A hugely popular and influential figure on the UK culinary circuit, John Torode MBE is best known as the straight-talking co-host and judge of BBC One's MasterChef and Celebrity MasterChef. 2024 celebrated the 20th season of MasterChef UK and cemented the show as the biggest TV food brand in the world. John is also the presenter of A Cook Abroad: John Torode's Argentina and The A to Z of TV Cooking for BBC Two. A regular guest chef on ITV's This Morning, John also appears with his wife Lisa Faulkner co-hosting John & Lisa's Weekend Kitchen on ITV, a hugely successful format, now in its ninth series.

Further hosting credits for John include John Torode's Australia, Malaysian Adventure, John Torode's Korean Food Tour, and John Torode's Asia, which achieved the highest viewing figures for Good Food channel for five years. John has continued his ten-part cookery travel series with John Torode's Middle East and more recently, in July 2022 John Torode's Ireland premiered on the Food Network. John became a familiar face to TV audiences back in 1996 as the resident chef on ITV's This Morning with Richard and Judy; a role in which he continued for four years.

Australian by birth, John is credited as one of the main players in introducing Australasian food to the UK in the mid-1990s. His indisputable passion for the industry is infectious; he was awarded an MBE in 2022 for services to food, broadcast and charity.

John is passionate about sourcing the best of British produce, particularly within the meat industry, where he has long been a champion of rare breeds. John's third cookbook, namely John Torode's ‘Beef’ and other bovine matters not only gives us every which way to cook with beef but also gives the history and importance of great and rare breeds, butcher's recommended cuts and true head to tail eating. The follow-up book, John Torode's Chicken and Other Birds needs no explanation!

John's varied TV appearances include The Apprentice: You're Fired, Saturday Kitchen, The One Show, Loose Women, BBC Breakfast, and Have I Got News for You! He has also read Bedtime Stories on the CBeebies channel and appeared in spin-off editions of MasterChef for Comic Relief and Children in Need.

John's TV programmes regularly attract a huge audience. Indeed MasterChef's popularity has placed John on the front cover of several magazines including the Radio Times. Sainsbury's Magazine readers even voted MasterChef as the Top TV Food Show of the Decade and it has been included in the Top Ten list of the most Sky Plussed shows of the year. A well-known food writer, John is a regular magazine contributor and has supplied numerous articles for many national newspapers.

John is a very popular choice for corporate events, including culinary demonstrations, informative talks and Q&A sessions and appears at numerous food festivals each year. He is a sought-after name to be associated with high-end brands.

John's recent cookbooks include the bestselling My Kind Of Food: Recipes I Love to Cook at Home and Sydney To Seoul: Recipes From My Travels In Australia And The Far East. His bestselling book with wife Lisa – John and Lisa's Kitchen: Everyday Recipes from a Professional Chef and a Home Cook – was published by Quadrille in September 2024.