John Torode speaks out as he makes first public appearance since MasterChef sacking

John Torode has made his first public appearance (Picture: Paul Tonge)

John Torode has made his first public appearance since he was sacked from MasterChef.

The TV presenter and chef, 60, was removed from the cooking competition alongside his co-host Gregg Wallace, also 60, earlier this year.

It was announced that co-host Torode’s contract would also not be renewed after nine complaints were lodged against him.

Among these was a claim that he ‘used the N-word’ on two separate occasions, which he said he has no memory of.

Now, the chef has made his first public appearance at a food festival in Nottinghamshire on Sunday.

Per the Daily Mail, he said during a walkabout with Lisa Faulkner before his first demo: ‘Life goes on! I’ve had a lot of support and I’m very grateful.’

Torode was one of many chefs at the Festival of Food and Drink (Picture: Paul Tonge) The event took place on Sunday at Thoresby Hall in Nottinghamshire (Picture: Paul Tonge)

His wife also attended the event and commented on his well-being: ‘MasterChef will not be the same without John. But he’s doing OK.’

While on stage, the chef chose not to speak about the recent scandal, MasterChef, or Gregg Wallace, instead focusing on his food and his upcoming cookbook.

This event marked his return to public life, after being spotted looking glum while running errands in July.

The event involved various other chefs, including Simon Rimmer, Rosemary Shrager, Chris Baber and Chris Bavin. Torode attended the second day of the two-day annual event, which has been taking place for 12 years.

After John was initially let go from MasterChef, the chef pulled out of a food festival in Seaham, County Durham, which took place in August.

The pair co-hosted the show for many years (Picture: BBC/Shine TV)

Following his firing, Torode (who has co-hosted the show since 2005) released a statement on Instagram claiming he had had no say in his exit.

‘Although I haven’t heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay – I am seeing and reading that I’ve been “sacked” from MasterChef and I repeat that I have no recollection of what I’m accused of,’ he shared in July.

‘I’d hoped that I’d have some say in my exit from a show I’ve worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in last few days seem to have prevented that. Over the past few months, I have been considering my life and the shape of it now and in the future.

‘Celebrity MasterChef, which I recently filmed with Grace Dent along with two fantastic Christmas specials will be my last. Personally, I have loved every minute working on MasterChef, but it’s time to pass the cutlery to someone else. For whoever takes over, love it as I have.’

The final series starring Torode and Wallace has been released (Picture: BBC/Shine TV)

After it emerged he had used offensive language, he took to social media to explain himself, ‘for the sake of transparency.

‘The allegation is that I did so sometime in 2018 or 2019, in a social situation, and that the person I was speaking with did not believe that it was intended in a malicious way and that I apologised immediately afterwards.

‘I have absolutely no recollection of any of this, and I do not believe that it happened. However, I want to be clear that I’ve always had the view that any racial language is wholly unacceptable in any environment.

‘I’m shocked and saddened by the allegation as I would never wish to cause anyone any offence.’

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