John Torode
The MasterChef host takes us on a journey
through Thailand, Malaysia and South Korea in his new cookbook. Lauren Taylor finds out more.
WRITTEN BY LAUREN TAYLOR I
t might not feel like it, but MasterChef veteran John Torode has been putting amateur
cooks, and some famous faces, through their paces for 13 years on the popular show. And while you might know him best for his TV partnership with co-host Gregg Wallace, he’s also just published his 11th cookbook. Te chef, 52, hails from Melbourne, Australia, but has been living in the UK for 27 years. His first culinary love, however, comes from much further afield - the street food of the Far East, which, Torode says, “the world is slowly falling in love with”. His new book, Sydney To Seoul, is a culmination of a lifetime of travels around the east of the continent, his Australian heritage, and stories and conversations with street sellers and local chefs who’ve shared or influenced the recipes he’s featured. Torode’s exploration into Asian
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cooking begun back in the Nineties - “I discovered a world that is fresh and delicious” - and that discovery has influenced his work ever since, from his restaurant menus to the dishes he and his actress partner, Lisa Faulkner, rustle up at home. Te focus is really on food that grew out of necessity, which ordinary people knock up at home every day in Tailand, or grab from street food stalls in Seoul. “I wanted people to understand it’s not about big things, it’s about lots of little things,” he says. “I find big plates of food scary now.” From simple Tai classics like fish cakes and som tam (green papaya salad), to karipap pusing (curry puffs) from Malaysia, pajeon (seafood and spring onion pancakes) from South Korea and duck noodle soup from China, the book is a journey of cheap street eats, vibrant curries and fragrant broths. Like his accent though, Torode’s latest book
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