Wine Uncorked: My guide to the world of wine

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Gerrard, Neil (30 March 2017). "Fred Sirieix to front new programme to get young offenders into hospitality jobs". thecaterer.com . Retrieved 10 April 2017. Oysters. Fat, rich, juicy Irish oysters. I love all oysters, but I had some Irish oysters recently and I have to say that they were bloody good. In 2010, Sirieix was nominated for the Cateys manager of the year award, winning it three years later in 2013. In October 2011, he won the National Restaurant Awards' Personality of the Year for his charity work and promoting the hospitality profession. He was voted Educator of the Year in 2012 at the Imbibe awards and in March 2014, he was awarded an honorary degree from the University of West London. [5] Personal life [ edit ] Daughter Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix in 2022 In 2018, he presented Million Pound Menu, a new show for BBC Two. [12] In December 2017, he appeared in ITV's Gordon, Gino and Fred's Great Christmas Roast, alongside Gordon Ramsay and Gino D'Acampo. [13]

a b c d Rayner, Jay; Lewis, Tim (17 April 2016). "The art of service: secrets of the maître d' ". The Guardian . Retrieved 16 February 2017. José Etura has arguably the hardest job in London restaurants. As the man in charge of service at the trio of Barrafina tapas restaurants, he has to manage some of the city’s hungriest queues. Since the original opened on Soho’s Frith Street in 2007, Barrafina’s food, overseen by chef Nieves Barragán Mohacho, has been acclaimed as some of the city’s very best Spanish cooking. But with all the restaurants boasting non-reservable counter seating only, getting to eat it isn’t always easy. “Sometimes people queue for over two hours,” Etura says. “And when people have queued for that long, you have to work 10 times harder for them, because they have huge expectations, and they have to be fulfilled.” In 2019, he presented a series on BBC Two entitled Remarkable Places to Eat, in which he was taken by chefs to their favourite restaurants in different cities. [16] [17] [18] Fred Sirieix ( French pronunciation: [siʁjɛks]; born 27 January 1972) is a French maître d'hôtel best known for appearing on Channel 4's First Dates, and BBC Two's Million Pound Menu. Sirieix grew up in Limoges, France and trained to work in front of house in a Michelin-starred restaurant in France before working at La Tante Claire in London. Until 2019 he was the general manager of Michelin-starred restaurant Galvin at Windows at the London Hilton.

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Fred explains everything one needs to know in simple terms that it’s easy to understand and digest to give you a basic outlook on wines of the world. Sometimes people are plain rude, inconsiderate or ignorant. But this is not because they are in a restaurant. This is because they are people. They would be like this in a supermarket or at a doctor’s surgery. These people are not well. But it’s so rare that it’s not worth mentioning. In 10 years here, I have had only two people I would have had to remove from the restaurant if they’d carried on. One was using foul language. The other was a table of ex-public school boys who kept putting their plates on the floor when they’d finished their food. I spoke to them and they topped. The greatest chef I have ever worked with is … well, I’m not sure he’s the greatest, though he is great. But I loved working with Michel Roux Jnr, simply because he is a kind man. And you see, that’s what I remember. Talk about talent and all those things, I’m not interested in that. Everybody can cook an egg. I can cook an egg! But somebody who’s kind, for me, that’s the most important thing. I’m happy and proud that my daughter was at the Olympics [she finished seventh in the 10m diving]. But I’m more happy that she’s kind. Now, this is not something you expect to hear from someone who has worked in restaurants for 18 years. “I’m not hugely into food,” admits Gina Glennon, maître d’ of 34 in Mayfair. “I love going out, I love the way that food looks, I love the way it smells, the rhythm of service. All of that, I love it, but no, not the food and wine.”Elena Salvoni at the Little Italy restaurant in Soho, London, 2011. Photograph: Katherine Anne Rose for Observer Food Monthly About the Author: Fred Sirieix is a maître d' with a passion for all things food and wine. He trained and worked at some of the most celebrated restaurants in both France and London and was the general manager at Galvin at Windows for 14 years. He fronts Channel 4's First Dates and has presented a number of programmes including Remarkable Places to Eat and Step Up to the Plate, as well as appearing alongside Gordon Ramsay and Gino D'Acampo in Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip. Fred studied wine at the Wine & Spirit Education Trust and is the official wine ambassador for Marks & Spencer. A great restaurant is as much about the service as the food. It’s about the smile when you arrive, the way you’re seated at your table, the glass of your favourite wine appearing as if by magic. Nothing is too much trouble. The art of perfect service may seem effortless but what’s really going on behind the scenes…? Fred Sirieix demystifies the world of wine, cuts through the pompous old rules, and equips you with the knowledge you need to make your own confident, informed choices She was not a natural as a waitress and only lasted six months. “I’d like to take the opportunity to apologise to all the customers I served,” she says. Glennon did, however, excel at remembering customers, chatting to them about the plays they’d just seen, and was shifted to the position of assistant maître d. At the time, J Sheekey was owned by Chris Corbin and Jeremy King, the men behind the Ivy and Le Caprice. Although Corbin and King would soon move on – selling the business to Richard Caring, Glennon’s current boss – she learned lessons that she still finds useful 18 years on.

I am biased to a good bottle of bordeaux. I recently had a Château Batailley 2014. That wine, oh my God. Bordeaux, when it’s well made, it’s just something else. a b Finn, Rachel (25 June 2022). "Gogglebox fans in awe as Fred Sirieix appears with rarely seen fiancée Fruitcake". OK! Magazine . Retrieved 26 June 2022.

In the future, possibly phones will come with health warnings. It’s become an addiction. People are taking pictures of food but they are not talking to each other. Look, I don’t mind what they do. If they are using flash and it is irritating others then yes, I would intervene. When you work front of house you have to use good sense when deciding to get involved.