First Dates favourite Fred Sirieix reveals which country he thinks makes the best butter in the world
On a cycling trip for his show Tour de Fred: Ireland – Part Deux, Fred Sirieix threw himself into activities – some more successfully than others.
This article first appeared in Radio Times magazine.
Let’s start with the toughest challenge of your trip. You had to spend a whole afternoon at a museum devoted to butter production?
Ha, it was actually very interesting. I’m a Frenchman, you know, so I love butter. The French think they make the best butter in the world, but the Irish stuff is incredible. In fact I did some blind taste-testing, and the winner was Kerrygold!
It has this creaminess that comes from the cows and what they eat: everything is green in Ireland, so they eat a lot of grass, which makes Irish butter so rounded.
The museum? Well, yes, it does have quite a lot wooden things, but it’s also about history and the people and how important butter was for the local economy [The Butter Museum, Cork; thebuttermuseum.com].
Plus I got to make butter for the first time in my life, churning the cream by hand by turning this thing that looks like a propeller. It’s great, because you can just eat it straight away after you’ve done that, but it takes a good bit of elbow grease – it’s hard work.
Perhaps you’re not cut out to be a churner. Did you get on any better when you tried your hand at growing oysters?
That’s pretty hard work, too! I went to an amazing oyster farm in Wexford, but the real story is that the farmer there, when he was a young man, worked for three years for no pay just to learn his trade. It’s a story of resilience and vision and values, and I told his kids: “Your dad is a superhero.” He sells his oysters to Gillardeau, which is one of the very top French companies – in fact Gillardeau is one of my favourite oysters: nice and meaty, with a beautiful taste.
The farm isn’t much to look at – just a lot of mud at the seashore – but that’s the reality of farming. I probably couldn’t do it myself, but I love eating them.
Did you show potential at anything you had a go at?
I really tried! Even when I was doing a traditional singing session in Irish – which I don’t speak – I applied myself, and tried to sing as best I can. We were in Mooney’s Pub, in Dungarvan in Waterford [facebook.com/Mooneyspub], in an Irish-speaking area where people are very proud of their language. So they gather there, they sing these songs, younger people come, learn the songs and about their meanings and story – and it’s great fun, because you always have a pint of Guinness, too.
So how was your singing?
Oh, I was brilliant – you’ll see me on Britain’s Got Talent or something very soon! But no, seriously, it was just about the craic, as they say there. They know I can’t speak Irish, they know I can’t sing; but we had a good time.
Did you get out into nature at all?
Oh yes. In Waterford, I did forest yoga and swam behind a waterfall. I met a yoga teacher called Claire, who lives in Crough Woods, which are supposed to be enchanted. She teaches people about the legends, stories and folklore of Ireland, and she’s into that unique relationship the Irish people have with nature [croughwoodwellness.ie].
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Fascinating, but do I really have to jump in a waterfall to connect with all that?
No, you don’t have to. But it’s so old and beautiful there: the river goes right through the middle of the woods, where you’ll find the Mahon Falls, and you just want to jump in. It is a bit cold, but it’s a lovely feeling to be in the middle of the forest in this cold water: it takes you back to what things would have been like a thousand years ago, and gets you very close to nature. And you don’t have to go naked or anything; I definitely kept my Speedos on.
Sounds intense. Anything more holidayish?
I went to Inchydoney Beach in West Cork, and it’s one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve ever been to. It’s got these lovely, regular waves, too, which is great for beginner surfers, so I surfed there with my daughter. Some of the cycling challenges I did for the show were pretty holidayish, too.
The ride along the Greenway at Suir Valley Railway, on the way to Mount Congreve [mountcongreve.com] in Waterford, was along this disused rail track, so it was really nice and flat. While we were filming it, these two spectacular rainbows appeared. I really hope you can see them in the programme – because I had to go back and cycle it all again in the rain so they could try and film it with the rainbows.
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Tour de Fred: Ireland airs Sundays at 11:30am on ITV1 and is available now on ITVX.
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