Okay, I don't cook anything more challenging than the occasional omelette, and I'm not a big Food Network junkie, either. But when I ran across this Robert Irvine guy on Dinner: Impossible!, I just couldn't figure out how some huge body-builder guy ever got into the cooking business in the first place, let alone ended up on this TV show where he runs around the world doing these crazy challenges. Also, he always seems to be pretty darn polite on the show, even when he is freaking out. I wanted to know more about this guy, so I read his book.
What a surprise and a revelation! The guy's story reads like a cross between James Bond and Sherlock Holmes. Very, very cool. (Dare I say "cooler than the TV show"?) I don't know how much Robert really wrote (Brian O'Reilly is mentioned in the credits, too), but it is my opinion that anyone who enjoys quality FICTION in the British tradition would enjoy this book as much as any fan of the TV show. The writing is top-notch, and Robert's stories are very entertaining. I don't cook, so I haven't tried any of the recipes, but this book made me think that maybe even a guy like me should spend a little more time at the stove!
Actually, reading this book made me wish there was a companion book that went into more of the basic "how-to", and included more of the cool recipes. Robert is a gentleman as well as a "guy's guy", and I look forward to his futher adventures.