John Torode

“Cooking steak is a joy because it is a terrific piece of meat that has great flavour whether it is grilled or pan-fried.”

“Beaches are really important to me, and I love Sennen Cove and Perranporth Beach.”

“My affinity for beef extends into my home life, so you'll notice canvas prints of cows, a cowhide rug and prints of Smithfield meat market.”

“What I'm trying to do as an Australian is to say to people, 'You've got to go back out to Australia,' because there are rural communities that really rely upon tourism to continue to go.”

“I'm a culture person when I'm working, so my downtime is beach time: sand, surf and a barbecue.”

“Marriage is a very difficult thing and sometimes everyone can be a bit stubborn; it is what it is.”

“That's one of the things that concerns me - vegan steak or whatever. It is a hard terminology thing, because what are you eating? With beef you know it's a piece of beef.”

“I love the island of Majorca. I love the beach at Cala Ratjada, which is on the far side of the island where not many Britons go.”

“Growing up in Australia, we didn't really go on holiday. We lived beside the beach, so when I walked out of the back gate I was on the sand.”

“My father did lots of things. He had an orange-juice factory. He did real estate. He did commercial selling. He was always up and about doing all sorts of weird and wonderful things and being adventurous. I always admired his self-discipline. He was very good at getting everything done. He was very tidy.”

“I cooked, which was pretty un-Australian. And I didn't really like Australian music... I preferred the New Romantics and punk and stuff like that.”

“It's hard to get your head around the scale of Australia.”

“Under-mature beef with no fat through the meat will be a dry and tasteless disappointment and you will get little yield from it.”

“The most important aspect of a home is that it's a retreat, a place where you can laugh and cry.”

“Cooking is a great leveller. You can be a sports star, an actor, an entrepreneur, anything, but cooking strips it all away.”

“Fish and chips by nature are greasy, so we put vinegar on it and we like it because it helps our digestive system. The vinegar breaks down the fat.”

“Let's be honest, we all love a roast, but Sunday lunch could be a huge plate of salade nicoise; it could be eggs benedict; it could be a barbecue. The important thing is you're making an effort, and you're all together.”

“My nanna was an extraordinary lady, and a good old-fashioned cook. She'd just be pottering around, cooking dinner for 25 people on a wood-fired stove without a problem.”

“I grew up in a world with my father where you learnt to iron, you learnt to cook, you learnt how to clean the toilet... I want my children to be the same... I want them to be anywhere in the world and be able to cope.”

“I got quite into Spam once, in Korea. On their Thanksgiving, they give boxes of it to their friends. I fry it in batter with herbs wrapped around.”