John Torode tries street food in Mumbai. Photo / Supplied
John Torode tries street food in Mumbai. Photo / Supplied
MasterChef judge learns a thing or two in Asia, writes Stephanie Holmes.
John Torode has the best job in the world. Not only does he get to eat for a living, he gets to do it in far-flung locations around the world.
"I think I'm a pretty lucky boy really," he says with a laugh, talking to Sunday Travel on the phone from his home in London on a particularly cold winter's evening. "You put a wishlist together of things you'd like to do and then somebody says you can do all of them, all at the same time. It turns out pretty okay really."
As well as serving as a long-time judge on MasterChef UK, Australian-born, British-based Torode has also made a number of travel shows, where he explores culinary delights of destinations around the world. Previous series have seen him visit Australia, Argentina and Malaysia but this time he's taking on a whole continent. Over 10 episodes, John Torode's Asia takes the chef to locations in China, Thailand, the Maldives and gave him his first-ever visit to India — a place he admits he was a little hesitant about.
"I was always quite scared of India and I don't know why. I've always loved Asia, as in China and Thailand and Vietnam and places like that. But India I've always found a bit frightening."
"It was the most amazing experience ever," he says. "India is one of those places where you realise that food is so appreciated and because food is so appreciated, then of course people care for it so much more and it's not just a throwaway thing."
He visits Mumbai, where he eats street food, learns the secrets of the Tiffin Tin and how to make smoked lamb samosas. Then in Amritsar he visits Sikh pilgrimage site the Golden Temple, where free meals are provided for up to 100,000 people a day. On Torode's visit, it was just 60,000.
"It was probably one of the most enlightening places I've been in my life. There's so many people there being fed on a daily basis for free . . . I cooked a ton of rice in four different pots. It's astounding numbers but also the fact that it's all done for absolutely nothing is quite incredible."
John Torode at the Golden Temple, Amritsar. Photo / Supplied
Every part of the journey was a learning experience for Torode, something he values above all else.
"If I went half a day without learning something, I'd be pretty disappointed. I remember my father saying to me, 'at the end of the day when you get home if you ask yourself what you've learned, and you've learnt nothing for a day, your day is a waste'.
"I look at it now, I learnt so much on that journey, about people, about things, about history, about spice, about food, and also just about the way in which we consider other countries and how we feel about them.
"We look on them as places that are exotic, and they look on themselves as being quite mundane."
John Torode's tips for eating in Asia
FOLLOW THE LOCALS
"People have got to stop being frightened of street food. The great street food of the world is where all the best food comes from. However, here's the tip: follow the locals. "Lunchtime is when you should eat off the streets. Follow the people who are coming out from work and watch them. Watch where they go to — whether it's Mumbai or Bangkok or Male or Beijing or Hong Kong — the food is going to be good wherever they buy it That's why they all queue up for it. Find the longest queue you possibly can, follow the queue, eat what they're eating."
TO FRIDGE OR NOT TO FRIDGE
"Beware of places with refrigeration. If you go to a stall and they've got a fridge, it means they're holding things overnight. Don't eat at them. Eat at the places where you see the guy there and he's got a tub full of chicken satay and it's all being cooked in front of you. When he's finished, he's closing the stall down, because that's all he's got to sell. He has to wait until tomorrow before he gets more fresh meat, more satay sauce, and then he'll do it tomorrow.
"If they've got refrigeration don't go near it. If they've got no refrigeration, go and eat there."
