Masterchef's John Torode Talks about Chefs and Farmers

John Torode, restaurant owner, president of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and co-presenter of BBC's Masterchef, strode on to the stage at last week's English Food and Farming Partnerships conference to deliver a speech entitled "Why chefs care about farmers."

Sporting half an inch of stubble, a black velvet jacket, and scuffed brown boots he came across as the self-proclaimed opinionated Aussie he clearly is. But he's got some interesting comments to make, not least because insight into what makes the catering trade tick is so much more difficult to find compared with grocery where the big players update performance at least twice a year.

Torode runs Smiths of Smithfield in the city of London, and remains convinced that the main reason for his restaurant's success is that he really understands what is important to his customers. He reckons that, despite financial pressures, consumers still care about where their food comes from and how it has been produced, and that this is true for eating out as much as eating at home. In his view animal welfare and food miles come top of the ethical worry list, but that there is also a growing wish to eat more healthily and more simply.

However, he stressed that consumers are no longer prepared to spend silly money on eating out, rather they are searching ever more intensively for quality and consistency, and want to feel that their meal was good value for the price charged.

He talked about the importance of strong brands and building trust in whatever is being offered, feeling that consumers will return time and again to brands they can trust. He also mentioned the importance of telling people about why a particular product is different and special.

Torode talked about his own relationships with farmers. He said he knows them all, having personally scoured the length and breadth of Britain to get farmers willing to supply the quality he requires, and that the farmer's name is printed on the menu.

His one surprise as he set up Smiths was how few farmers could be bothered to work with him, but acknowledges that many can be put off by how complicated and costly it can be to get products to restaurants in the right quantities at the right time, and that one solution is to build a network of several farmers supplying the same area so that costs can be shared.

Perhaps the most striking thing about John Torode's talk is how similar the issues and opportunities are, whichever business you might be in. In the end, success comes from understanding what customers want, strong brands, great quality and asking a fair price for the product on offer.