Tony Rodd burst on to our TV screens earlier this year in MasterChef. With great facial hair, bow ties, a flair for immaculate desserts and a deft touch with a sous vide machine, he stood out early on. Tony made it to the MasterChef final and since then has left a successful career in recruitment to pursue his love of food. He is a busy man and much in demand; I caught up with him in between his preparation for a dinner party that night and a barbecue the following day.
Where did your love of food begin?
I was brought up by a Greek-Cypriot family, and within that community food is very much about bringing people together: sharing the time, the space, the food, the drink and conversation. It wasnβt fancy. It was often 25 people sitting around the smallest dining table youβve ever seen, elbow to elbow, with big pots of tasty food in the middle. My nan, who at the time would have been in her seventies, would have spent the day cooking, and everyone just tucked in. It was homely food, but authentic and tasty. Thatβs where I think my initial love of food came from and understanding what food meant: it was about getting people together.
Did you cook much at home?
When I lived with my mum she pretty much cooked all the time. I was quite studious when I was at home. I used to go an hour and a half to school and back every day. I lived in East London and then Essex, and my mum got me into a very good school. Because of that I had to travel. Being brought up just by my mum, she had to work. So I had to deal with two trains each way, buses and walks from the station, so my day was very much up early, back late, do my homework. I didnβt have time to cook.
When I hit 16 or so I was probably more interested in going out and getting drunk than I was in cooking. When I moved out at 18 I had to fend for myself. I canβt really remember, but there was probably a short period where I lived on ready meals and things like that. From memory I donβt think it was long before I thought, hang on a minute, ready-made meals are awful.
I needed to find something that tasted better and, not having much money, I started to cook and that was it. I was sharing with other people and living on my own between 18 and my early twenties. I was always someone that was interested in cooking: I liked food.
The older I got, the more I appreciated food. The more money I had, the more travelled I was. By doing that I started to get tastes for different types of food. Thatβs where I think a love of classic French food started, but it still wasnβt something I cooked. If I cooked at home Iβd cook what my family called peasant food; cheap cuts of meat slow cooked for flavour and tenderness. It was all about flavour, but didnβt necessarily look nice. I had to change that when I entered MasterChef to accommodate their hour and a half time slots.
UpΒ untilΒ MasterChef were you still cooking thisΒ more traditionalΒ typeΒ of food?
I always wanted to try and get a lamb kleftico recipe into MasterChef. It was something that I loved and that my friends and family knew me for, and it tastes great. But realistically I couldnβt get it under an hour and forty five minutes, and itβs really a four hour dish. Making it look pretty on a plate is also quite tricky. I really struggled with that.
When I was coming up with initial ideas I thought, itβs got to look pretty on a plate and itβs got to be done quickly, what can I do? I had to call upon all the meals and flavour combinations Iβd eaten and come up with a new style of cooking. Itβs now what Iβm known for, and I enjoy cooking and eating it, but at the time it was very difficult for me to reset things.
What was it likeΒ going into the MasterChef process and coming out of your natural comfort zone?
I think MasterChef itself is about coming out of your comfort zone, because nobody would ever put themselves under that kind of pressure to cook in front of a camera crew, John and Gregg, cook food they arenβt necessarily comfortable with, and have it critiqued quite so strongly. Youβre already out of your comfort zone and itβs not like youβre ready for it.
People asked me if IΒ thought I could win. My mum also asked me that and I said no, because you see the quality of the food that people make in the finals and itβs not the kind of food I was ever able to cook. But thatβs because I never tried, I never pushed myself. Just by entering the show, you challenge yourself to cook different ingredients, different styles and use different presentation techniques. You do develop as a cook. And thatβs all I was doing; I was just trying to cook something I wouldnβt normally cook and essentially I was able to do that.
What style of food do you most enjoy cooking?
To be completely honest I enjoy cooking everything. I really like coming up with the creative ideas, especially flavour combinations and presentation which mean taking something traditional and flipping it on its head. Iβm doing a meal in October for an art studio and Iβm theming all of my food on the artist, Richard Hamilton, a pop artist from the 60sΒ to the 80s. Iβm getting the opportunity to style all my food based on his influences andΒ his presentation. Doing things like that, having that creative outlet, is fun.
