I used to love Robert Irvines shows “Dinner Impossible” and later “Restaurant Impossible”.
But those shows were dropped, as most shows eventually are. And now Robert is back as the host of “The Robert Irvine Show” You can Google it but basically its a Jerry Springer ripoff where people come in and talk about their problems.
Why Robert why? Why sink so low as to sit and listen to these trashy people talking about their problems?
He soooo needs to get back into a kitchen.
Judge Judy makes 50 million a year being a no-nonsense talking head in a daytime conflict resolution talk show. He also probably realizes he has to keep himself in the public eye to support his brand which may include a bunch of other restaurants.
Surprised anyone’s giving this confabulist another bite at the apple. He’s a known resume padder.
All true. He’s selling stuff thru WalMart, Costco, his books, website, etc… Cashing in on his name for as long as possible.
But still to be another Jerry Springer?
At least be a positive show like Ellen.
I think it started on Restaurant Impossible when a lot of the episodes ended up revolving around the dysfunctional relationships among the owners and managers. Robert decided that (1) he was good at resolving these conflicts and (2) it would be great if he had a show just about personal issues; neither of which is very true, imho.
I was shocked when I was channel surfing and saw his show. I thought maybe he’d have something like Rachael Ray. I Googled and it looks like Restuarant Impossible was canceled last August. It’s sort of odd for him to have this kind of show as the way he yelled at some of the designers on RI made me think he needed anger management classes.
I watched Restaurant Impossible, but like most of these sorts of shows, it gets old very quickly; every episode is the same thing.
But I’m not surprised he went the daytime talk show route. I’m convinced that Andy Warhol was wrong when he suggested that in the future everyone will be famous for fifteen minutes. Instead, I think in the very near future, everyone will have or has had a talk show.
BTW, I heard a story about how Oprah Winfrey got rich and famous. Before she had a nationally syndicated show, she went on a date with Roger Ebert (whose film review program with Gene Siskel was already being syndicated) and he told her how much money he was making. So she did a syndication deal as well, and is now worth, I think, over a billion dollars.
It’s a pity they canned Dinner: Impossible. That was the best of his shows. In that format he could really show his cooking chops.
Yes, I agree. I just think they ran out of good ideas.
One thing not mentioned on Restaurant Impossible was even the ones he “saved” still mostly went under or sold within a year or 2.
I think the same thing was true of those featured on Kitchen Nightmares. I’m not really surprised. I thought many of the problems with the restaurants was obvious stuff, particularly if you’d already watched any episode of either show (dirty dining room, filthy kitchen, rotten food in the refrigerators and freezers, lack of adherence to food safety protocols, overstuffed menus, etc.). So if the restaurant owner/manager/chef couldn’t fix these problems on their own, the restaurant is not going undergo a massive transformation after a celebrity chef was there for a few days.
Yes, the things that should make a restaurant sustainable, like a sound business model, menus that leverage off readily available ingredients but still sound special, knowing your demographics etc would make interesting and worthy but very dull television.
But - if you have:
[a] what you think may be a passion for cooking, but have been working as an air-con salesman for 30 years
** employ relatives who mysteriously have trouble finding other work, and
[c] seem to have not been to another restaurant and noted its decor, management or menu since Nixon,
then the next time the phone rings it will be Gordon Ramsay or Robert Irvine. And don’t mind being called ‘a fucking useless retarded toss-pot’, that’s just a quaint britishism for ‘chef’.
Whoever produces those shows can see the train-wrecks unfolding and position their cameras and talent accordingly. I’ve watched more of Ramsay than Irvine, but while he offers sensible advice there is usually an intractable problem firmly positioned behind the cash register.
This thread reminded me to check on a place the next city over that was featured on Restaurant Impossible. It sounds like they’ve gone back to how they were before the show; a filthy local dive for beer and karaoke. The locals seem to like the bar, but anyone from out-of-town or who wants to eat in the restaurant hates it. Sounds like they haven’t cleaned since Robert’s visit, either. Gross. It’s too bad as it’s a cool historical building with lots of old wood inside and out. It used to be a cafe called the Blue Moon that was pretty nice. Before that, it was a (horse) tack store and I was there more times than I could count. 
Robert Irvine has a better track record of helping restaurants than Ramsey and he actually seems to care. Its been reported that he would give the owners a way of contacting him for advice later on.
Interestingly I remember him telling one failing restaurant owner that many times the best outcome is to just be able to sell the place and walk away with no debt from it.
According to a New York Times article a few years back, most of the restaurants featured on the show either revert back to their old ways, or close. The usual scenario is a surge of business after the show airs, and then things take a nosedive because the regular customers miss the old place and don’t like Irvine’s new menu items.
I tried to visit a restaurant near me that had gotten a Restaurant Impossible makeover. The door was locked and a passerby told me they had reduced their hours to breakfast and lunch only. When I tried again a few months later, it had permanently closed.
I don’t think this pattern necessarily reflects badly on Irvine, though.
Your right and the restaurant industry itself is very fickle, especially to the small Mom and Pop places. Even chain restaurants go under.
On a similar notion, just looking at Robert Irvines website, I really cannot see an example where Irvine opened a restaurant with his own money and he personally was in charge of day to day operations and had much success with it.
Sure he puts his name on places like this new one in Las Vegas. But that’s just a place where investors are using his name.