Food Network Fires Robert Irvine; Rachel Ray Continues Multiple Shows

"I don't watch the Food Network anymore because every time I turn it on it's always Paula Deen or Rachel Ray."

A friend said that to me the other day, and I laughed it off. While those two women, Rachel Ray especially, do seem to be on the channel quite a bit, there are enough chefs on the channel to make it worth watching. Then the Food Network did something completely unexpected: they fired Robert Irvine.

Robert Irvine is the host of one the more popular shows on the Food Network, Dinner Impossible. This show spoofs the old television series Mission Impossible. Irvine arrives in an undisclosed location, and it given a seemingly impossible task to perform. Among those tasks was created a dinner for a large group of soldiers prior to shipping off to Iraq, cooking dinner on an old fashioned chuck wagon, and making a meal on a deserted island.

Through it all Robert Irvine has managed to bring light and humor into even the most impossible situations, and gained quite a following on the Food Network. His first cookbook, baring the same name as his television show, was released in 2007. Women seemed to love the show because of his easy demeanor and bulging biceps, even Paula Deen herself has expressed some delight at his appearance. Men too loved the show, because they had a real man cooking on television.

Irvine is a far cry from the other Food Network favorites including Tyler Florence, the Deen boys, and Bobby Flay. He was more of a rough and tumble British bloke, and was known to kick back with fellow television chef Guy Fiere (host of "Dinners, Drive Ins, and Dives"). Then it was announced that the Food Network would not be renewing Robert Irvine's show, or contract after this season.