He wore a pocket square before Don Draper. He’s never (intentionally) been in a selfie. He’s been doing a lot of travelling (but that’s nothing new). He’s got a homeware collection at a major department store. He’s just finished his third book. And his dishwasher has been broken for 28 years.
The busy Francis Brennan – hotelier supreme and television presenter par excellence – dropped into studio to talk to Ryan Tubridy on RTÉ Radio 1. And, as always, he was in fine form.
While discussing his popular Grand Tour programme, Ryan told Francis that he could tell he didn’t like India. Francis didn’t disagree. He was sick while there, he said, which made it a challenging experience.
"I got a dose of the tummy and I had it for five days on a bus, travelling 200 miles a day."
But he didn’t get sick from the food because he didn’t eat any. He just doesn’t do Indian food. "I just don’t like that food, I’m sorry, now India. I ate bananas and white rice."
If he didn’t eat the food, how did he get the bug? From handling money, according to locals. Ryan was enjoying the tale of discomfort. "How were the loos?" he asked, excitedly. Of course, the answer was, "they’re desperate". India gets the thumbs down from Francis.
He’s back from Vietnam – which he loved – for the next series of his Grand Tour.
"The food was delicious, except the only thing I didn’t eat was snake."
At a grand banquet, Francis was presented with the beating heart of a cobra, while his hosts waited eagerly for him to pop it into his mouth and chow down on it. Does that sound like a certain scene from Indiana Jones?
Needless to say, Francis wasn’t having any of it. Ryan wondered if his hosts might have been offended by his refusal to eat the delicacy they had presented him with. "I don’t care what it was, I could not put that in my mouth." Probably tasted like chicken, right?
Francis Brennan’s At Your Service does a Christmas Special every year where they give their time for a worthy cause. This year’s charity is Carebright, founded in 1998 to provide high quality housing for elderly people in rural Ireland.
You can listen back to the full interview above.
