Gregg Wallace and John Torode reveal change is coming to MasterChef

Virgin Radio

15 Mar 2022, 10:23

A big change is coming after 18 years of Gregg Wallace and John Torode hosting MasterChef.

For nearly two decades, the presenters have had to judge all of the food when it had gone cold thanks to the filming process.

The judges will be thrilled now that they get to try the food when it is freshly cooked.

John Torode joked: “It’s a revelation! We’re always eating food which is room temperature.

“Nice, hot food is great. It makes a big difference.”

The new serving method is because of new rounds for the show.

Contestants make whatever they please off-camera, and then serve it in the tasting room.

John explained: “It’s called the Audition Round and they come in and cook their signature dish for Gregg and I.

“We don’t see them cook and all we do is get to taste their food. It’s as if we were going to a restaurant.

“All we would do is just sit down, eat the food and then judge it on that, and that’s what we’ve done.

"It’s a far more exciting way to start the competition. It gives everybody a chance to settle in a bit, it gives everybody a chance to cook something they really love to cook.

“And it also means that Gregg and I get to eat hot food, which is a revelation.”

John and Gregg have been hosting the show since 2005.

He said: “You’ve got to remember that we’re not scripted at all.

“We get there on a day and we might be told there’s a task and what we’ve got to do, that’s it.

“Everything we do has to be on the hook, and as a result of that we are always fresh and it stays fresh because the contestants are changed, the food changes, the food trends change, that all changes.

“But also I think people can’t study it like an exam, they’ve got to be a master of all things, and that’s why it’s so exciting.”

They were asked if they worry about slipping up and making a comment they shouldn't have.

Gregg said: “Yes. Yes. You’re constantly editing yourself before you speak. Yeah, constantly.”

John added: “I don’t think that’s a new thing. One of the things that you will notice with MasterChef is that Gregg and I only ever comment on the food.

"That is what we can comment on, that’s what we will always comment on.

“That’s the way we think about stuff.”

He added: “One of the things that you can’t really change very much is trying to find an adjective to describe food.

“We try as hard as we can to be as fresh, as in how we explain things.”

John says he's got no plans to leave: “As long as I’ve still got my teeth and I can chew my food, I’m there!”