Fabulous does… a picnic with Lisa Faulkner

We sample some home-made cake with the former Celebrity MasterChef winner, 41, and get the goss on her new career and romance with a certain TV chef…

Where Acton Green Common, Chiswick

Hi, Lisa! You’ve gone from being a full-time actress to a cook – are you happier now?

I absolutely love what I’m doing now. I’d rather be cooking than sitting by the phone waiting for it to ring with news from an audition. Making money from cooking means that I can act, but I don’t have to take jobs just to pay the rent.

So was winning Celebrity MasterChef back in 2010 the trigger to turn a hobby into a career?

Yes, it changed my life. Being on the show gave me the confidence to say: “This is what I want to do.” I knew I could cook, but I didn’t know if I was any good.

It changed your love life too [Lisa and MasterChef judge John Torode, 48, went public with their relationship last November], didn’t it?

[Looks sheepish] Yes…

So who’s the better cook?

John and Lisa hit the town

Well, I beat him in a cook-off at the BBC Good Food Show, and he and Gregg [Wallace] said how lovely my food was. John seems to like my food, and we cook for each other.

Is John different from his tough-talking TV persona?

To me, he’s a totally different person. When I met him on MasterChef he was a judge, so the situation was different. He’s amazing.

Does he ever judge your food?

It’s really not like that! We’ll cook and have dinner. It’s chilled, not contrived.

OK, moving on! How do you manage being a working mum to Billie, six [her daughter with her ex-husband, actor Chris Coghill, 38]?

We share the parenting. I feel guilty just like everyone else, but I try to keep most of my work within her school day. There are times when that doesn’t happen, but I have to work to support her and I think it’s good for her to see me working and enjoying it.

Who is your cooking inspiration?

My mum Julie died when I was 16 and she was one of the most amazing cooks I’ve ever met. I learned from watching her. It’s funny though, I remember going to a friend’s house and having Birds Eye hamburgers, and going home and saying: “Mummy, why can’t we have burgers?”

Do you feel pressure to continue her legacy?

No, I feel like she’s smiling on me. In my kitchen I’ve got her rolling pin, utensil jars and spice racks. I feel like she’s closer to me than ever.

What’s next for you?

I’ve signed another two-book deal, so that’ll keep me busy! I want to keep combining my two loves: food and TV. I don’t ever want to stop acting – it’s not like because I’m a cook now I can’t do acting and TV work. I can do it all!

Btw

Lisa’s favourite restaurant is Barrafina in London’s West End – “I could eat there every day.”

Her winning MasterChef menu included pan-fried monkfish with butternut squash fondant and almond panna cotta with poached tamarillos and berries. Yum!

● The Way I Cook by Lisa Faulkner is out on Thursday (£20, Simon & Schuster)