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John Torode

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John Torode
MBE
Torode in 2010
Born
John Douglas Torode

(1965-07-23) 23 July 1965 (age 60)
Melbourne, Australia
Occupation(s)Broadcaster, celebrity chef, restaurateur
Years active1990s–present
EmployerBBC (until 2025)
TelevisionMasterChef
Spouses
  • Jessica Thomas
    ​
    ​
    (m. 2000; div. 2014)​
  • ​
    (m. 2019)​
Children4

John Douglas Torode (born 23 July 1965) is an Australian and British celebrity chef and TV presenter. He moved to the UK in the 1990s and began working at Conran Group's restaurants. After first appearing on television on ITV's This Morning, he started presenting a revamped MasterChef on BBC One in 2005 until 2025. He is a restaurateur; former owner of the Luxe and a second restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield. He has also written a number of cookbooks, including Sydney to Seoul, My Kind of Food and John and Lisa's Kitchen with his wife Lisa Faulkner. Torode was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to food and charity.

Early life

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John Douglas Torode[1] was born on 23 July 1965[2] as the youngest of three boys in Melbourne, Victoria, but, between the ages of four (when his mother died) and ten, he and his brother Andrew lived in Maitland, New South Wales, with his grandmother, who taught him to cook.[3] He then lived in Edithvale, Melbourne, with his father and his brothers, though his father was frequently away from home because of work.[4]

His early cooking career started at Le Coq Au Vin restaurant in Aspendale and his later apprenticeship was at several establishments in Beaumaris, both in Melbourne. He has said that the food in his childhood was fairly normal, and roast chicken remains one of his favourite dishes because of the connection to his childhood,[3] although his favourite meal at that time was crumbed lamb cutlets.[5]

Career

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Torode began his cooking career at the age of 16,[6] after leaving school to attend catering college.[7] He moved to the United Kingdom in 1991.[8] A year later he began working at Le Pont de la Tour and Quaglino's as a sous-chef for the Conran Group under Terence Conran.[2] While working at Quaglino's, Torode first met Gregg Wallace, whose company supplied the vegetables for the restaurant.

He started cooking on ITV's This Morning in 1996, and his role as a successful guest chef is ongoing.[9] In 1998, his cookbook The Mezzo Cookbook won the James Beard Foundation Award for "Best Food Photography".[10] He opened his former restaurant in Smithfield, London in 2000, called Smiths of Smithfield. After a year, he opened a second restaurant, called Cafeteria, near Notting Hill Gate. Its closure made way for larger projects.[11]

Torode has presented a show for the Good Food channel in the UK alongside former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Hardeep Singh Kohli, called New British Kitchen. The show aimed to feature the impact of imported cuisines in Britain.[12] Other television work has included an appearance on the BBC's The Magicians, which saw Torode and Wallace participate in a stunt by magicians Barry and Stuart which hung the pair off the side of the Tate Modern in London.[13] In 2001 Torode shot a 12-part series for Taste CFN called Sea Breeze in which he travelled around the Balearic Islands cooking with local chefs and visiting popular tourist attractions.[14]

He presented the 2014 series John Torode's Australia; the 10 episodes retrace the flavours of John Torode's childhood and the people that inspired his passion for food as he travels the country to go back in time. It has been hosted on BBC Good Food and had three reruns. John Torode's Australia was also recorded as having the largest viewing figures on Good Food in 2014.[15] In 2015, he presented John Torode's Argentina as part of the BBC Two series A Cook Abroad, looking specifically at the country's production, cooking and consumption of beef.[16]

Torode's 2016 show, John Torode's Malaysian Adventure, aired on the Good Food channel throughout the early part of 2016. The 10-part series, filmed throughout Malaysia and the UK, explored Malaysian cuisine.[17]

The Korean Food Tour (2017, Good Food Channel) saw Torode travel around South Korea and work his way through some of the nation's top 100 dishes, creating his own version of Korean classics with a modern twist.[18]

Torode's food tours led to his 2017/2018 culinary adventure John Torode's Asia. This premiered on the Good Food channel. In each location, Torode looked for the most inspiring cooks, discovering the distinctive flavours of their country's cuisine. Cooking on location with local chefs, each episode saw several dishes created, popular and typical of their region.[19]

