Gregg Wallace: 'I've never been invited to someone's house for dinner'

Virgin Radio

6 Feb 2021, 13:49

Gregg Wallace is always a joy to behold on TV with his sheer enthusiasm for food, how the world works, and everything else in between. He has a new TV show, that starts next Friday, February 12th, and it begins with a trip to Barcelona.

He joined this morning to talk about the new show, and Gregg hopes it will provide some much-needed escapism at the moment. ‘We filmed the Barcelona episode almost a year ago. We did manage to get some done during COVID when there were windows of opportunity when the travel corridors were open’ he explained.

‘We were kind of COVID hopping in and out of different cities of Europe that would allow us to, but when you watch that Barcelona one, it's the simple things that you took for granted. Just sitting out in a street with a drink, watching the world go by the sunshine.

'Not the expensive stuff, not the five-star experiences, just the simple things we're not allowed to do anymore. So I hope that's a bit of escapism for all of us that haven't been allowed to go anywhere' he says, hopefully.

Gregg says he doesn’t judge a country by their best food, but by their cheapest. ‘I think the five-star experience you can get all over the world, that tends to be International. I judge a country's food culture by how good it's cheapest stuff is.

'If you go to Barcelona, or you go to Rome, you pick up great stuff really cheaply. Sadly, in this country, we're really good at the top end stuff,  we're getting better at middle range, but our bottom line is still rubbish. In Barcelona you can get the cone of ham that’s good, and it’s cheap, and it’s accessible to everybody' enthuses Gregg.

He travelled all over the place for the series. ‘Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, Amsterdam, which I found may have the worst food in Europe’ he laughs. ‘Budapest, and my now all-time favourite food destination, Istanbul. I actually got on a kayak in Venice. Forget the expensive gondola, get yourself in a plastic kayak and paddle! Not quite as romantic, but still as much fun.’

There’s one big downside of being a foodie for Gregg – a severe lack of dinner party invites: ‘Since I started MasterChef nearly 17 years ago, I've never, ever, been invited to someone's house for dinner! I think it’s really unfair. As if I'm gonna go, you know, what am I gonna do? Give them a quarter-final place or tell them to go home?’ he laughs.

He promises he wouldn’t be judging a friend’s food. ‘What happens is, your expectation goes up or down, depending on where you are. Let me tell you, I've never been disappointed in a chip shop. I've regularly been disappointed in a Michelin star restaurant. Never been disappointed in a KFC or McDonald's. How about that? Because your expectation goes up and down.’

He's been eating a lot less of KFC and McDonald’s lately though and is now in the best shape of his life. Graham asked what it’s like judging Masterchef when he’s following his healthy lifestyle. ‘I'm very careful about what I eat. I've got no control over Masterchef though. I can literally walk in and find we've got a dessert challenge today. I'm going to have to face nine puddings!’ he exclaims.

‘You just have to be stricter at breakfast and dinner. Can you imagine, if in the middle of Masterchef I suddenly said “Sorry, I’m not tasting that. You've put far too much cream in it. Why don't make something with a little less sugar?” That’s just not going to happen.’

Graham asked how he changed his lifestyle. Gregg recalls: ‘I did it gradually. You know, I've never been on a diet programme. I eat carbs. I love a pint of beer. I love a glass of wine. You really don't have to be hungry to lose weight. You’ve just got to learn about a healthier way of life. It took me about a year to lose four stone, but I’ve still got goals.’

Fortunately, he still enjoys himself, and we’re sure he’d still love a dinner party invite or two.

Big Weekends with Gregg Wallace starts Friday, February 12th on Channel 5.