Fred Sirieix should know a thing or two about creating the right mood... The general manager of a Michelin-starred establishment by day, Fred masquerades as the suave Shakespeare-quoting head waiter of the First Dates (Channel 4, Thursday) restaurant by night.
Like Paddy McGuinness with ITV’s Take Me Out, the suited and booted 43-year-old is fast becoming a bigger deal than the show itself. When he joined First Dates earlier this year, you could say he went viral. So let's find out a little more about him...
What’s your favourite date food?
“I love oysters. I can just eat oysters all day. ...One day I read that an oyster is an aphrodisiac and now I think of it as an aphrodisiac. But it’s all in the mind.”
What do you like about First Dates?
“What I like, is that the show has a good 'eart and people can see that. It’s the complete antithesis of Tinder and swipe right/swipe left. It’s old school. You meet, and you have a conversation.”
Do you like to match-make?
"I quite enjoy it. In the last six years, I’ve set up four or five good friends and colleagues. Some of them are still together. It’s good fun. But they have to do the hard work!”
What do you think about love?
“I think we have to understand ourselves and what we want first, before we can make a connection with another person… and hopefully they will be as honest.”
Are you a romantic?
“My own love life is complicated. Let’s not go there. I think British people are just as romantic as the French. Look at Valentines Day, you can’t even get a table at a restaurant!”
