Celebrity chef Robert Irvine is no stranger to impossible missions – and now, he’s sharing his best advice for overcoming those seemingly unattainable feats.
On "Varney & Co." Thursday, Irvine previewed the important lessons he’s sharing in his latest book titled "Overcoming Impossible," aimed at helping business leaders and owners avoid closing their doors for good.
"They’re the three pillars of failure," Irvine said. "There's empathetic leadership, understanding the people that work with you, and for you, and what makes them tick. Then there's losing our egos, our own egos, and most people in business hire people lower than themselves. I tend to hire double-As instead of Bs because I want to succeed."
"And the third thing is trust," the chef continued. "Why don't we allow people to do their jobs? Micromanaging."
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Irvine also told "The Big Money Show" on Thursday that he’s hoping this book lands in the hands of those people who never had a chance for Irvine to personally come help and fix their business. Irvine’s Food Network series "Restaurant: Impossible" has been running for 21 seasons, with new episodes still being released today.
"They're the pillars that we built business on. And if you don't have them, and you want to have a successful business, this is not a book that you're going to check off things," Irvine said. "It's a memoir about my failures, basically."
Irvine’s humble beginnings start in a Royal Navy kitchen where he was a line cook, and helped mold his success into the shape it is today with 11 companies, 5,000 employees, and a hit television show.
"It's kind of a blueprint of not what to step on: minds," Irvine noted. "It is great for families and young entrepreneurs, as it is for CEOs of Fortune 500 companies."
In his FOX Business appearance, Irvine also chimed in on the state of the dining industry, discussing how inflationary pressures at the grocery store have created "busier" atmospheres in restaurants.
"Food is more expensive to buy and cook at home, so it's easier to go out and eat," the chef said. "The industry has picked up tremendously and has been coming [out of] COVID. Remember, we lost a lot of restaurants worldwide, not just in the States."
Irvine pointed out that restaurants have generally tried to prevent passing on rising costs to their customers, finding creative menu alternatives instead.
"We still want them to come in, so we're being more creative with the cheaper cuts of meat and vegetables than we were before. Instead of taking a sirloin steak, we use a flank or a skirt steak or a short rib and do creative things to that," Irvine explained. "We don't want to alienate the customer from coming to the restaurants. Again, it depends [on] what you're eating, where you're eating, and who you're eating with."
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The food industry leader also reacted Thursday to waiters and waitresses possibly getting served with new tax scrutiny under an IRS proposal to reform how employers track tips.
"Somebody that makes $27,000 to $30,000 a year? I'd rather they go after the big fishes," he said. "We know that most credit cards now are what we tip on, right? So there's a point of sale, there's a tracking device already there. Do we need them looking at that? The answer, to me, is no."
