I eat food cold on TV, admits John Torode

MASTERCHEF presenter John Torode has revealed he eats contestants’ food cold on TV.

The chef was speaking at the Henley on Food Festival, where he was among a number of celebrity speakers, including his partner, actress Lisa Faulkner.


Australian Torode, 50, gave a sell-out talk on Saturday where he was introduced as “Britain’s best-loved Aussie”.

He told how he and fellow MasterChef presenter Greg Wallace have disagreements about the food before revealing that they don’t get to taste the competitors’ fooduntil 40 minutes after it has been cooked so the cameras can get the best shots.

Broadcast journalist Sophie van Brugen, from Dunsden, who interviewed Torode on stage, said: “Basically he said they do all the pick-up shots so the food is never piping hot. It’s a shame for him because if it was stone cold it would taste horrible!”

The chef was promoting his latest book, My Kind of Food, to an audience of about 120 in the college’s Great Hall.

When he walked on stage, Torode said: “Look at all these lovely people up so early on a Saturday morning. I imagine a lot of you had to get up and drop your kids off at cricket at 8.15am like me!”

He said the book was “full of things I would cook for my mates” and revealed that his favourite dessert was vanilla steamed pudding with custard.

After his hour-long talk Torode was presented with a thank-you gift of a box of brownies, which he cut up on stage and left for guests to eat. He then signed copies of his book and posed for “selfies” with fans.

Torode said: “They were a great audience.”