In the early days of her relationship with husband John Torode, Lisa Faulkner had to explain to him her somewhat “uncheffy” recipes.
“I remember when I made my microwaved chocolate cake in a mug. He was like, ‘I can’t believe you can stick all the mix in the microwave and it will work?’,” she says. “OK, you’re not going to get the lightest cake, but you’re still going to get a cake, John!”
Since then, John, 57 says he has “learnt a lot” from his wife’s simple approach to food.
But considering John is a MasterChef judge who critiqued her dishes when she appeared as the eventual winner on the 2010 celebrity series, has the teacher become the student?
Lisa, 51, laughs: “No! John’s a proper chef, and I’m a home cook. But we complement each other. That’s why our show works.”
And it clearly does. The series, which began in 2019, featuring that cake recipe, will return to our screens in spring. Lisa is also working as an ambassador for Ocado and has been promoting more of her handy kitchen hacks as part of itsFill Your Freezer campaign.
Watching a husband and wife cooking together, with a big Love sign hanging behind them, might seem a bit cheesy and contrived, but it is obvious by the way they praise each other that this is one of the happiest marriages and working partnerships in TV.
On the recipe for a happy marriage, Lisa says: “We really like and fancy each other!
"What I love about being married is that it’s about being a partnership. John and I are a good team. We know how to look after each other.
“Last week, I was feeling a bit grumpy about my upcoming birthday, so John made me dinner. Afterwards he bought me tea and chocolate, and when I went into the kitchen he had cleaned everything up, he lit candles, everything looked so beautiful, it’s those little things, he is just so caring.”
She has to think hard when asked if there is anything annoying about John before settling on the same thing that cheered her up – his tidiness.
“That can be annoying. I’m not a particularly tidy person.
"A prime example is the state of our freezer despite John’s efforts. He’ll open it up and go, ‘Oh my gosh I’m going to have to sort this out again’.”
It was Lisa’s turn to show her support when John received an MBE at Buckingham Palace last week for his services to food and charity.
Born in Melbourne, he moved to the UK in the nineties and landed his first TV job on ITV ’s This Morning. Since then he has become famous for his role on BBC ’s MasterChef with Gregg Wallace, who also picked up a gong.
“I’m just so proud of John, it’s an amazing achievement, which he hugely deserves.
"He didn’t believe it was true when he first heard he was getting an MBE,” she says.
“John went with his daughter to Buckingham Palace, I met them after for lunch. It was a wonderful day!”
The couple met on MasterChef and were friends for five years before becoming an item.
They married in 2019 and live as a blended family. Lisa is mum to daughter Billie, 16, with ex-hubby Chris Coghill and John has Lulu, 16, and Jonah, 18, from a previous marriage. He also has grown-up sons, Casper and Marselle, with his first wife.
“Being a step-parent is like being a friend. John’s kids have two brilliant parents. My daughter has two parents, and that’s the point,” she says.
As well as four recipe books, Lisa wrote about motherhood in Meant To Be, revealing how the pain of miscarriage and three failed IVF rounds led her and Chris to adopt in 2008.
With her glowing skin, Lisa does not look old enough to have a teenager, and neither do her friends.
The ex-Holby City star is close to actresses Nicola Stephenson, 51, and Angela Griffin, 46, Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, 52, and ex-EastEnder Tamzin Outhwaite, 51.
“We support each other with everything. We’ve been friends from such a young age, navigating our way through life’s ups and downs. We go on long walks, talking and listening.
“It is mad that we all have teenage daughters.”
Lisa is now working with Ocado to provide kitchen tips for parents. The online grocery service has launched a Fill Your Freezer campaign, with Lisa sharing recipes.
“I always use frozen veg in my meals. I can’t abide food waste. A few freezer hacks can make food go a long way,” she says, before modestly adding: “I’m not an expert though. I’m a mum who is very luckily employed.”
And even marital harmony exists in that packed freezer of theirs, it seems.
“I’ve stuffed things in anywhere and ruined John’s careful organisation,” she admits. “But I do label everything so there is no confusion about what you’re actually defrosting.”
