A hugely popular and influential figure on the UK culinary circuit, John Torode is best known as the straight-talking co-presenter and judge of BBC's MasterChef and for his well-established restaurant at the heart of London's meat market - Smiths of Smithfield.
Australian by birth, John is credited as one of the main players in introducing Australasian food to the UK in the mid-1990s. In 1992 he joined the Conran Group, starting out at Pont de La Tour before becoming Sous Chef at Quaglino's. In 1995, John became Head Chef for the launch of Mezzo in Soho; at the time one of Europe's largest restaurants.
He opened Smiths of Smithfield in 2000. The four-floor Grade-II listed restaurant, private dining room and café, located in the heart of Smithfield Market, continues to be a roaring success and a firm fixture on both the restaurant and bar scenes. John's latest venture: another multi-storey operation, The Luxe, opened at Spitalfields Market in September 2009.
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. In his quest to source the very best produce for Smiths, he has built strong relationships with many small farmers & butchers throughout the UK and aims to share his knowledge through his widely distributed "Fine Meat List". 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. His very latest book (published by Quadrille in 2009) focuses on chicken — John Torode's Chicken and Other Birds is available now.
John became a familiar face to TV audiences back in 1996 as the resident chef on ITV1's This Morning with Richard and Judy; a role in which he continued for four years. Since 2004 John has paired up with Gregg Wallace, handing out feedback, criticism and support to hundreds of hopefuls aiming to be crowned MasterChef (or indeed Celebrity MasterChef). He is a frequent panellist on The Wright Stuff for Five, a regular guest chef and host on Saturday Kitchen for BBC1, has appeared as an expert panellist on The Apprentice: You're Fired for BBC2 and a popular guest on shows such as Richard & Judy, The One Show, Loose Women, The Alan Titchmarsh Show and BBC Breakfast, as well as numerous radio programmes. He has also read Bedtime Stories on the CBeebies channel and appeared in a special children's edition of MasterChef for Children in Need. Last year, John travelled to the States to promote his ‘Beef’ book, appearing on the Today show for NBC and later to Australia, where he appeared as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia.
John's TV programmes have attracted a huge audience. The series final of MasterChef last year saw BBC2 hit the ratings jackpot, as up to 5.7 million viewers (23.2%) tuned in; making it not only the most watched edition of the show but the most watched programme of the 8pm hour, beating all other channels. MasterChef was also included in the Top Ten list of the most Sky Plussed shows of the year and its popularity has placed John and Gregg 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. John has also been a hit on Good Food (formerly UKTV Food). He teamed up with comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli for a 10-part series exploring the diverse culinary communities of multicultural Britain. New British Kitchen - Torode and Hardeep's Tour aired in May 2008 on UKTV Food. Within the first week the show was already proving a real success, overtaking the rest of the channel's ratings.
A well-known food writer, John regularly contributes to Olive and BBC Good Food magazine, as well as Red magazine and has supplied numerous articles for the Guardian, Mail and Observer newspapers.
John is a very popular choice for corporate events, including culinary demonstrations, informative talks and Q&A sessions. He was a member of the judging panel for the Glenfiddich Food & Drink Awards and appears each year at MasterChef Live in London and the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham.
Pictures courtesy of BBC Good Food magazine. Visit John's own website at johntorode.com.
- Eating Art - Sky Arts 2
- Celebrity MasterChef - BBC1/Good Food
- MasterChef - BBC2/Good Food
- GMTV - ITV1
- Today Show - NBC
- MasterChef Australia - Network Ten
- Richard and Judy - Watch
- Children in Need - BBC1
- Saturday Kitchen - BBC1
- The Alan Titchmarsh Show - ITV1
- Bedtime Stories - CBeebies
- New British Kitchen: Torode and Hardeep's Tour - Good Food
- The Apprentice: You're Fired - BBC2
- The Wright Stuff - Five
- The One Show - BBC1
- Loose Women - ITV1
- BBC Breakfast - BBC1
- This Morning with Richard and Judy - ITV1