Sarkozy advisor mocks Brown on failed attempt to eat a French dish

Paris, Mar 4 (ANI): Francois Perol, French President Nicolas Sarkozy's Chief Economic Adviser, poked fun at British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's failed attempts to eat Savoyard Fondue, a French cheese dish laid on for him by Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni.

Savoyard Fondue is a mixture of Alpine cheese and white wine eaten by spearing pieces of bread with a skewer and dipping them in the hot pot.

Brown and his wife Sarah had joined the Sarkozys' at their private residence on January 14 for a dinner, where they reportedly discussed the global economic crisis and the Israeli offensive on Gaza.

Perol, in an interview on Tuesday narrated the incident where Brown spent much of his meal unsuccessfully trying to bring the steaming, runny bread and cheese lumps from the pot to his mouth.

"The funniest moment during my time at the Elysée Palace was to see Gordon Brown trying eat Savoyard Fondue at Carla's place. It was really worth being there," he said.

According to The Telegraph, Brown, whose hand-eye co-ordination is hampered by the fact that he is blind in one eye and his sight in the other is impaired faced great difficulty in eating the dish.

Perol's comments are likely to offend Brown and embarrass Sarkozy, who is attempting to clear his differences with Britain after his recent comment that Brown's bid to kick start the UK economy by lowering VAT was "a mistake".

According to the newspaper, Sarkozy is said to be upset that Brown became the first European leader to meet US President, Barack Obama.

He had hoped Obama would agree to a meeting before the G-20 summit in London on April 2.

While Brown is in presently in Washington to better Britain's relations with the US, Sarkozy has to meet Hillary Clinton, the US secretary of state, at an international aid donor conference for Gaza in Egypt. (ANI)