Marriage proposals are on the menu now: How sudden fame has hit MasterChef winner and single dad Simon Wood

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Well, it’s nice to see a smile on Simon Wood’s face. 

The MasterChef winner was so tense during the competition earlier this year that at one point his jitters threatened to end his chances. 

Even in the final his hands were shaking, but then winning MasterChef was something he’d dreamed about for years.

Simon winning MasterChef earlier this year 

Today, he seems a little uneasy. After years as an IT consultant he is, he admits, still struggling with life in the spotlight.

‘The cooking was the easiest bit with the whole MasterChef experience,’ says the 38-year-old father-of-four. 

‘Everything that comes with it; that’s what I struggle with. I’ve always worked in IT because it’s a quiet job; to go from that into a full-blown media frenzy is extreme. The cooking was pressurised but I could cope with that, you can practise. What you can’t practise for is the interviews, the cameras and the people stopping you in the street.’

But he’s having to get used to life in the spotlight. MasterChef remains a ratings juggernaut, and many past winners have gone on to find fame through food. Oldham-born Simon is the first Northern champion since the show was revamped ten years ago – now he can’t go anywhere in Manchester without people rushing up for pictures and autographs. 

He’s had marriage proposals and he blushes when he thinks about some of the more ‘indecent’ offers he’s had. ‘People have written to me saying, “You’re the sexiest man on earth and if you want to come and meet me in Nottingham...” No, no. I’ll never be in Nottingham.’ He smiles. ‘It’s not what I expected.

‘I was invited on the pitch at half-time when my favourite team Oldham Athletic were playing. I was expecting jeers, but people cheered and stood up. It was a bit overwhelming. The funny thing is that when some people ask for selfies with me they’re shaking with nerves,’ he laughs. ‘It’s like it’s gone full circle.

Aged eight he was given the chance to spend a day living his ‘dream job’ – he chose to spend it working with a chef in a Manchester hotel

‘I’ve watched MasterChef forever and so when I met the judges John Torode and Gregg Wallace my hands were shaking. My first few days were the hardest; I wasn’t sleeping so I was downing five espressos at a time to keep me awake. John took me aside and said to me, “You’re shaking and your nerves are going to get you kicked out. You’ve got to get a grip.” I realised then that I really did need to manage it better. I cut down on the caffeine and tried not to let it get completely on top of me.’

Then, after he’d won, there were the five or six weeks before the show was televised when he had to keep it a secret. ‘Winning was the best thing to ever happen to me aside from my children being born but I couldn’t tell anyone. I got home the day after the final, sat down, poured myself a glass of wine, ordered a Chinese takeaway and caught up with Match Of The Day. It was odd.’

On the night the final was screened he hired a hotel room and invited 70 family members, friends and colleagues. The video of the moment his name was announced as the winner went viral. His middle son is seen clinging onto Simon as the rest whoop and cry.

Simon, who only put one foot wrong during the competition when he decided to mix beetroot and chocolate ice cream with baklava, is still coming to terms with what being the 2015 MasterChef champion means. When we meet he’s just finished a four-day secondment at Simon Rimmer’s Manchester vegetarian restaurant Greens, and he’s also worked for top chefs Marcus Wareing and Theo Randall at their London restaurants.

On top of that, he’s been appointed executive chef at Oldham Athletic Football Club, where he’ll be working across menus in the club and on special events. ‘It’s incredibly exciting,’ he says. ‘I have to pinch myself at the moment. Winning MasterChef has opened so many doors – who’d have thought I’d be able to combine my two loves of food and football!’

Simon’s obsession with food began as a child. Aged eight he was given the chance to spend a day living his ‘dream job’ – he chose to spend it working with a chef in a Manchester hotel. 

A few years later, when he was 12, his father died of a heart attack. It was an incredibly sad time but he found solace in the kitchen where his paternal grandmother introduced him to unusual foods like rabbit and tripe.

Simon Wood celebrates with a glass of Champagne as he clutches the MasterChef trophy

His first job in a kitchen was churning out burgers at McDonald’s, where he met his former partner, with whom he went on to have four children. When he found out he was to become a dad aged 19 he realised there was more chance of making a living in computers than in the kitchen and he put his ambitions on hold. 

From then until he won MasterChef, Simon’s love of cooking was reserved for family and friends. He learned from cookery books, honing his skills watching MasterChef. ‘Cooking was my way of relaxing,’ he says.

At home, where child number one, Liam, now 20, was followed by Alex, 18, Cameron, 16, and Charlotte, seven, Simon ruled the roost in the kitchen. He specialised in dishes that could be applied in different ways – for example the meatballs he’s cooked for Weekend this week could be served with pasta, salad or in a sandwich – because each of his children wanted different things.

One dream now is to write a book of healthy, family-friendly recipes. ‘People should think about what goes into their bodies,’ he says. ‘You shouldn’t be feeding your family any old rubbish. Why use a shop-bought pasta sauce which is full of additives and sugar when you could rustle up one at home in ten minutes?’

'I want to make food that’s affordable and accessible. My latest recipes are even for people who are afraid of cooking. I want them to know there’s nothing to be scared of.’