John Torode: TV cooking can be too complicated

John Torode has said TV cooking can be too complicated and expensive for people to follow at home.

The MasterChef judge is returning with a new series of John & Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen on ITV.

The popular cookery show, to air this winter, features Torode and his wife, Lisa Faulkner.

Torode, 55, said: “One of the things me and Lisa always wanted to do was to cook food on a programme that people can cook at home.

“Being a chef, I cook things very differently but I’m also somebody who’s got family and children.

“And I think, a lot of the time, food on television can be really difficult to make or it’s really expensive.

“I think this series has been really well received because it’s accessible and it’s got a bit of fun and we don’t take ourselves too seriously … you know, Lisa likes to take the mick out of my accent!”

The previous, summer series was filmed during lockdown and the couple have continued working within Covid guidelines to film a fifth instalment.

Faulkner, 48, said of sharing cooking tips with her husband: “He’s taught me how to make Asian curries … I suppose that I’ve taught him the wonders of a jacket potato!

“He doesn’t think they’re a meal. He thinks a jacket potato is a side dish and I’m like ‘No, no, not in this country … cheese and beans and you’re happy!’”

The pair will cover everything from how to bake the perfect bread to Christmas food in the new, 10-week series.

– John & Lisa’s Weekend Kitchen will return to ITV on Saturday November 14 at 11.40am.