Internationally acclaimed Chef Robert Irvine, and popular On-Air TV personality and Executive Producer Marc Summers, are celebrating the 100th episode of their series "Restaurant: Impossible," which will air on Food Network May 7 at 10 PM ET/PT. For the 100th anniversary show, Irvine and Summers will host a one hour special that includes video clips from past episodes, interviews with the show's cast of designers and builders, and interviews with several former restaurant owners who have been profiled along the way.
Premiering on Food Network in early 2011, "Restaurant: Impossible" is a reality show jointly produced by Marc Summers Productions and Shooters TV, starring British chef and restaurateur Robert Irvine. The premise of the series: Given only two days and a budget of just $10,000, Chef Irvine and his team must renovate a failing American restaurant with the goal of helping to restore it to profitability and prominence. Please see: http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/restaurant-impossible.html
Regarding the show's 100th milestone, Chef Irvine said, "I'm very proud of the families and business owners we've had the opportunity to help on 'Restaurant: Impossible' since 2011. What many people don't know is that six months after filming, we follow-up with each restaurant and, with many of them, we stay in touch even longer. What I typically learn in the first meeting with the owners is that the restaurant is struggling on a deep level; there is tension between family members and staff that is pushing their business to the brink of failure. This is a problem that a fancy facelift and brand new menu won't help. I consider an episode successful if by the end of the shoot I can bring the family — or staff — together. My ultimate goal is to help guide them in resolving the personal challenges that are keeping each of our selected restaurants from succeeding."
Adds the show's Executive Producer Marc Summers, "Getting to one hundred episodes on any television show is a major milestone. It means the viewers trust you, like what you are presenting, and make an 'appointment' to watch you every week. To me, it means we've been able to help many people turn their lives around, and not only save their businesses, but also their families. Robert and I feel very fortunate to have had the ability to help change the lives of so many families for the better."
About ROBERT IRVINE
Robert Irvine is a British celebrity chef who has appeared on a variety of Food Network programs, which, in addition to "Restaurant: Impossible," include "Dinner: Impossible," "Worst Cooks in America," and "Restaurant Express." A native of Wiltshire, England, Irvine began his cooking career upon enlisting in the Royal Navy at the age of fifteen. Having completed culinary training, he served aboard Her Majesty's Royal Yacht Britannia. He later became Executive Chef aboard numerous cruise ships, culminating with the five-star MS Crystal Harmony.
Irvine's first cookbook, Mission: Cook!, written with Brian O'Reilly, was published by HarperCollins Publishers in 2007. Also that year, he was selected as one of the "25 Fittest Guys in America" by Men's Fitness magazine.
Starting in 2007, Irvine began hosting Food Network's Dinner: Impossible." He continued as host of that show until it ceased production in 2010, following its eighth season.
Following the end of "Dinner: Impossible" (which continues in reruns), Irvine embarked on two new projects with Food Network. In 2010, Food Network began advertising the second season of "Worst Cooks in America," featuring Irvine (replacing Chef Beau MacMillan) training a cadre of would-be cooks in competition with Chef Anne Burrell. The show premiered in early 2011.
Irvine has been the host of the restaurant make-over show, "Restaurant: Impossible," since its premiere in January 2011. Described as a spin-off from "Dinner: Impossible," "Restaurant: Impossible" challenges Irvine to make over a restaurant in two days with a budget of $10,000.
Irvine competed in Season 4 of Food Network's "The Next Iron Chef," which premiered in late 2011. In November 2013, Irvine began hosting a new Food Network series called "Restaurant Express." In this series, Irvine challenges nine chefs to a series of tests for a chance to open a restaurant in a Las Vegas spa and casino.
About MARC SUMMERS
In the history of the television medium, very few people can lay claim to having hosted literally dozens of TV shows. Marc Summers, truly an entertainment industry "Renaissance Man", can state that lofty achievement as fact. TV shows hosted or co-hosted by Marc have criss-crossed both broadcast and cable TV networks-he's appeared on everything from ABC to Nickelodeon, from CBS to Food Network, and from Lifetime to FOX.
On April 21st, 2014, Marc celebrated a major career landmark: His 25th television series, "Rewrapped," made its debut on Food Network. Marc appears on all 13 episodes of the new series as the show's Head Judge-the series is being hosted by Joey Fatone.
In addition to his prominence in front of the camera, Marc Summers has also been successful in his career as a stand-up comedian, an author, and an executive producer. His company, Marc Summers Productions, is responsible for producing two very popular series on Food Network: "Dinner: Impossible," and "Restaurant: Impossible." Both shows are hosted by internationally renowned Chef Robert Irvine.
Marc is the longtime host of Food Network's "Unwrapped," the longest running series in the history of that channel. "Unwrapped," which also runs on Cooking Channel, is a program that each week uncovers behind-the-scenes details on classic American food, from peanut butter and chocolate syrup to French fries and bubblegum. To date, "Unwrapped" has enjoyed a very successful 15 year run.
In recent years, Marc has firmly established himself as something of an icon with American pop culture: He's appeared in a music video by the band Good Charlotte for their song "Last Night," which used "Family Double Dare" as the motif for the video; he has played himself on "The Cleveland Show," "Robot Chicken," "Workaholics," and "Sanjay & Craig," and continues appearing on such popular talk shows as "The View," "The Chew," the "Howard Stern Radio Show," and many others.
Marc Summers Productions is based in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. Marc regularly splits his time between those two cities.
