Frédéric Sirieix (, ; born 27 January 1972) is a French

maître d'hôtel The ; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d'' ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcom ...

based in the United Kingdom, best known for appearing on

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

's '' First Dates'', and

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

's '' Million Pound Menu''. Sirieix grew up in

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

, France and trained to work in

front of house In the performing arts, the front of house (FOH) is the part of a performance venue that is open to the public. In theatres and live music venues, it consists of the auditorium, and foyers, as opposed to the front stage and backstage areas. ...

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. Sirieix is the founder of National Waiters Day, the training tool the Art of Service, and the Galvin Cup and Galvin's Chance charities. He helped to launch the Right Course, which teaches prisoners about the

service industry The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the s ...

, and has also released a book called ''First Dates: The Art of Love'' and a music track, "La Vie Continue". He has been featured in an ITV show, with

Gordon Ramsay Gordon James Ramsay (; born ) is a British celebrity chef, restaurateur, television presenter, and writer. His restaurant group, List of restaurants owned or operated by Gordon Ramsay, Gordon Ramsay Restaurants, was founded in 1997 and has ...

and Gino D'Acampo, entitled '' Gordon, Gino and Fred: Road Trip'' (2019), and ''Remarkable Places to Eat'' on

(2019).

Early life

Sirieix was brought up in

, France. His parents both worked in healthcare and he says they inspired him to work in the service industry: "The conversation around the dinner table was all about patient care. It was about making sure people had a good experience.” He has described how, as a teenager, he "loved the idea of living his life in he English language and of living in England.

Career

He trained at a Michelin-starred restaurant in France, before moving to London restaurant La Tante Claire where he worked as a (head waiter). Following this, he worked at Le Gavroche, Sartoria and Brasserie Roux. He was the general manager of ''Galvin at Windows'', a Michelin-starred restaurant in the London Hilton hotel on

Park Lane Park Lane is a dual carriageway road in the City of Westminster in Central London. It is part of the London Inner Ring Road and runs from Hyde Park Corner in the south to Marble Arch in the north. It separates Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park to ...

for 14 years, until December 2019. On Christmas Day 2012, Sirieix launched National Waiters Day to celebrate the work of front of house staff and attract people into the profession. In 2011, he launched The Art of Service - a board game for teaching customer service in hotels and restaurants. Sirieix is also involved in charity work, creating a cocktail competition called the Galvin Cup, which awards young bartenders. He also created the charity Galvin's Chance, which supports underprivileged young front of house staff in London and Scotland's best hotels, restaurants and bars. In 2017, Sirieix, along with Novus, launched the Right Course, which remodels prison staff restaurants to operate as high street restaurants to teach prisoners cooking and about other aspects of service industry.

Television

Sirieix is the ''Maître d on Channel 4's ''First Dates'', deciding to be part of the show because "it sounded fun and you have to consider any opportunity. I looked carefully at it and became sure it was a good programme at heart." He was also ''Maître d' '' on the ''First Dates'' spin-off show, ''First Dates Abroad''. In addition to ''First Dates'', Sirieix, along with celebrity chef Michel Roux Jr, co-hosted

's ''Michel Roux's Service''. In 2012, he appeared on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

's '' The Apprentice'' whilst the programme filmed at Galvin at Windows. In 2017, he appeared in

's ''Tried and Tasted: The Ultimate Shopping List''. In 2018, he presented '' Million Pound Menu'', a new show for BBC Two. In December 2017, he appeared in ITV's ''Gordon, Gino and Fred's Great Christmas Roast'', alongside

and Gino D'Acampo. In 2019, he hosted the

CBBC CBBC is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast children's television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is also the brand used for all BBC content for children aged 6 to 12. Its sister c ...

series ''Step Up to the Plate'' with Allegra McEvedy where they tested eight young people in each episode to see if they had the skills to run their own restaurant. A second series was broadcast in 2021. 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. In 2019, he co-presented the

series '' Snackmasters'' with comedian Jayde Adams, in which two ''

haute cuisine ''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is a style of cooking characterised by meticulous preparation, elaborate presentation, and the use of high quality ingredients. Typically prepared by highly skilled gourmet chefs, haute cuisine dish ...

'' chefs are challenged with recreating a well-known brand of snack or fast food product, such as

KFC KFC Corporation, doing business as KFC (an abbreviation of Kentucky Fried Chicken), is an American fast food restaurant chain specializing in fried chicken and chicken sandwiches. Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, it is the world's se ...

's Zinger burger or Monster Munch crisps, from scratch. Two further series were broadcast in 2020 and 2021. In June 2022, he and his fiancée appeared in Channel 4 series '' Celebrity Gogglebox''. During August and September 2023, Sirieix presented the reality series ''Ultimate Wedding Planner''; which aired on

. He participated in the twenty-third series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!''. He clashed with fellow contestant

Nigel Farage Nigel Paul Farage ( ; born 3 April 1964) is a British politician and broadcaster who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Clacton (UK Parliament constituency), Clacton and Leader of Reform UK since 20 ...

about

Brexit Brexit (, a portmanteau of "Britain" and "Exit") was the Withdrawal from the European Union, withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU). Brexit officially took place at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February ...

and criticised Josie Gibson for her cooking skills. Sirieix was third to be voted out of camp. In December 2024 Sirieix appeared alongside Gino D'Acampo in ''Gino & Fred: Emission Impossible'', an ITV series. In May 2025 Sirieix featured in the BBC TV programme '' Who Do You Think You Are?''

Other ventures

In 2015, Sirieix released a music track with Mark King from the band Level 42 and rapper XO MAN called "La Vie Continue" ("Life Goes On"). Sirieix describes it as "a song about love, loss and everything in between". In 2016, Sirieix released a book called ''First Dates: The Art of Love''. In 2021, he danced with Dianne Buswell for the 2021 ''Strictly Come Dancing'' Christmas Special. In September 2024, Sirieix released a book titled ''Seriously British''.

Awards

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 An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the University of West London.

Personal life

Angela Spendolini-Sirieix 2022 National Lottery Athlete of the Year

Sirieix lives with his Jamaican wife, identified publicly only as "Fruitcake". His two children from a previous relationship live in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

. His daughter is professional British diver Andrea Spendolini-Sirieix. He was in the crowd to witness her win gold in the Women’s 10m Platform at the

2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...

in Birmingham. When Andrea and

Lois Toulson Lois Mae Toulson (born 26 September 1999) is a British diver.A specialist in the 10 metre platform, she won the gold medal at the inaugural European Games in 2015, and the senior European title in 2017. She competed in the women's synchroniz ...

won bronze in the Women's 10m Synchro at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Sirieix interviewed them for the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

and participated in the coverage of the closing ceremony. Fred Sirieix interviews daughter Andrea after bronze medal win
BBC Sport, 2 August 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sirieix, Fred 1972 births Living people People from Limoges French expatriates in England French television personalities Restaurant staff French television presenters