CELEBRITY CHEF COUPLE JOHN TORODE AND LISA FAULKNER ON WORKING TOGETHER
CELEBRITY CHEF COUPLE JOHN TORODE AND LISA FAULKNER ON TRYING TO MAKE COOKING EASIER FOR EVERYONE
After meeting and falling in love on the 2010 series of Masterchef, John Torode and Lisa Faulkner’s relationship has gone from strength to strength. But while they announced their engagement on Christmas Day, Lisa has admitted they’ve put wedding plans on hold as they’re too busy!
The pair are currently hosting new ITV show, John And Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen and while working with your partner might not be everyone’s idea of a fun day at work, Lisa recently revealed they love working together.
‘He’s my best mate and it’s lovely to stand next to him and think he’s got me and I’ve got him,’ the presenter said.
This summer, Lisa, mum to adopted daughter Billie from her marriage to actor Chris Coghill, will release a book about her tough journey to motherhood. The 47 year old revealed last year that she spent £35,000 on four rounds of failed IVF treatment and is now hoping to help others with her book Meant To Be.
Here, Lisa and John, 53, who is dad to four children from two previous relationships, lift the lid on working together and what life is like behind closed doors…
Do you think being a couple helps to keep you calm in the kitchen? Lisa: [Laughs] It can go one of two ways! The important thing is you need someone to lead and someone to help and we often take turns. John: You have to use the word compromise. When couples cook in the kitchen, some people do things better than others. When we work together, we make a decision first about who is going to do the main bit and who is going to help out, and that’s fine.
What meal do you most like to cook for you and your family?
Lisa: I like easy, quick food best. I love to make a variety of curry dishes, but I do love a roast.
Describe your ideal Sunday… John:
The ideal Sunday for me is to get out of bed as late as possible, wander around and have a laugh with the kids, make a decent coffee, chill out a little bit and then probably make lunch. Lunch would be served around 3pm, with everyone around the table. Maybe do a bit of gardening; I’d like the sun to be shining if possible too so I can open the back doors to the garden. That would be nice.
Lisa: I think a lovely dog walk, followed by making and eating a big lunch, followed by watching a movie with the family in the afternoon. How do you like to unwind? John: Cooking is the thing that unwinds me, it’s not a chore.
Lisa: Eating with a lovely glass of wine surrounded by friends and family helps me unwind after cooking.
Tell us a secret…
John: Absolutely not! Our secrets are our secrets, if they come out they are no longer a secret.
Lisa: John is a clean freak and the best tidier in the land.
What can we expect from John And Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen?
John: It’s about cooking real food people can cook at home. It’s not about trying to be fancy, it’s about tricks, ways to make things easier. It’s about starting with ordinary everyday stuff that people might already have in their cupboard. People don’t have to spend huge amounts of money to cook good food. It’s a bit of fun, it’s a reflection of what we do at home.
Lisa: Absolutely that. It’s just great, accessible recipes and ideas, thrown in with plenty of fun from me and John! And it’s so nice to be able to take the natural way we cook and interact at home and share it with other people.
Is your real-life set up similar to what we see on the show? John: To be fair, it is really just us with cameras, being slightly directed. At home, the only difference is we would probably take a bit more time, probably have a bottle of wine, maybe a radio station playing, a child coming in making conversation, the phone might ring, the dog will bark.
Lisa: We both work in very different ways, John is a professionally trained chef which means he keeps everything very organised and cleans as he goes, while I like to cook everything and then tidy. Having said that I came home the other day and John had turned every pan in the house into a wok and there was smoke everywhere! ‘JOHN AND LISA’S WEEKEND KITCHEN’ CAN BE SEEN ON ITV, SUNDAYS AT 11.30AM