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…? 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. The French, we’re very structured and organised and disciplined when it comes to eating. So you eat between 12 and 1pm, and between 7 and 8pm. It’s about the respect for the food. Like, for example, when I cook and I call the kids and they’re not coming, it’s so annoying – I’ve turned into my dad now! Because you’ve got to respect the food. I put in all this effort. It’s got to be eaten when it’s ready, otherwise you’re going to lose some of the pleasure, some of the flavours. And why would you do that? Fred Sirieix knows exactly where his interest in service comes from: his parents’ careers in the French equivalent of the NHS in Limoges, where he grew up. “Every day before going on the night shift my dad would shave,” he says now. “I asked him why he did that. He told me it was to make the patients trust him. The conversation around the dinner table was all about patient care. It was about making sure people had a good experience.”

Knowing the difference between all those bottles on the supermarket shelves will double the pleasure you get from a glass of wine and, with Fred Sirieix as your guide, you'll discover how to get the flavour you want.

As for not being too interested in food, this, too, can work to her advantage. “There’s lots of people who do love food,” she says, smiling. “But there’s a lot of people who eat out who don’t. And I know how to translate to that whole section: ‘Don’t worry, I feel the same myself…’” ‘There’s no queue jumping – not even if you are the owner’s parents’ In 2019, he hosted the CBBC series Step Up to the Plate with Allegra McEvedy where they tested 8 young people in each episode to see if they had the skills to run their own restaurant. [14] A second series was broadcast in 2021. [15]

Fred Sirieix, the French maître d’ joins Jaega Wise to share his ‘Life Through Food’ and passion for hospitality. It’s been a decade since Fred started to appear on television, and he’s best known for being the Front of House on the long-running Channel 4 series First Dates. But before that, Fred had reached the top of his profession working in some of London’s most prestigious restaurants, and has been flying the flag for Front of House roles since he left catering college.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]

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.” Fred Sirieix Biography - Biogs.com". 11 October 2019. Archived from the original on 11 October 2019.Any customer is good. I like people. There are those who come by themselves once a year and those who come three times a week. It doesn’t matter how often they come or why. They are all deserving of good service. verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{