‘He gets paid very handsomely!’ MasterChef’s John Torode and Gregg Wallace admit they are jealous of Gordon Ramsay… and leap to the defence of social media chef Brooklyn Beckham

John Torode and Gregg Wallace have admitted to being jealous of Gordon Ramsay, both of his culinary skills and of his wallet.

The judges are returning to MasterChef for its 18th series, which will culminate in a final held at Gordon’s Michelin-starred London restaurant.

Speaking to The Mirror, John, 56, praised Gordon, 55, as ‘probably the most famous chef in the world’.

Envious: John Torode and Gregg Wallace have admitted to being jealous of Gordon Ramsay, both of his culinary skills and of his wallet
He admitted: ‘I think he gets paid very handsomely in America. It’s on a commercial channel. He has massive billboards all over LA, he’s got a big house there.

‘He’s really, really famous. I think he’s very very fine’.

On whether viewers would see Gordon’s famously fiery temper on the new series, John said: ‘Gordon’s Gordon. He will do what he wants to do. We always work with great chef and we’ve already had access to their kitchens. So Gordon is one of those.

Celebrity: Speaking to The Mirror, John, 56, praised Gordon, 55, as ‘probably the most famous chef in the world’
‘He’s formidable and exacting and that’s why he’s had three stars in Chelsea for over 20 years. For our guys to go to his kitchen to learn from that I think is wonderful.’

The pair also praised the efforts of Brooklyn Beckham, and his recent ambition to become a chef, by doing cooking videos on social media.

Despite the 22-year-old having come under fire recently for his frequently-ridiculed cooking skills, Gregg, 57, said he should be ‘applauded’ rather than ‘sneered at’.

He said: ‘Cookery on social media is playing a very important role in food education.

‘It’s no longer in our schools, sadly, but anybody who’s interested now can just go online and see a range of cookery styles from all over the world, and that’s got to be applauded and shouldn’t be sneered at.’

John added: ‘Anything which is demystifying food and making things not scary is absolutely brilliant.’

Complimentary: The pair also praised the efforts of Brooklyn Beckham, and his recent ambition to become a chef, by doing cooking videos on social media.