Health and Wellness for America’s Service Members Top This Chef’s Menu

As a chef, restaurateur and business owner, author, fitness guru, TV personality and philanthropist, there is not much that Robert Irvine and his companies don’t have their hands in.

“But what we do touch, a big portion of all that goes into the [Robert Irvine] foundation to be able to do the [philanthropic] work,”  Irvine told The Epoch Times in a recent interview.

“What I call God’s work of distributing money to those that are food insecure, getting [military] units back together after 20 years, breaking bread with heroes.”

His businesses—which include food (crab cakes; protein bars, snacks); distilled spirits (vodka and gin), and drones—along with fundraising and programming, power the 21-year-old foundation, which supports active duty military, veterans, first responders, and their family members.

“I joined the military very, very young,” said the British-born Irvine, who enlisted in the Royal Navy at age 15 and served for 12 years as a cook, including time aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia.

“I have an affinity to those that serve. That’s not only military folks, that’s first responders. The Greatest Generation of World War II was the greatest generation because they put the country before themselves.”

Since then, Irvine has cooked his way through Europe, the Far East, the Caribbean, and the Americas, in hotels, on the high seas and even for the Academy Awards—and that was before his career in TV.

Focus on Humanity

It is his time spent on the road with service members and veterans that propels Irvine to find purpose in the expansive work he does. “My whole thing is to get the veterans out of four walls because when you leave the military, you lose a sense of purpose,” explained Irvine.

“Because you’ve been this human being that’s been a team member. And you sit there and maybe all the bad things you did, all the good things you did, all the in-betweens come to a forefront at some point. And our suicide rate is ridiculous.’

Through these encounters and his time in the spotlight as the no-nonsense, speak-his-mind chef and host of the Food Network’s reality TV series “Restaurant: Impossible,” Irvine built the recognition and trust that earned him a partnership with the Department of Defense as an advocate for military health and wellness.

The road to being a powerhouse philanthropist was not without its bumps. What could have been a career ender—a résumé embellishment that led to a temporary cancellation of his Food Network contract—pushed Irvine to share his authentic self with the public and to dive deeper into his charitable pursuits, including programs that supported military groups across the world, the USO and the Gary Sinise Foundation.

“I think humanity has lost its place and we need to find it,” said Irvine about his singular mission. In 2015, he was named an honorary chief petty officer of the U.S. Navy for his extensive work supporting the armed forces during a ceremony at the U.S. Navy Memorial.

Food that Nourishes Body and Soul

At the heart of Irvine’s focus is his effort to modernize the military’s food service. “I believe that we have an amazing military,” said Irvine, who is putting his hard-earned culinary and entrepreneurial skills to work on this massive undertaking.

“But what we’ve forgotten is the human capital. The human collateral matters.  The people matter.”

With his Fresh Kitchen already a success at the Pentagon, Irvine is moving on to the five pilot sites—Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Fort Stewart, Georgia; Fort Hood, Texas; Fort Drum, New York; and Fort Carson, Colorado.

“I see our military folks and their families as athletes,” Irvine explained.

His plan is to modernize not just the Army’s food platform to ensure freshness and quality of ingredients, but how those ingredients are sourced and prepared, and the overall dining experience on military bases.

Greater variety and freshness in an atmosphere that supports community, respect, and pride is the ultimate goal. Irvine’s efforts target both ends of the spectrum: behind-the-scenes advocacy with military leadership, and hands-on training inside base kitchens.

Recently he opened a fast-casual alternative called “Victory Fresh” at South Carolina’s Fort Jackson.

“We’ve got such a rapid movement right now that I’m very excited about it because we’ve gotten further than we ever have before,” Irvine said. “We’re very lucky that we have good military leadership that understands the human collateral—the feedback is unbelievable.”

Even with his jam-packed plate,  Irvine is thinking ahead to the country’s 250th birthday celebration in 2026.

“I came here by choice,” said Irvine. “I renounced my British citizenship by choice. And I love this country and I believe in it. Next year is going to be great if we can love each other and take care of each other and stop this divisiveness and squabbling over who cares about what. I had a conversation with people yesterday from 21 different countries. And they may not agree with each other, but they talk to each other. Our biggest problem is we don’t talk.”