The MasterChef presenter talks about his friendship with co-host John Torode, good health and school dinners!
WORDS: JIM MALONEY
● This year marks the 20th anniversary of John and me as hosts of MasterChef and I just remember for our very first show being really excited. Really excitable – nothing much has changed in 20 years! I recall the day just went on and on, and we went to the pub afterwards.
● What I look most forward to starting a new series of MasterChef is meeting everyone. I like people and I want to learn all about them, and I love watching them develop.
● I built up my own greengrocers from the age of 24 and was asked to co-host BBC Radio 4’s Veg Talk with Charlie Hicks. This led to other shows, before being approached for MasterChef.
● People often say that John and I don’t get on and I tell them, “I’m going to give you the evidence and you make your own mind up.” We’ve been working together, face-to-face for 20 years. We knew each other for 10 years before that when John bought fruit and veg off me. And he was best man at my wedding.
● Because I had no money as a youngster, I felt that poverty quite keenly and was embarrassed by it on a couple of occasions, and that’s a driving force to wanting to achieve. I don’t want Ferraris and yachts and helicopters and private planes. What I want is to feel completely and utterly secure.
The new series of MasterChef can be viewed on BBC One and BBC iPlayer
FitBit!
If I wasn’t on telly I would focus on my fitness business. That’s my passion. Helping people get healthier and fitter. I’ve learned about healthy eating. I’m healthier than when I was in my 20s.
Food Memories
