Burned by controversy, chef drops plans Tampa Bay Business Journal - by Janet Leiser Staff Writer
Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine won't be oozing and schmoozing in St. Petersburg after all.
In the latest fallout from a newspaper expose about Irvine's greatly exaggerated exploits and credentials, the British-born chef backed out of his lease with Beach Drive Retail for two side-by-side restaurants, Ooze and Schmooze.
"Given the circumstances of everything that has occurred in the past several weeks we all felt it would be mutually beneficial for everyone to go their own way," said John Hamilton of Beach Drive Retail, which is developing the 23,500 square feet at 400 Beach Drive, a condominium tower at Fifth Street North.
Irvine has been caught up in a stew of his own making since he admitted to the
St. Petersburg Times in February that he overstated his ties to British Royalty and more.
Since then the Food Network announced it wouldn't renew Irvine's contract for Dinner: Impossible and the
Home Shopping Network quit selling his line of cooking products on its Web site. The Food Network once heralded Irvine as the "Culinary James Bond" who could whip up a tasty meal for 1,000 workers as well as a feast for the queen.
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