TV Times – 10 August 2019

TV TIMES 19

A

s the wonderfully

welcoming maitre d’

of C4’s First Dates

restaurant, Fred Sirieix

makes sure every guest has the

dining experience of their lives.

Now, ever-smiling Fred plans to

share his wisdom and find future

stars of the restaurant industry in a

new CBBC series, Step Up to the Plate.

‘I want to teach kids the art of

service and running a restaurant,’ says

Fred, who teams up with chef Allegra

McEvedy to mentor the hopefuls.

‘We hope to inspire and educate the

next generation of professionals in

the world of catering and hospitality.

It’s a fabulous career – and fun!’

Here, Frenchman Fred, 4 7,

currently the general manager of

Michelin-starred eatery Galvin at

Windows in London’s Mayfair, tells

TV Times what’s on the menu...

How would you sum up the show?

Allegra and I put teams of 10-1 4 -

year-olds through their paces in a

working restaurant, teaching them

the art of service and cooking on the

first day, and putting it into practice

on the second day with real diners.

How will they cope under pressure?

Through a process of elimination,

we hope to find a front-of-house/

chef star-in-the-making.

How did you get involved?

It’s my idea! It’s been in my head since

I was 16 because I love the industry

and want to attract people to it. For

me, the art of service and

dining is like watching the

beautiful game of football!

It’s wonderful to behold

and it’s been a lifelong

quest for me to showcase

the industry in all its glory,

especially as we are now

suffering a staff shortage.

What tasks do the

contestants face?

For one task, we wanted to see

if they could keep cool under

pressure while answering the phone.

I taught them the basics: to answer

within three rings; follow a script

but be personable; and ensure they

take all the correct details. Then, to

increase the pressure, we put a python

around their necks as they took the

call! One of them was calm, another

totally lost it – it was hilarious!

Snakes are very slippery, but we

hear they face difficult diners, too?

Some diners were obnoxious – one

asked for a side of grass with his

venison! They also had celebrities to

serve like Girls Aloud star Kimberley

Walsh and Strictly’s AJ Pritchard,

who had to wait over 10 minutes for

his waffles. Don’t forget, they had

demanding diners, me talking to

them, TV cameras on them – it’s hard!

Were there hiccups during service?

Some food orders didn’t come out;

others arrived but were undercooked,

or wrong. One girl dropped food on

a customer and was about to cry –

I so badly wanted to give her a hug!

How are you and Allegra as judges?

There’s no ‘good cop, bad cop’ routine.

I don’t play that game, that’s not me.

We’re teachers who want to mentor

the kids to the best of our ability.

So did the kids impress you?

They were class acts. I’d give some of

them jobs for sure if they were older.

There was one girl who was very

shy to start with, but after a bit of

nurturing, she blossomed.

Finally, would you have taken part

in a TV show like this at their age?

No, I was all over the place! But the

contestants were brave, worked hard,

showed leadership, communication

skills, empathy – all the skills you

need to be a star in the restaurant

industry. I’m so proud of them.

REBECCA FLETCHER

PH

OT

OS

:^ B

BC

TV’s top maitre d’ Fred Sirieix on his quest to

find the next generation of restaurant stars

STEP UP TO THE PLATE IS

PREVIEWED ON PAGES 48-

Talent scou t s:

Allegra and Fred

NEW COOKERY

Step Up to the Plate

MONDAY-FRIDAY / CBBC / 9.30AM

COOKERY

Just desserts: Sara

and Sophie at work

on the sweet section

Feeding the famous: The

contestants with AJ Pritchard

‘Some

diners were

obnoxious!

’