Feedback for May 2026 - Rochenda Sandall

Feedback with Rochenda Sandall

On screen, she’s known for playing formidable, often steely characters, but there's quick wit and enthusiasm when the conversation turns to food!

Her journey into the kitchen hasn’t been a lifelong love affair, in fact, she’ll happily admit she was a terrible cook. Then a move to London, an inspiring friend with an enviable allotment, and a competitive streak have all transformed her into a confident cook. Since stepping into the pressure cooker of Celebrity MasterChef, Rochenda has embraced everything from precision thermometers to making kimchi, discovering that cooking, much like acting, is about patience, preparation and discipline. Catch Rochenda in the five-part ITV thriller Secret Service, packed with high-stakes, espionage, secrets, and intrigue.

We sat down to talk food, co-operative restaurants, the joy of pickling - and the one unforgettable Parisian meal that meant far more than what was on the plate.

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Did you like cooking before you were on CelebrityMasterchef?
No! I'll tell you the truth, I was a terrible cook, absolutely awful. None of the women in my family can cook at all and we were raised on frozen dinners, 1980's convenience foods. Just after I moved to London, I met a friend when we were both in a play up north and it turned out she lived around the corner from me, she has an incredible allotment that can feed a family for years, it's absolutely great. She got me into cooking, and the enjoyment of all the different fruit and vegetables - coming from a northern background, it was really hard to imagine any meal without meat or bread. Something similar had happened to her when she moved to London, she met somebody who was really into agriculture and allotment work, she really taught me the way. So I didn't really get into cooking until I was about 24.

What food reminds you of your childhood?
Chicken and mushroom Pot Noodles! The last time I had one was about two years ago - but these days I make my own ramen.  Look how far I've come!

Do you have a current favourite restaurant or type of restaurant?
My current favourite at the moment is Little Duck the Picklery in Hackney, their menu changes every week. It's a deli by day and a cooperative of chefs all working together in such a beautiful way that they manage to also have a life. As we all know, from the multiple TV programmes about chefs, the lifestyle is hard, but I think these new cooperatives coming up makes them a perfect match to be able to have a life and also be a chef and be interested in ingredients. It's just one of those amazing boutique restaurants.

Filming days can be long and hectic, how do you stay on track with eating well while you’re working?
I just eat when I can. Sometimes I wish I didn't eat so much, but I'm definitely a full of beans, type of girl. I wouldn't normally eat early in the morning, but if I am working, I definitely have a full breakfast when I get there because it just keeps you going. Sometimes if you're working on an emotional piece, you can't necessarily eat before the emotion flows, so it's best to just eat when you've got the time. So it's a good day of grazing, there's plenty of snacks and sometimes they will bring in hot chocolates with flakes hanging out, and you've got to be... "no, no, I can't, I can't" Oh, the discipline!

Has your appearance on Celebrity MasterChef changed the way you cook at home?
Yes - I think it taught me how to make things simpler and they're techniques that everyone can do. I was talking to my sister-in-law the other day, and she was asking what I use to get my meat the right temperature, and I was telling her about these brilliant little Inkbird meat thermometers, they're connected to your phone, and set an alarm off when your meat's cooked. That was a big tip for me. Also letting things rest and taking your time; preparation is massive. If you prep everything before you start cooking, you can do it like they do on the telly, all diced up and ready to go, then you can just cook the meal. That was a big thing for me. You can often make mistakes if you're trying to chop an onion while sautéing garlic and doing five other things at once. It's definitely added a bit of discipline in my style and that's where the tranquillity and enjoyment people talk about in cooking comes from.

Did you jump at the chance to be on the programme, or did you have to be coaxed?
Well, actually, the story behind MasterChef is my partner Mark, spoke my agent and said, "There's one reality show that Rochenda will do, it's MasterChef, so why don't we arrange it without her knowing, and if you get the call, just tell her she is going on". So it was a complete shock to me! If truth be told though I do love a competition. I really enjoyed seeing how the process works, particularly behind the scenes. I was under the impression that it was all quick-fire stuff, but once you peel it all back it's not so. We did get some time off here and there between rounds, so you get time to practice, but the filming days are long. I think the earliest we got picked up was 3.30am to go on the train, I'm used to early starts but I don't think Vito was, so it took him a while to wake up! But I loved the whole experience, and working with Vito, Craig, Nitro, Harry and H from Steps, you get very close and in fact we still all text each other. 

What food or ingredients could you not do without?
There are two ingredients that are essential are Parmesan cheese and tinned anchovies, there's a world of recipes that you can do with those two meagre ingredients, and they're not particularly expensive either.

Is there a memorable meal you remember eating?
That's so hard, because I've had some amazing, amazing meals, but I think one that would definitely flag up in my mind was when Mark and I didn't have any money to our name, and he was shooting a film called Our Kind of Traitor in Paris. You get a daily amount to spend on food and drink when you're away from the UK, and Mark saved up all of the cash that he was given. We hadn't had a holiday for about four years, and he took me over to Paris on Eurostar, we went to a fish restaurant where you would go and have an elaborate seafood platter presented with dry ice, and we just had a night off from being totally broke. It was so memorable not because of the ingredients or the restaurant, just because of the situation.

Is there something you always keep in the fridge?
At the moment it's kimchi. My friend Esther (with the allotment) and I pickle and kimchi quite a lot. We make big jars of the stuff, and it keeps forever, it's a wonderful ingredient. It's very good for your microbiome in your gut, and it tastes amazing too!

What would be your last supper if anything was available to you and where would you eat it?
As it's my last one, I'll probably go for a really, really delicious steak, probably Basque-style steak because they're the best. Nice and simple, cooked to perfection with mashed potato, and a crisp salad. I'd like a chilled pinot noir to go with it. We prefer starters so probably some oysters. We'd be in northern Spain, Basque country where the culinary experts are. I'd be with Mark and Norman our dog, we are just in the process of getting his pet passport sorted  - soon the world will be his oyster!

Watch Rochenda in Secret Service on ITV1 and ITVX