In 2018, John Torode's Middle East (10 x 30 minutes) produced by Blink Films, featured the chef as he travelled across the region to find delicious food.[20]

In March 2019, Torode, along with actress and food writer Lisa Faulkner, was given his own weekend cooking show. They host John And Lisa's Weekend Kitchen on Sunday mornings on ITV.[21]

On 21 July 2022, John Torode's Ireland premiered on Food Network, the six-part series sees the chef discovering Ireland's varied cuisine.[22]

In June 2022, Torode was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, recognising his contributions to food and charitable initiatives. He received the award from Prince William during a ceremony at Buckingham Palace in 2023.[23]

During early 2024, Torode and Lisa Faulkner presented John & Lisa's Food Trip Down Under; a five-part ITV1 series about Western Australia's food and drink.[24]

MasterChef

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In 2005, the BBC television show MasterChef was relaunched with an updated format and with Torode and Wallace as presenters replacing Gary Rhodes.[4] Torode was chosen instead of food critic A. A. Gill. By 2011, the show had been sold to 25 countries. Torode said in interviews that he enjoyed that the show is unscripted and that the cameras are just there to capture the genuine interactions between the judges and the contestants.[3] The show subsequently spawned a spin-off, also hosted by Torode and Wallace, called Celebrity MasterChef. In October 2009, Torode opened a restaurant in Spitalfields market, Commercial street, London, called The Luxe.[2][25] He sold his shares and moved on from the two restaurants, but under his leadership, turnover at the Luxe and Smiths of Smithfield reached £9.2 million.[25]

He has also co-presented Junior MasterChef, initially along with Nadia Sawalha, the former winner of Celebrity MasterChef, and more recently alongside Donal Skehan.[6]

In July 2025, Torode said he was accused of using racist language, upheld as part of an inquiry commissioned by production company Banijay into allegations of sexual harassment by co-host Gregg Wallace.[26][27][28] In a statement on Instagram, Torode said the allegation was that he made the remarks in 2018 or 2019 and that he had apologised immediately afterwards. Torode said he had "no recollection of the incident" and was "shocked and saddened" by the allegation.[26] Following the upheld allegation, Banijay UK and the BBC confirmed that Torode's contract would not be renewed, effectively ending his role on MasterChef.[29][30]

Guest appearances

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Torode has been a guest several times on BBC One's The One Show, Alan Carr: Chatty Man and The Graham Norton Show, and on ITV's Loose Women and This Morning. On 23 July 2014 (as a keen cyclist) Torode was a guest on ITV4's The Cycle Show.[31]

Personal life

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Torode has four children. He was married to Jessica, in 2000, the mother of his son and daughter[32] but was reportedly divorced in 2014 after separating in 2011.[33] He also has two other children from previous relationships.[34]

Torode has been in a relationship with actress and Celebrity Masterchef winner Lisa Faulkner since 2015.[35] The couple married on 24 October 2019 at Aynhoe Park, Oxfordshire.[35]

Published works

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  • Torode, John; Francis, Sarah; Conran, Terence; Murphy, James; Miller, Diana (1997). The Mezzo Cookbook. London: Conran Octopus. ISBN 9781850299226.
  • Torode, John (1999). Relax – It's Only Food. London: Quadrille. ISBN 9781902757162.
  • Torode, John (1999). Torode's Thai Trip. London: Granada Media. ISBN 9780233996493.
  • Torode, John (2005). MasterChef Goes Large. London: Ebury. ISBN 9780091905576.
  • Torode, John (2007). Good Mood Food. London: Quadrille. ISBN 9781844004485.
  • Torode, John (2008). John Torode's Beef. London: Quadrille. ISBN 9781844006236.
  • Torode, John (2009). John Torode's Chicken and Other Birds. London: Quadrille. ISBN 9781844007158.
  • Torode, John (2011). Everyday MasterChef. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9781405394352.
  • Torode, John; Wallace, Gregg (2011). MasterChef Kitchen Bible. London: Dorling Kindersley. ISBN 9781405394178.
  • Torode, John (2015). My Kind of Food. London: Headline Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-4722-2585-6.
  • Torode, John (2019) Sydney To Seoul. London: Headline Publishing Group. ISBN 9781472225863
  • Torode, John; Lisa, Faulkner (2024). John and Lisa's Kitchen. London: Quadrille. ISBN 978-1837832569.

