Robert Irvine is a recognized Chef and personality.  It is only when you see him live and in person that you realize that outgoing personality that you witness on television is the same Robert Irvine that exists in real life!

Epcot International Food & Wine Festival

Disney World presents one of the most amazing Food & Wine Festivals each year for the past 19 years and 2014 is no exception!  One of the best parts of the Festival is to see celebrity chefs in person and see them create culinary specialties and interact with the audience.

Robert Irvine made two appearances for the 2014 Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  The first was a supposed to be a simple dish preparation and question and answer session.  Well 45 minutes turned into over an hour and the audience that we were gladly a part of got a chance to experience and witness Robert Irvine up close and see far more of the personality that is presented across a wide number of shows on tv recently.

Robert Irvine the Chef

Let's start with the dish that Robert Irvine prepared for the audience.  After all, he has gained his fame from being an acclaimed chef.

The food that he prepared for us was:
Tasting of Hudson Valley Duck: Brined Moulard Breast, Puy Lentil, Butternut Squash, Preserved Duck Confit, Cashew Mousse, Fermented Garlic Jus


Cutting ahead to the final results, we are talking about an amazing dish!  This comes from a person that really does not like duck and cannot recall ever having duck prepared in a manner that was enjoyed.  This definitely broke the mold and surprised me with the incredible flavors.

Robert Irvine - Beyond The Food!

Robert Irvine is much more than a Chef, he is a dynamic storytelling personality!  He spent his time at the center of attention cooking, teaching, and entertaining.  There is no doubt that in real life he really is the dominate personality that he appears to be on television.


He brought volunteers on stage from the audience and got them to participate as he described the ingredients that he used and explained his choices for oils and salts.


The more that Robert talked, the more that you realized that he is a humanitarian that really becomes emotionally attached to some of the people that he interacts with on his shows and the problems and issues that they fight to overcome.


Without a doubt the culinary demonstration that starred Robert Irvine was a highlight of a recent visit to the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.  You can't fake the amount of passion that Robert has and the devotion to his staff.


Robert even came out into the audience to continue his discussion and answer questions.

Summary - Robert Irvine at Disney World

The culinary demonstrations at the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival can sometimes be hit or miss, but Robert Irvine definitely hit a home run!  besides preparing a great dish that tastes as great as it looked he did a great job being both storyteller and entertainer for the audience.  He came of as genuine and larger tan life at the same time with his outgoing personality.

He felt comfortable enough to both bring his wife and children to the session and introduce them to the audience.

He definitely turned me from a casual fan of him and his shows to someone that is now engaged with what he becomes involved in.  He was not only entertaining, but his passion for what he does was infectious!

Whether you enjoy him on the Food Network for  Restaurant Impossible or one of the other shows that he appears upon he is quite the talented entertainer.

Best of luck to Robert Irvine in his future endeavors and take the opportunity to see him in personal if the opportunity presents itself!