President Biden Collaborated With Robert Irvine On Military Friendsgiving

Thanksgiving is a time generally spent with family, but many people have friends who feel like family. Hence, the explosion of Friendsgiving in recent years. This is an event generally celebrated among friends "either on or near Thanksgiving," according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which added the word as an official entry in January 2020. The earliest use of the term in written works occurred in 2007, but people may have been using that name for these friendly gatherings even earlier.

Friendsgiving celebrations have become all the rage, perhaps somewhat spurred on by celebrities who have had equally famous friends over to feast. For example, actor, television personality, and "Dancing With the Stars" champ Alfonso Ribeiro told Us Weekly in 2019 that his family invites all the dancers from the show over to celebrate if they don't have a nearby home or relatives to go to. That year, Jennifer Aniston hosted a fully star-studded Friendsgiving event, which featured a guest list including Jimmy Kimmel, Courtney Cox, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and more, per Glamour.

Clearly, Friendsgiving is here to stay, and another famous person, President Joe Biden, is on board in a very patriotic way. He and First Lady Jill Biden joined both sailors and Marines at North Carolina's Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, according to NPR.

At a Friendsgiving event with U.S. troops that took place on Monday, President Biden thanked them for their service and acknowledged their sacrifices. The event included approximately 400 enlisted service members as well as their families, per NPR. However, this was no ordinary feast. In fact, it was curated and prepared by none other than Robert Irvine, celebrity chef and host of "The Robert Irvine Show." Although Irvine is an Englishman, he has a special connection with the food service Marines who helped him prepare the Friendsgiving meal, as he actually served in the Royal Navy, where he served as a chief petty officer cook, per the U.S. Department of Defense.

This is far from Irvine's first foray into collaboration with the U.S. military. The Florida resident served as a guest chef in 2016 at the 41st Annual Military Culinary Arts Competitive Training Event. In an interview to support the event he told the U.S. Army Reserve, "There's the old saying, 'The Army marches on its stomach.' It's actually true. If we don't feed them and give them good food and nutritious food they don't march. They can't do their job. That's why for field commanders it's a huge morale-boosting part of the military." Something tells us that after the feast he served up to President Biden and the service members, which included ham, turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes, everyone's morale might have been boosted.