Competent would be one way of describing John Torode. As well as being a maestro in the kitchen and a judge on MasterChef UK, he boasts an eclectic bunch of skills.
"My childhood was a very, very fortunate one in that I was able to do a lot," says the 48-year-old.
"I grew up on the beach so I learned to fish and sail and scuba dive, but I also had a bit of time in the country so I could ride a horse, milk a cow, drive a tractor and fix a bike."
That impressively wide range of competencies put him in good stead when he returned to his home country for his new Good Food series John Torode's Australia, which saw the famous foodie meeting the people who've influenced his career.
While Down Under, he met up with the chef he worked with when he was just starting out, as well as seaweed and oyster foragers and fishermen.
And it wasn't just for a six-week jolly in the sun.
"The premise of John Torode's Australia is to reinforce what I've done and why I've done it," explains the chef, who is in a relationship with actress and Celebrity MasterChef champion Lisa Faulkner.
"It's going back to Australia and understanding why I cook the way I cook, and not just for you but for me. I need to understand why I do it and why food is so important to me."
As well as catching up with surfers and going along to an early morning fish auction, he had plenty of time to hang out with his best mate and family, something which meant a lot to Torode, who hasn't been able to spend such a long stretch in Oz for years.
"I spent a lot of time in Sydney with my family. They all came together for a big barbecue," he explains, adding that he whipped up a grilled feast of four chickens seasoned with the Lebanese spice Sumac.
"It was a joy really to go back."
Not least because he was surrounded by fellow food enthusiasts.
"I think Australian life is focused around that world of food and being sociable," he says.
"Food is a really important part of what punctuates my life and what brings it all together, and without it there wouldn't be any John Torode."
Quite. If you'd like to have a taster of Torode's dishes, here are three great recipes from the series.
POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS AND GORGONZOLA
(Serves 6)
For the polenta:
600ml milk
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
200g instant polenta
240ml double cream
140g mascarpone
40g Parmesan, grated
For the wild mushrooms:
400g wild mushrooms, finely sliced (such as field mushrooms, porcini, chanterelle)
20g butter
2 banana shallots, finely diced
Bunch of flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1tbsp olive oil
To serve:
150g Gorgonzola
2tbsp flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
2tbsp dill, roughly chopped
For the polenta: Place 400ml of water and the milk and garlic in a large saucepan, season and bring to a boil. When boiling, add the polenta and stir continuously for one minute or until thickened.
Once the polenta is cooked, add the cream and Parmesan and stir to combine. Remove from heat and add the mascarpone.
For the wild mushrooms: In a large pan, melt the butter and add a tablespoon of olive oil. Add the shallots and cook on a low heat for five minutes. Next, add the mushrooms and season well.
Leave the mushrooms to cook for two minutes without stirring, then turn over and continue to cook for a further two minutes. Once cooked, remove from heat and sprinkle parsley on top.
To serve, place a large spoonful of polenta on the plate, followed by wild mushrooms, crumbled gorgonzola and the parsley and dill.
COD AND CHORIZO STEW
(Serves 6)
1 yellow pepper
1 red pepper
1tbsp olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 onions, cut into chunks
3 small floury potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1/2 bulb of fennel, cut into chunks
1 red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 chorizo sausage, sliced
Pinch of saffron
6 cod fillets
3 vine tomatoes, cut into chunks
100ml white wine
1 tin chopped tomatoes
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. On a baking sheet lined with foil, roast both peppers whole until the skin blisters, turning half way through to expose all sides.
Meanwhile, add the olive oil to a large pan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes until the onions soften. Add the potatoes and fennel and continue to stir for a minute or two, then add the chillies.
Once the peppers are ready, cut them into strips and add to the pan along with the chorizo and saffron. Stir well and cook on medium heat for five to six minutes.
Add the vine tomatoes and cook for a further two minutes, then season and pour in the wine and tinned tomatoes along with 400ml of cold water. Add the fish, stir and place the lid on, leaving to stew for a further 15 minutes, or until the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce.
FIVE SPICE DUCK
(Serves 2)
200g baby eggplants, quartered
2 duck breasts
2tsp five spice powder
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1-inch of ginger, peeled and finely sliced or grated
100g oyster mushrooms, roughly torn
50g vine ripened tomatoes, roughly chopped
4-6 spring onions, chopped
2tbsp oyster sauce
1tbsp crushed peanuts
Handful coriander, roughly chopped
Place the eggplants into boiling water for four to five minutes until soft. Drain and leave to one side.
Score the skin on the duck breasts and rub the five spice powder and a pinch of salt into the meat and fat.
Place the seasoned duck into a cold frying pan skin, side down, and place over a medium heat. Cook for five minutes and then turn and cook for another five minutes. Remove from the pan and leave to rest on a plate.
Return the pan to the heat, with the fat that has rendered out of the duck, and add the eggplant, chilli and ginger and saute for one to two minutes.
Add the oyster mushrooms and cook for a further one to two minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, spring onions, oyster sauce and the resting juices from the duck.
Cut the duck into slices and place onto a serving dish. Spoon the eggplant mixture alongside the duck then garnish with crushed peanuts and coriander.
