MASTERCHEF star John Torode has laid down the gauntlet — by saying he will cook “the best steak in the world” at his demonstration at Bolton Food and Drink Festival today.

The Australian chef, who judges the hit show with Gregg Wallace, has arrived in Bolton to appear at the festival for the first time.

He will host a Ready, Steady, Cook style competition between Aiden Byrne, the star of BBC show Restaurant Wars, and Bolton chef Mike Harrison.

John will then take to the kitchen himself, to show the audience how to cook steaks properly.

The 49-year-old said he was delighted to be in Bolton, and that he had been here a few times in the past.

He said: “I like it, I think it is great place. The great thing about it, is that it is one of those areas that a lot of stuff that comes into it, and a lot goes on in the surrounding areas.

“It is an interesting place, but this is just brilliant.

“The whole food festival thing is incredible, and few places actually have the guts to turn around and say, look how good we are, and set up all their streets and bring out all the people, it is going to be a nice day.”

John said that he hopes his demonstrations will leave the audience with a few simple tips to improve their cooking.

He said: “What I do on Masterchef is I am there with people and I follow them on a journey for a very long period of time.

“What I try to do at a place like this, is to try and teach people a few basics, just a few basics about things that are really fun and good, and will help them to cook a lot better, so in the long term they can do things themselves.

“All I want people to understand from me is how to cook a steak properly. If they can do that, then I will be really really happy.

“People might say a steak will be boring, but you are about to see the best steak in the whole world.”