INTERVIEW
INOUR EXPERIENCE...
John Torode and Lisa Faulkner
The celebrity chefs on writing romantic notes, their blended family and why being cooked for by friends fills them with joy
by DAPHNE LOCKYER
John, you asked Lisa out by writing her a note a couple of years after she won Celebrity
MasterChef in 2010. Why not just call her?
John:
Partly cowardice and partly I believe in romance and the written word. We still leave notes for each other now. My father once told me whenever he was going on his travels my mother would slip a note in his bag. Finding it was one of his greatest joys. I still have an old note Lisa wrote for me that I keep in my washbag.
Lisa: Just a simple 'Have a great day!' note left by a teacup is a lovely, romantic thing to do and John is defmitely a romantic.
You're not coming across as a stereotypical macho 'Ocker' Aussie
J: No, I think I was probably 'metrosexual' long before the term was invented. I left Australia because I didn't drink beer, I wasn't good at rugby and there were certain words and name-calling that resulted because of those things. Fortunately, I'm totally comfortable with that side of myself. I think it's important to talk about feelings and to hug your children and have them hug you. I still hug my father and vice versa. I can't imagine not doing so.