Celebrity Chef Robert Irvine paid a visit to Camp Lemonnier (CLDJ) December 3-4 as part of his Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) and USO sponsored "Robert Irvine Live" cooking show.

During his two-day trip, the Food Network star visited the various tenant commands of CLDJ, took a tour of the installation with Commanding Officer Capt. James H. Black, and performed two challenge style cooking shows.

Irvine who had already made stops in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi, expressed his gratitude towards service members worldwide and makes it his mission to be a voice for the service members forward deployed worldwide.

Each show consisted of three grueling contests meant to challenge Chef Irvine's culinary ability. In every challenge, service members in the audience were picked to get on stage to either assist or compete against Irvine.

For Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Kristen Stanley, it was a moment that will never be forgotten.

"I'm a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in New York and prior to joining the Air National Guard I worked full-time in the food service industry." said Stanley. "The experience on stage with celebrity Chef Irvine created a moment for me on this deployment that I will never forget."

Irvine is a veteran of the British Royal Navy and is all too familiar with military life and most importantly the quality of food. He even gives tips to food service workers on ways to improve the food prepared in the galley.

"I like to see galley operations, look at the food on hand, and ask how we can make it better than it already is." Irvine explained.

"In 2013, U.S. Army General Robert Abrams said to me: 'Don't ever forget, don't ever let the American people forget what we do every day in our military workload.' I want to let the folks out there know that there are people protecting their freedom." Irvine said.

Chef Irvine also gives back to the military and veteran community. A percentage of the proceeds of his product line get donated to the Robert Irvine Foundation, a charity founded three years ago to enrich the lives of current and former service members.

"I spend about 150 days a year traveling with the military whether it be USO trips, visiting veteran's and service members at the Walter Reed Medical facility, or working with my foundation." Irvine said.

This event would not have been possible without the hard work of CLDJ's MWR and USO organizations and their ability to bring events such as "Robert Irvine Live" all the way to CLDJ.

"I appreciate what MWR and USO do to bring a variety of entertainment to us in the deployed environment." said Stanley.

Camp Lemonnier provides, operates, and sustains superior service in support of combat readiness along with security of ships and aircraft detachments and personnel for regional and combat command requirements, enabling operations for the Horn of Africa while fostering positive U.S.-African nation relations. Camp Lemonnier enables the forward operations and responsiveness of U.S. and allied forces in support of Navy Region, Europe, Africa, Southwest Asia's mission to provide services to the fleet, fighter, and family.



For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.


For more news from Camp Lemonnier, Djibouti, visit http://www.navy.mil/.