I love cooking curries and I love eating curries, but itβs not something Iβm ever really going to do professionally as itβs not something Iβm known for. Again I never made desserts, but I have great fun creating them because you get to be so outrageous with them. You canβt necessarily get away with that inΒ a savoury course.
Have you always been a naturally creative person?
Yes; I come from a family that were tailors, seamstresses and fashion designers, so I made a lot of my own clothes and was comfortable doing that. I studied Art and Architecture, and that was always a passion of mine. I also spent 13 years recruiting architects so that was my industry. Iβve always been interested in the creative side of life in general, whether thatβs music, art, theatre, and bringing that to my food now is something I love doing.
Youβre known for your elaborate dishes and great presentation. What are someΒ tips or shortcuts youβve learned along the way that people could use at home?
For preparation, work out how long things last and what you can prepare in advance. For example, you can make meringues a week in advance and you can freeze them too. I stick mine in a Tupperware box, put them in the cupboard and theyβre done. I make my purees days in advance. Again you can freeze them and then just bring them back to the right temperature.
With prepping meat thereβs no reason you need to do things at the last minute; get it all done and put it in the fridge. Get your sauces cooked up, maybe not reduced down completely, and just before youβre ready to serve, bring them back to the heat. So when it comes to prepping, Iβd always say get as much done as you can in advance, whether thatβs just dinner for you and your partner in the evening or a dinner party when you have friends coming over.
I think when it comes to making things visually appealing and serving them, squeezy bottles and piping bags are great tools. If youβve got a puree or a sauce, you can putΒ that in a squeezy bottle. Put the bottle in a pot of warm or hot water, or if youβve got a sous vide machine put it in the water bath. ThisΒ will bring it back up to the temperature that you want. Then when it comes to serving, the sauce is contained in one container. You can then do a nice line or dot or a squiggle; you can do whatever you want to make it look really pretty on a plate.
Likewise if you have mashed potato, piping bags are great. Pop the piping bag with mashΒ into hot water and as long as itβs tightly sealed, youβre not going to let any water in. Itβs all self-contained in disposable bags which you can throw away afterwards. You can make it look pretty as you can pipe the potato into a nice shape.
In terms of shortcuts, using these types of tools is good and nobody in the home environment tends to think of that. I learned it in a kitchen with a professional when I did my first popup and I thought it was great. In my kitchen now I can see four squeezy bottles and two piping bags on the side, and thereβs probably a load in the fridge.
What cheaper cuts of meat do you recommend for the best taste?
Generally when you look at meat, anything at the front end of the animal is going to be a cheaper cut of meat. Theyβre working muscles, which means theyβre slightly tougher, but have more flavour. As theyβre tougher they need to be cooked slower and for longer.
Lamb for example is quite an expensive meat; if you go for a shoulder of lamb rather than a leg of lamb, youβre cutting the price down by a third to a half. It will need to be cooked for twice as long, but the flavour youβll get out of that is a lot better. That will go for pretty much every cut of meat; the further forward you go, the cheaper you get.
There are always going to be cuts of meat that are more expensive because theyβre popular, beef cheeks for example, but that will come in and out of fashion. I always say talk to your butchers and ask whatβs cheap and whatβs tasty. Theyβll give you advice on how to cook it.
Likewise for seafood, if you have a fishmonger, have a chat with them. If youβre going to use cheaper fish, and youβre not going to get loads of flavour out of it, dress it up with a really nice sauce or vegetable. Donβt feel you need to put expensive ingredients on a plate. You can use just a cauliflower and make it taste great.
Who or what inspires you at the moment?
Iβm probably most inspired by classic flavour combinations, like Pimmβs and lemonade as a combination. Everybody knows that Pimmβs and lemonade works so Iβve tried to make it weird and wacky by making it into this crazy dessert. On MasterChef I did a black forest gateaux which is a retro pudding. What I decided to do was bring it up to modern times with tempered chocolate, mousses, sponges, gold leafing and chocolate soils to try and flip it on its head.
When I first entered MasterChef I was looking at classic recipes by Michel Roux Jr, whoβs my biggest food inspiration. Iβd look at people like him and Massimo Bottura, and the guys from Noma and Eleven Madison Park. I think now Iβve realised itβs difficult to get inspired by those guys without copying what theyβre doing. Instead what I try and look at, for example, is what flavours Marcus Wareing put together or Michel Roux Jr used in his recipe. Or what flavours work well in a cocktail people like. Then I just use those flavour combinations and work from that.
