977

00:37:33,635 --> 00:37:36,665

Robert Irvine: management of seating in sections of the

978

00:37:36,785 --> 00:37:38,451

Robert Irvine: restaurant and leadership and all those

979

00:37:38,471 --> 00:37:41,250