Christopher Ellisor is a military veteran now working on Fort Drum as a contractor, but his dream is to one day make some of the best food dishes in the world.

So when chef Robert Irvine of the Food Network came to Fort Drum earlier this week, Ellisor and his entire family could not wait to meet him and get some tips.

“I’m going through a culinary school right now,” Ellisor said. “So it’s good to meet Robert Irvine in person. He’s a good guy and has good critiques and good things to pick up on.”

Of course, Ellisor was not the only one with a giant smile on his face.

Fort Drum is full of soldiers with that culinary dream. So when a chef like Irvine comes to say hello, you also let him in the kitchen to cook up a great dish, and teach along the way. Irvine made a salmon dish for some lucky culinary soldiers.

Culinary soldiers were not the only ones able to enjoy a good meal thanks to Irvine. He and his foundation, The Robert Irvine Foundation (Breaking Bread with Heroes) brought in Dinosaur Bar-B-Que to cater a full dinner for all soldiers and their families.

“So we just moved up here not too long ago from south Alabama. We are big barbecue fans. Dinosaur Bar-B-Que is the right one that just about touches that southern taste of barbecue,” 10th Combat Aviation soldier James VanMeter said.

While the food is certainly helping that well-being, for these families and soldiers like James VanMeter, Irvine’s efforts are about so much more.

“I respect him for who he is and what he’s done, but to actually get to meet him, and he actually takes the time to come down to the common soldier, I’ve seen him doing PT around the division in the morning, the meet-and-greet with the soldier, it cements him as a true hero to those that look up to him and it’s impressive. I hope everybody can take an example from him,” VanMeter said.

Those are words that Irvine echo, but certainly not about himself. When he uses the term "hero," he’s speaking about the men and women in uniform.

“Their lives are the cloth of our nation. Everything Irvine does, whether it protein bars, liquor, food or television, is geared towards making sure we can help the families, the Gold Star families, the veterans, and active men and women. Being here right now on Fort Drum, is the most amazing experience,” Irvine said.