MasterChef gurus dish out a winner

MasterChef reaches boiling point tonight as the winner is revealed. Women’s Editor Maria Cusine gives co-presenter and judge John Torode a grilling.

“Not bloody likely, mate,” laughs Australian John Torode when I ask if he’ll give me a hint as to who will be crowned MasterChef.

After six weeks of slicing, dicing, grilling and chilling, the show reaches its climax and viewers will tonight discover who has won the coveted title of MasterChef 2008.

The series was actually filmed some months ago, but judge and co-presenter John Torode is not letting on who becomes king or queen of the kitchen.

“I’m not spoiling it. You’ll have to wait to see tonight’s show,” laughs the 42-year-old.

But, he admits it was “tough” - one of his favourite words in the popular show - picking the winner. He says he and co-presenter Gregg Wallace debated for around two and a half hours to reach their final decision.

“This is one tough competition,” he says in his sharp, determined and animated style.

The restaurateur has been telling viewers: “whoever wins, it will change their life forever,” in between dishing out advice and keeping a watchful eye on the three finalists, Emily, James and Jonny, John says all three are very driven people.

“They are a great mix, each with different tastes and each very talented.

“Our previous winners have gone on to great success so I do really mean it’s a life changing experience for them,” says John, who is something of a masterchef in his own right.

While co-presenter Gregg is a successful vegetable grower from south London, John hails from Australia. He’s had a passion for food since an early age.

“I did my apprenticeship at the age of 17. My elder brother was drawn to sport and I was attracted to cookery. It just seemed natural to me. There was nothing I liked better than feeding the chickens and spending time in the vegetable garden.”

And the father of four admits his love for food runs in the family.

“My youngest son is four and he loves watching me cook in the kitchen,” he says.

Since arriving in London in 1992, John has carved an impressive career for himself, establishing himself as a leading figure in the British food scene. He currently runs Smiths of Smithfield - a four-floor restaurant, cocktail bar and cafŽ located in the heart of the Smithfield market - specialising in meat and organic produce.

John thinks there’s been far too much snobbery surrounding food.

“I’ve been cooking for around 25 years and during that time I feel very lucky to have seen one of the biggest food revolutions,” he says. “When I arrived in England in the 90s dining out was so formal. People would either go out to eat dressed in black tie or for their wedding anniversary, and that was about it.

“Now it’s changed and the formality has gone. It’s fantastic.”

And why does he think MasterChef is such a success? “It’s about real people and for real people. It’s aspirational and inspirational to its audience. There’s nothing snobbish about it. It’s for everyone,” he says.

And what special something must a MasterChef have - other than the obvious talent of being able to cook?

“I think they have to be really committed and also controlled.

Control

“What I find really impressive is if things go wrong, they can take control of themselves, re-organise, sort out the problem and come back to life. They must not let themselves be beaten. It’s very difficult to pick yourselves up when all around you goes wrong, so a positive attitude is a good thing. Arrogance can be your best friend or your worst enemy, so I think you need to be confident and positive.

“And of course it’s not simply about being able to cook, it’s about how you work within a team, how you deal with things in a kitchen under pressure. It’s why our series takes them into different situations.”

So how do the judges make up their minds about the contestants? “Well it’s not easy. We have lengthy debates, so obviously it has to be edited quite heavily to fit into the time slot we have. But year on year the standards get higher than ever. It’s one tough competition and it’s tough for us to crown one of three champion,” he says.

Who do they pick? See tonight’s MasterChef final on BBC2 at 8pm.