Christmas Eve plays host to many beloved cooking shows and today, Saturday, December 24, viewers will be tuning in to John Torode and his partner Lisa Faulkner's Christmas Eve special, John and Lisa's Christmas Kitchen which airs at 11:35 on ITV and ITVX in which the pair look back at their favourite festive recipes from their own cooking show - John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen - over the years; from croissants to turkey alternatives, special stuffing and a nut roast wreath. Sounds delicious.
John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen was commissioned in 2019 for ITV and in June of this year ITV confirmed that it would return for a seventh series following its popularity. Now, people can enjoy the show ahead of the big day to get all sorts of tips and tricks for the main event: the dinner.
The Australian-British celebrity chef has long been a household name across the UK and has starred on shows such as BBC MasterChef, which he has hosted alongside Gregg Wallace since 2005, Celebrity Masterchef - which his now wife actress Lisa Faulkner won in 2010 - This Morning and John Torode's Australia, to name a few.
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Off-screen, John, 57, is a successful restauranteur - he previously owned two restaurants; the Luxe and Smiths of Smithfield. He has also put his expertise down on paper in the form of several cookbooks.
As for his personal life, John Torode has been married twice; once in 2000 to Jessica Torode, whom he was married to for fourteen years and for a second time to Mastechef winner Lisa Faulkner in 2019.
He has four children, two from his first marriage and two from a previous relationship.
But who is his wife and co-host Lisa Faulkner? How did his successful career begin? What is he worth?
Read on to find out...
John Torode's career
The Masterchef host was born in Melbourne in 1965 and learnt how to cook with his grandmother. His cooking career began at Le Coq Au Vin restaurant in Aspendale and in 1991 he moved to the UK and became Terence Conran's sous chef at Quaglino's. While there, he met fellow Masterchef host Gregg Wallace whose company at the time supplied the veg for the restaurant.
In 1996, he made his television debut cooking on This Morning - a role he continued until 2000, when he opened his former restaurant Smiths of Smithfield. A second restaurant called Cafeteria soon followed although it was shortlived and later closed.
Alongside working in kitchens both on screen and off, the 57-year-old has tried his hand at presenting too on shows such as New British Kitchen on the Good Food channel alongside former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Hardeep Singh Kohli as well as a line of travel-cooking shows.
He visited countries and continents like Australia, Malaysia, Korea, Asia, Ireland and the Middle East and viewers watched as he cooked with local chefs and dove head first into the flavours and foods of each country and its cuisine.
Earlier this year, in June, the Masterchef host was honoured with an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours for his services to food, broadcasting and charity.
Who is his Christmas special co-host and wife, Lisa Faulkner?
Lisa Faulkner is an actress, presenter and now celebrity chef. You may recognise her from shows like Casualty, Holby City, in which she played Victoria Merrick, Brookside as Louise Hope, Spooks, New Tricks, Death in Paradise, Big Brother's Little Brother and later in EastEnders as Fi Browning - to name just a few.
In 2010 she appeared on Celebrity Masterchef against the likes of Colin Jackson, Martin Roberts, Danielle Lloyd, Dick Strawbridge and Christine Hamiltron and subsequently won.
While many think John and Lisa first met in 2010, Lisa told The Sun in 2021 that they actually met in 1996 on This Morning - "John doesn't remember! I thought he was a really fit chef."
However, their romance didn't blossom until a few years later. During Masterchef, the pair were both married to different people but Lisa soon seperated from her former partner Chris Coghill in 2011, while John and his ex-wife Jessica divorced in 2014.
The pair began seeing eachother in October 2012 - according to the Daily Mail - two and a half after Lisa won the show and worked in his since sold restaurant Smiths of Smithfield.
She told the publication: "When I met John he was a judge on a show I loved and I was petrified of him. He was brilliant and gave us all tips so you didn't want to let him down. All I could think was, “That sauce hasn't worked.” I didn't see anything but food for three months. After I won, we did The Good Food Show and stuff. John and I always got on, but I never thought about me and him."
She added: "He asked me on a date. We went out for dinner. Then it was slightly different."
On Christmas Day 2018, John popped the question and in 2019, the pair married in Aynhoe Park in Oxfordshire in a two-day wedding. Speaking to HELLO! magazine last year, Lisa explained: "I love being with him. We don't stop talking – chat, chat, chat. He's like my best mate."
Lisa's cooking career
Alongside being an actress, Lisa found her feet in the kitchen after appearing on and winning Celebrity Masterchef in 2010. Since then, she has gone on to present several cooking programmes such as Real Food Family Cook Off, What's Cooking (with Ben Shepherd) and John and Lisa's Weekend Kitchen.
Family life
John has been married once before Lisa to a woman named Jessica, whom he married in 2000. The pair share two children - Lulu, 15, and Jonah, 17 - but separated in 2011 three years before their divorce was finalised in 2014.
He also has two other children, Casper and Marselle, from a previous relationship.
Lisa herself has a daughter whom she adopted in 2006 with her former husband, a little girl named Billie.
John Torode weight loss
Being a chef, you are constantly surrounded by incredible food and so understandably, it's inevitable that a few extra pounds may gather here and there over time. And in the past, John Torode has revealed that he usually puts on around a stone whilst filming Masterchef, reports The Mirror. But in the last few years, John has shed a whopping three stone - and not by cutting down his food.
According to The Express, John revelaed the secret to his weight loss on Good Morning Britain, explaining: "The big secret, which somebody told me is the thing that all people who are very, very overweight have in common, is that they don't eat breakfast.
“I now eat breakfast and make the point of sitting down with my children, eating breakfast and starting the day well.”
He added: "It is well known that moderately increasing the amount of protein in your diet can help you to feel more satisfied after meals. What is less well known, though, is that the time of day that you eat protein also matters."
Eating high protein foods for the first meal of the day, he said, helps those wanting to slim down as it keeps you fuller for longer.
He also revealed that exercise has played a big role in shifting the weight. "I feel brilliant, actually. It's about three stone and I feel great for it. I cycle everywhere, I eat different."
John and Lisa's net worth
According to various platforms online, such as The Express, Torode's net worth is estimated at a whopping £7.9 million thanks to his former restaurant ventures, TV roles and cookery books. Meanwhile it is believed that Lisa's is between one and four million pounds.
John and Lisa's Christmas Kitchen will air on ITV and ITVX on Christmas Eve at 11:35am.
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