Chef Simon in final three

Simon Wood: in Masterchef’s final three

HE has dyed John Torode’s mouth green and left Gregg Wallace looking slightly silly after a tussle with an exploding tomato — but Chadderton’s Simon Wood has still managed to make it into the final three of this year’s “MasterChef”.

Simon last night sailed into tomorrow’s nail-biting final with a fancy fish dish, which impressed judges John, Gregg and seafood aficionado Nathan Outlaw.

They described his salt-baked cod as “absolutely superb” and “brilliant”.

Earlier the father-of-four was seen enjoying a gastronomic odyssey to Sweden, where he cooked in a restaurant without menus and one which uses Stone Age cooking techniques.

After the show, he said: “I was cooking things I’ve never cooked before in ways I’d never done before so it was a real challenge but a brilliant experience. It’s a really, really good feeling to be through to the final. The experience has been the best thing I’ve ever done in my life.”

In tonight’s penultimate show, Simon and the remaining two contestants will be mentored by Italian maestro Massimo Bottura, whose restaurant holds three Michelin stars and has been named third-best restaurant in the world.