John Torode revealed that he gains at least half a stone while filming a series of MasterChef, and insisted that vegan food can ‘absolutely’ be as tasty as meat.
The Australian-born chef, 54, appeared on Good Morning Britain today where he admitted that while he ‘tries not to worry’ about his weight hosting the BBC cooking show, he typically gains around seven pounds and has to ‘drop weight’ after filming.
John, who recently tied the knot with actress Lisa Faulkner, also gave his views on veganism, saying that plant-based food can be delicious.
But he added that he does have an ‘issue’ with certain plant-based alternatives marketing themselves as healthy when many consumers have no idea what’s in them.
He said: ‘I have an issue with the vegan sausage, because that has pork and fat so you know what’s in it, it’s a fatty product.
John Torode 54, (pictured) appeared on Good Morning Britain today where he admitted he gains at least half a stone while filming a series of MasterChef
‘That’s one of the things that concerns me – vegan steak or whatever. It is a hard terminology thing, because what are you eating? With beef you know it’s a piece of beef.’
Referring to his weight gain during MasterChef, John explained: ‘I try not to worry about it on the series. When I finish the series I’ll decompress and I’ll cycle more and try and drop the weight.
‘You do go up at least half a stone. I suppose because everything you’re eating is luxurious, it’s celebration.
‘So you have a crumble with extra butter, with extra nuts and it’ll have custard and cream with it, so that means you gain weight. But it’s fantastic, what a job.’
He admitted that while he ‘tries not to worry’ about his weight hosting the BBC cooking show, he typically gains around seven pounds and has to ‘drop weight’ after filming
He went on to argue that vegan food can ‘completely’ be as satisfying as meat, and credited countries like India with making plant-based food ‘delicious’.
‘What you have to do is understand things like spicing. If you take a country that specializes in vegetation food, or plant based, work with that.
‘So India is fantastic; ginger, garlic, jack fruit, tofu, coconut milk, of course it’s going to be delicious.
‘Because everything is going to be bland, but then you spice it and flavour it. I absolutely believe plant-based can be delicious.’
While he enjoys plant-based food, John went on to tell that he does have an ‘issue’ with certain plant-based alternatives marketing themselves as healthy when many consumers have no idea what’s in them
When quizzed on a potential chlorinated chicken entering the UK, he said: ‘ It’s really bad. We all know what’s going on with the chicken in nuggets, it’s really bad.
‘A lot for food we are eating, we don’t know what’s going on. What are we eating? What is in it?’
John has hosted the BBC cooking show with Greg Wallace in 2005, and said that he still watches what each contestant is doing closely to avoid any mishaps.
He said: ‘I suppose I have to trust in them and I’ve eaten so much food from people over the years.
When quizzed on a potential chlorinated chicken entering the UK, he said: ‘ It’s really bad…we don’t know what’s going on’
‘I really watch they do, so if they put a piece of chicken in the oven for four minutes, I’ll know it’ll be raw so I won’t eat it.’
Speaking of meeting his co-host, he said: ‘We met in 1992, 28-years ago and it was a restaurant in Chelsea. I wanted coriander from the root and I said “You find that”. And he was my veg man for about 15-years.
‘I was cast for Master Chef and they said “Do you know a man called Greg Wallace?”.
‘We have such a great respect for each other, we love the show, we love what we’re doing.’