Speaker / Host
John Torode
John Torode is a hugely popular and influential figure on the UK culinary circuit. A speaker and event host, John is best known as the straight-talking co-presenter and judge of BBC's MasterChef.
About John Torode
John is a very popular choice for corporate events, including culinary demonstrations, informative talks and Q&A sessions. He is a passionate advocate for organic food, rare breed meat and supporting small farmers. The multi-published Cookery book author was a member of the judging panel for the Glenfiddich Food & Drink Awards. He also appears twice-yearly at the BBC Good Food Show in London and Birmingham.
John Torode is Australian by birth and 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 recently opened another multi-storey operation, The Luxe, at Spitalfields Market.
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 produced a new cookbook (his third), namely ‘John Torode’s Beef’ and other bovine matters. In this meaty book, John 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.
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 ‘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.
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.