References

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  1. ^ "The Queen's Birthday Honours 2022" (PDF). Gov.uk. 1 June 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "John Torode, Esq". Debrett's. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  3. ^ a b c Whittle, Natalie (19 March 2012). "FT Foodies: John Torode". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  4. ^ a b Wallaston, Sam (2 September 2009). "John Torode: the Master". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  5. ^ Dixon, Rachel (21 October 2008). "Table talk". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  6. ^ a b Syson, Damon (17 January 2010). "This much I know: John Torode". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  7. ^ Lander, Nicholas (19 June 2010). "John Torode: 'I got everything wrong'". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 11 December 2022. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  8. ^ Torode, John (5 May 2008). "John Torode's heaven on earth". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  9. ^ "John Torode-Biography". BBC Good Food Show Summer. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  10. ^ "Cookbook author Kamman, N.Y. chef win top awards". The Deseret News. 11 May 1998. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  11. ^ "John Torode net worth: You won't believe how much the MasterChef star is sitting on". Express.co.uk. 13 April 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  12. ^ "John Torode Interview". Good Food. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  13. ^ Fletcher, Alex (3 February 2012). "'MasterChef' John Torode hangs off Tate Modern on 'Magicians' – video". Digital Spy. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  14. ^ https://tv-guide.icetv.com.au/show/Sea-Breeze-tv-33429
  15. ^ Govan, Chloe (23 February 2023). "Prince William honours John Torode with MBE at Buckingham Palace". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  16. ^ "John Torode's Argentina". BBC Two. BBC. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  17. ^ Webb, Claire (11 January 2016). "John Torode's Malaysian Adventure: "The street food is extraordinary"". Radio Times. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  18. ^ Phillips, Kristine (24 July 2017). "John Torode's Korean Food Tour Show 2017". UnitedKpop. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  19. ^ "John Torode's Asia". Nick Foxall Productions. Blink Films. November 2017. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  20. ^ "John Torode's Middle East". Blink Films. Blink Films UK. 2018. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  21. ^ Hutchings, Ellie (13 April 2023). "John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen: Everything you need to know about the show". GoodTo. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  22. ^ "John Torode's Ireland". radiotimes.com. Retrieved 23 July 2022.
  23. ^ Shirreff, Lauren (23 February 2023). "John Torode made an MBE by 'MasterChef fan' William at Palace". Evening Standard. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  24. ^ "John & Lisa's Food Trip Down Under". itv.com. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
  25. ^ a b Hall, James (6 April 2011). "Masterchef star John Torode gets Barclays facility". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
  26. ^ a b "MasterChef: John Torode subject of racist language allegation in report". BBC News. 14 July 2025. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  27. ^ Clinton, Jane (14 July 2025). "MasterChef presenter John Torode confirms he was alleged to have used racist language". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  28. ^ Domec, Christophe; Farber, Alex (14 July 2025). "MasterChef's John Torode alleged to have used racist language". www.thetimes.com. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  29. ^ White, Adam (15 July 2025). "John Torode sacked from MasterChef over 'extremely offensive racist term'". The Independent. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  30. ^ Singh, Anita (15 July 2025). "John Torode sacked from MasterChef". The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  31. ^ "Latest on John Torode - MasterChef news, appearances, personal life and more". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  32. ^ "John Torode reportedly granted a divorce from his wife Jessica". HOLA. 22 February 2014.
  33. ^ "John Torode reportedly granted divorce from wife Jessica". HELLO!. 22 February 2014. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
  34. ^ Mark Reynolds (22 February 2014). "MasterChef John Torode gets quickie divorce to be with dishy Lisa Faulkner". Express.co.uk.
  35. ^ a b "John Torode and Lisa Faulkner's family life: Everything you need to know". hellomagazine.com. 13 November 2021.
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