As season two of Battle of The Food Trucks starts, host James Patrice tells Andrea Byrne why he admires the street food vendors so much and how he is adapting to having a co-host this time round.
"The show really shines a light on our tenacity as a nation, " says TV presenter and social influencer James Patrice. He is discussing the new season of Battle of The Food Trucks and how the pandemic sparked innovation in people who were willing and able to adapt, up-skill or re-skill to make a living.
"So many of these chefs may have been full-time in restaurants, and had no alternative for work so they set up a food truck. Some of them even had a different occupation, and Covid made them want to try something different."
"What is great about the food trucks is you're getting amazing food from incredible chefs who have so much skill and talent and you’re getting it for a fraction of the price you’d pay in a restaurant."
For the uninitiated, Battle of The Food Trucks, which returns for a second series on the RTÉ Player this week, charts the efforts of six gourmet mobile food companies as they navigate a series of challenges set by the two judges (former head chef of Chapter One Eric Matthews and Gráinne Mullins, owner of Grá Chocolates) in a bid to win the coveted title of 'Ireland's Finest Food Truck' and drive away with €5,000.
In this series, James is joined by comedian Justine Stafford as co-presenter. ('They didn’t trust you on your own James," she jokes in the opening episode). "Justine and I kind of knew each other from Twitter, as you do," James explains when we meet over Zoom.
"I’d always been a fan of her stuff. She’s very funny. Her one-liners are great. We really hit it off; she’s very laid-back, very chilled. She was asking me for advice and I said the main thing to remember is, we’re on the contestants’ side. We are basically an extension of the audience. When I first got asked to present the show, I said, but sure I haven’t a clue about food. I don't know what a shiitake mushroom looks like, and they said, that’s the point. It’s great to have Justine there, because it’s a bigger show with a longer run-time. More time for more drama," he teases, before offering some words of warning, "If you watch Battle of the Food Trucks, make sure you’ve either had your dinner or your dinner is on your lap, and prepare to feel highly inadequate about your own cooking. If there are ever any extra bits going, Justine and I are usually found hovering with forks. The food really is out of this world."
Having risen to prominence on Snapchat and Instagram, and more recently TikTok ("I feel like a bit of a geriatric on it"), James Patrice, real name James Butler, is one of the few Irish influencers to successfully transition from internet ‘likes’ to multimedia presenter. He is a regular reporter on RTÉ’s Today show and Dancing With the Stars.
His very own chat show, he tells me, is the ultimate career goal. The very affable James hasn’t abandoned his roots either and is still very active on social media. His comic posts, often involving his alter ego ‘Malahide Woman’ and roping in his own parents and sister, are a welcome antidote to the relentless onslaught of bad news stories.
"I do endeavour to be really positive," he says. "I treat my Instagram as a place that’s energetic and uplifting. There is enough misery in the world without me adding to it." I tell him that I enjoy Malahide Woman, who is rarely seen without a full face of make-up and shoes she can’t walk in. "It started as a skit, and I put a physical appearance on her two years ago. From there, she grew very long legs."
James’ mother has become a celebrity in her own right. "I am very lucky. They are very supportive. They have always encouraged me to do what I want. I remember after college, I was working in retail – I hated it – and after three years, my Mum and Dad said, life is too short, give social media a go, do a presenting course, do all these things that you enjoy. I was fortunate that I could, I was living at home, still am, I’ll be 50 before they can get rid of me. Not everyone has that."
Followers of James will know that he recently became a godfather, after his sister Vanessa gave birth to a beautiful little girl Áine. He describes it as his best role to date. "We’re so obsessed with her. It really changes the whole family dynamic. Everything just becomes about her. If my sister Vanessa comes in on her own, we’re all desperately disappointed. She has become our everything," he says, admitting that some day, he’d love a family of his own.
"Oh I would love to. In Ireland, I’ll need to sell a kidney or remortgage the house that I don’t yet own to have a child, but it’s definitely something I want. I need to recreate the Von Trapps."
