A top Australian chef working in the UK has sparked fury with claims London’s restaurant scene is superior to that of his former home country. John Torode, who departed 15 years ago, said while Australians were “in love with themselves about their cuisine” it had become “pretty tired”. The man who fronts the Celebrity Masterchef cooking competition program and runs a leading London restaurant, Smiths of Smithfield, told The Sun-Herald: “Sydney used to be a fantastic, vibrant and fresh place in terms of eating, and it still has some great restaurants, but when I came back in March I was really disappointed. There was no one doing anything very exciting. Nothing seems to have moved on and I had some very ordinary meals. “Sydney seemed far less egalitarian than Britain, where more and more people are now really into food and can really cook themselves.” Torode said London in particular and the UK in general were “now way, way ahead in terms of food”. “I think Australia has a real problem defining what it is really about in terms of food - a lot of the time it’s not fusion, but confusion,” he said. The Sun Herald (Sydney), September 30.
Oct 02
