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 Celebrity MasterChef series; and for his well-established restaurant at the heart of London’s meat market - Smiths of Smithfield.
John arrived from Australia in 1990 and started working in what became the great Terence Conran Group, building and developing some of the biggest and influential restaurants of the decade.
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. After the roaring success of Smiths, John recently opened The LUXE in Old Spitalfield Market, a restaurant, café bar and live music venue along with a florist and take away.
John is passionate about sourcing the best of British produce, particularly and enthusiastically meat and 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 and butchers throughout the UK and aims to share his knowledge through his widely distributed Fine Meat List.
Following on from the critical and commercial success of John Torode’s Beef and Other Bovine Matters, the presenter and judge of BBC’s MasterChef is back with John Torode's Chicken and Other Birds, celebrating all things fowl in his typical non-elitist approach. John delves into and demystifies the world of feathered food-stuffs and also reveals the secrets to cooking a whole variety of edible birds with confidence.
John Torode's Beef And Other Bovine Matters is also published by Quadrille. 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 as the resident chef on ITV1's This Morning back in 1996 with Richard and Judy, a role in which he continued for four years. Since 2004 John and Gregg Wallace have paired up on our screens handing out feedback, criticism and support to hundreds of hopefuls aiming to be crowned MasterChef (or indeed Celebrity Masterchef).
He is a frequent panelist on The Wright Stuff for Five, a regular guest host on Saturday Kitchen for BBC1 and a popular guest on shows such as The One Show, Loose Women and BBC Breakfast, as well as numerous radio programmes.
A well-known food writer, John regularly contributes to Olive and BBC Good Food Magazine, as well as supplying numerous articles for the Guardian, Mail and Observer newspapers.
