Celebrated TV chef John Torode has revealed his disdain for a common kitchen tool. Speaking at the Cheltenham Literature Festival, the 59-year-old confessed his aversion to the humble potato masher.
The Australian-born culinary expert, who gained fame in the UK co-hosting MasterChef with Greg Wallace, expressed his preference for using a fork when it comes to mashing. He explained that some potato mashers can actually worsen the texture of the mash by pushing down the starch and hardening it, preventing a fluffy result.
Despite this, he admitted to gifting one to his wife, actress Lisa Faulkner. He said: “One thing I cannot bear, but I did give one to my wife recently, was a potato masher….Some of those mash potato mashers, they push the starch down and make it really hard and it doesn’t make a fluffy mashed potato.”
John further clarified that the best way to achieve the fluffiest mashed potato is indeed with a fork. Lisa added that after marrying John, one of her grandmother’s mashers was discarded during the merging of their two kitchens.
Lisa recalled: “When we merged our kitchens together as a blended family, my two potato mashers – one which was my grandmother’s – was thrown away and I was told ‘you don’t need that…you need to mash it with a fork'”.
TV Chefs John Torode and Lisa Faulkner, the star couple who first crossed paths on Celebrity MasterChef, have been dishing up a treat both at home and in our living rooms. While launching the ninth series of their hit ITV show ‘John and Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen’, they couldn’t resist sharing more than just recipes.
Their off-screen romance, which began after meeting in 2010, led to tying the knot in a delightful 2019 celebration.
These culinary lovebirds often reflect on their early days and mutual love for food; it’s a bond that brings them joy and serenity. Chatting with the Mirror, John gushed about his affection for the kitchen, “It’s my favourite place to be. I feel really happy in the kitchen.”
To which Lisa sweetly chimed in: “It’s kind of our calm place, isn’t it? “.
Their expertise is beyond question, but according to John, their journey is far from over as they learn from each other constantly. Echoing wisdom from his father, John expressed that every day alongside Lisa is enlightening: “My father always said to me that if you go through a day and you haven’t learnt something, a day is a waste. And I learn something from Lisa every day. There’s always something.”
In a delightful revelation, John shared a practical tip he picked up from Lisa: “I suppose for me, the big thing I’ve learnt from Lisa is that you don’t have to make a chicken stock at home. You don’t have to do all these things and there are ways you can buy little bits and pieces to be able to bring a dish together.”
Lisa extolled her experiences working alongside John, reflecting on his meticulous approach: “He is very methodical. Obviously. He’s a chef. Everything has an order. When he cooks, it’s all very, very neat….With John, everything has its order, its place. He’s got the plates out and everything. If we have people over on a Sunday afternoon, on Sunday morning all the plates are out, ready. Everything’s sorted. So he knows what’s going on.”
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