I'd like to thank regular blog commenter Richard G. for this graphic.

I'm not sure how I feel about this, but the unfolding Robert Irvine story was picked up today by TMZ (scroll down past all the mean Britney bits, but why are they saying the St. Petersburg Times' story was "oddly thorough"? that's a diss, right?) in addition to many blogs and papers around the country. Strangely, many of the stories indicate that Irvine's St. Petersburg restaurants are on hold--this is not something that the Times has reported, nor does it jibe with what the 400 Beach Realtor indicated, nor what Irvine's partner J. Randall Williams has stated.

We'll see.

In the meantime, I've contacted HarperCollins, the publisher of Irvine's 2007 book, Mission: Cook!, to discuss some of the possibly erroneous biographical information in that book. They are aware of the situation and are currently consulting with Irvine about the particulars--they promise to give me some kind of statement later today.

I'm also waiting to talk to Food Network officials today for a more in-depth statement about what will become of Irvine's Chefography segment (a show that gives the "inside scoop" on the network's celebrity chefs). I wonder if Irvine's segment will air, or reruns of those Dinner: Impossible episodes that make reference to his relationship with Charles and Diana (his involvement with the making of the cake) and other facts that appear to be false.