Sometimes I really just get it wrong, but I will eat anything if you warm it up. I will sit there and say, βMmm, I love lamb. I love chocolate. I love quince. Quince, chocolate, lamb together β Iβm not sure thatβs going to workβ. But if itβs all on a plate Iβll work through it, butΒ at the end Iβll say, βIβm not doing that againβ.
Whatβs been your biggest disaster?
I donβt know from memory, as you try and forget about it and move on. Those disasters also develop into great menus in the end.Β I think the disasters I remember more are about technique. I made a jaffa cake pudding and was expecting to knock it out in a couple of hours. I think it took about three days of trial and error to try and get the textures right in the mousses and the sauce, and then the flavours werenβt working through. That was a disaster of three days.
Likewise with my vegan dessert that had no egg, no cream, no butter β it was really hard trying to make a dessert that had a cake, a mousse and ice cream in it without using all those ingredients. In the end it wasnβt a disaster, it was a fantastic dish, but the process itself had some disastrous outcomes.
Iβm fortunate because Iβve got the time and the facilities to do this, whereas I know when youβre a home cook you often donβt have the ingredients to waste or the time to dedicate to it. You need to stick to something thatβs a bit tried and tested. But what Iβd always say to people is stick to something tried and tested when it comes to the technical side, but when it comes to flavour combinations just see what works. If you donβt like parsnips, stick a carrot in instead; donβt feel you need to be restricted by what a recipe says.
I think people would be surprised to know that you do a lot of work out of our small home kitchen. How do you make it work effectively?
I think you need to be quite organised in what you do. It comes down to time management. I wonβt necessarily do everything at the last minute. Iβll be preparing all throughout the day or the week, so that Iβm only ever looking at one or two things at a time.
You need to work as clean as you can; I donβt mean necessarily just for hygiene purposes, but you canβt be prepping your meat next to your desserts and having it all on the same chopping board. Make sure you have things tidied away. I tend to have a rubbish bowl on the worktop so Iβm not back and forward to the bin.
Keeping your fridge organised is really useful. Iβve got a couple of fridges, but if you know your fridge is pretty much empty and youβve got the space to store stuff hygienically, youβre fine. Itβs just about organisation really.
What big things areΒ coming up for you over the next few months?
Iβve got about four or five different areas Iβm working on. One of them is private dining, which Iβm really enjoying. I get to cook for people in their homes. I get to write bespoke menus for people based around their tastes. I then cook in their kitchens which is obviously quite alien at times. I chat to peopleβs guests, serve them the food, and itβs a real private personal service thatβs fun and creative every time. Iβm getting to do this all around the country, which makes it even more interesting. People normally want to eat something interesting so the menus have been really varied and really exciting.
Iβm doing supper clubs which are great fun. Iβm trying to take these on tour around as many different parts of the country as I can. At the moment itβs pretty much London and the Home Counties, but Iβm going to try and take them to the Midlands, the North and ideally Scotland and Wales if I can. There are places that do miss out and I get tweets from people asking when Iβm going to come to the North as they want to eat my food, so it would be nice to do that.
Iβve got the night I mentioned with a bespoke artistβs studio doing food based on the work of Richard Hamilton. Thatβs going to be really exciting as Iβm going to get to change the style up to be really creative. Iβve also got something coming up at LβEscargot which will be a real French theme. Iβm going to try and go a bit classic French with a burlesque boudoir feel. I might try and make it into a full night with music and entertainment as well.
Iβm also working on a book thatβs coming along slowly. Itβs going to be themed on how to do dinner parties and pretty looking plates of food. It will give people advice and the freedom to be a bit creative, and not just follow the recipes. Itβs due out in 2016. Iβm also doing a bit of filming for websites and TV. There are two possible TV shows Iβm working on. One is me travelling around the country cooking with food producers and farmers. The other is cooking at home with friends and family.
The last thing Iβm doing is teaching and demos. I do demo days at food festivals; Iβm over in Oxford [for Foodies Festival] on the bank holiday Saturday and then Market Harborough on the Sunday. Iβm doing some teaching in Borough Market in October in their little demonstration kitchen. Iβm doing teaching at a culinary school in October; they want me to go out and do it for a corporate company in a big stately home. These events are really fun as you get to work with interesting people and just give a little bit back.
Tell me a little more about theΒ different brands you’re working with at the moment.
Iβm working with Divine Chocolate, which is a Fairtrade-owned company and is very reputable at what they do. Iβm doing some work with the Fairtrade Foundation as well. Iβm also working with Movember and am an ambassador for them. Iβm doing a couple of launch parties and will be doing a meal raising money for them, plus some promotional stuff.
Iβm doing work with Burton Sous Vide. Theyβre the sous vide brand I tend to use for all of my slow cooking. I love their machine, itβs brilliant. Weβre writing some recipes that they can use for their customers, and also some instructive videos to put on their website so people can look at how to use their machine in the home environment. The Burton is the size of a microwave, so it sits on the side in the kitchen. Itβs a great tool.
It doesnβt have to be for long cooking; I do some things in it for fifteen minutes and other things can be in there for three days. It doesnβt have to just be meat either. Iβm doing my corn on the cob for a barbecue tomorrow in the sous vide first and then finishing it on the barbecue.
Does cooking in a sous vide change the taste of food?
Yes and no. A lot of the time itβs more about controlling the cooking method. For example, you can put corn on the cob on a barbecue and you can find that it burns quite quickly as that barbecue has hot heat. Instead if you cook it slowly so that it becomes nice and tender, when youβre putting it on the barbecue youβre adding in that charred flavour.
Iβll be doing the same with a beef brisket. Thatβs been cooking for about three days; itβs had a whole day smoking and then two in the sous vide. Iβll put in on the barbecue tomorrow just to finish it up. The beauty is that I know it will be cooked all the way through and because itβs a tough cut of meat, itβs going to be beautifully tender as itβs been cooking for so long. It will still be pink in the middle as I donβt have to cook it at a high heat for a long time.
Iβm going to cook my rabbit saddle for a dinner party tonight in the sous vide and then finish it in the oven. The only reason Iβm doing that is so itβs safe to eat. I can guarantee that itβs going to be cooked through and Iβm not worried. Also I can sit and drink wine with my friends; Iβm not going to have to man the stove.
When you get the chance, where do you like to eat out at?
I donβt get out as much as I like to any more as Iβm so busy, but Iβm going out to Michael Sandersβ pop-up. He was on MasterChef last year. He does a supperclub and has given me loads of advice on how to run mine. Iβm really excited about going there as I havenβt been to one of his before. Having said that I did also go to Tredwellβs yesterday!
Whatβs your favourite βsecretβ London restaurant to eat at?
Chez Elles Bistroquet on the Whitechapel end of Brick Lane; itβs a tiny little French place run by three French girls right in the middle of an area known for curry houses. Itβs the most amazing traditional French food; it looks beautiful, tastes amazing and has a real homely feel about it. If Iβm able to eat out, thatβs where I eat because the food is, in my opinion, exquisite. Itβs one of those little places that not many people know about; itβs well priced, not expensive and itβs in the middle area that you wouldnβt expect. I just think itβs great.
Whatβs the best piece of advice youβve been given you so far?
Stick to what you love. Thereβs no point doing something if you donβt enjoy it. Donβt be afraid to push and challenge yourself. Iβve learned a lot and developed a lot by entering MasterChef, and also afterwards by working with different chefs and trying different things. I never would have been as good now had I not pushed myself. Iβd be cooking the same 30 dishes over and over again. Iβm only able to do this because Iβm willing to take a risk, but whatever I do, I cook stuff I enjoy eating.
Also, cook from the heart. Β By the last couple of rounds of MasterChef I knew I wasnβt going to win, because Simon was just so good. I got to a point where I realised Iβd done better than I ever expected and was enjoying it, so decided to have fun with it. From that point on I just enjoyed the process, enjoyed the cooking and cooked from the heart.
I made a Michel Roux-inspired dish and then cooked a fish course that I absolutely loved on the anniversary of my Nanβs death. ThatΒ was a really emotional day. With those dishes I was cooking with all this emotion, all this love and everybody loved the food. I enjoyed cooking it, I enjoyed eating it and I think thatβs important. If you donβt cook from the heart, itβs evident in your food. Thatβs a bit soppy to end, isnβt it? [laughs]
You can keep up to date with Tony’s events viaΒ his Facebook page orΒ Twitter







