MasterChef judge Andy Allen revealed what it was really like returning to the show for season 16 after the tragic death of his colleague Jock Zonfrillo.
The food critic, 35, has returned to the Channel Ten set following the shock passing of his 'mate' Zonfrillo last year just hours ahead of their media blitz for season 15.
Allen told The Project panel on Monday night that he almost didn't appear on the show this year, but is now 'so glad' he decided to push through the grief.
'It was tough. I didn't know if I was going to do it. I'm so glad that I did, I really am, but it was hard,' he told the panel.
'The first scene [of the show] is just me in the kitchen alone, all dark, just me... that got me going good.'
MasterChef judge Andy Allen, 35, (right) revealed what it was really like returning to the show for season 16 after the tragic death of his colleague Jock Zonfrillo, 46, (left)
Allen went on to say everything changed 'once the contestants came in, once the new three judges came in', and he found himself getting 'swept up'.
'It was just business. That whole MasterChef thing, the spirit, the passion, it just sweeps anyone up, and it did the exact same thing to me,' he added.
It comes after the new MasterChef Australia judges faced audiences on Monday night and received mixed reactions.
Allen returned to the Channel Ten cooking show alongside some new faces in a panel shake-up for the 16th season.
The food critic has returned to the Channel Ten set following the shock passing of his 'mate' Zonfrillo last year just hours ahead of their media blitz for season 15
Allen told The Project panel on Monday night that he almost didn't appear on the show this year, but is now 'so glad' he decided to push through the grief
They replace outgoing judge Melissa Leong and Zonfrillo, following his tragic death, aged 46, in Melbourne last year.
Zonfrillo's sudden death was still being investigated in March almost a year after his body was found in a hotel room.
The MasterChef star was found dead at Zagame's House hotel in Carlton, near Melbourne's CBD, at about 2am on April 30 last year.
At the time, his wife Lauren was in Italy with their two young children and had phoned Victoria Police to request a welfare check because he stopped answering her calls.
This year, Allen is joined by French celebrity chef Jean-Christophe Novelli, Melbourne food critic Sofia Levin, and MasterChef season one runner-up Poh Ling Yeow. All pictured
Sources close to the family maintained that Zonfrillo, a former heroin addict, died of natural causes. There was no drug paraphernalia found in the hotel room.
However, in a curious twist, Daily Mail Australia revealed last month the coroner was still looking into his death almost 10 months after the tragedy.
'The death of Jock Zonfrillo remains under investigation by the coroner,' a spokesperson for the Coroner's Court of Victoria said.
'This is an active investigation.'
The MasterChef star was found dead at Zagame's House hotel in Carlton, near Melbourne 's CBD, at about 2am on April 30 last year. He is survived by wife Lauren and their two youngest children. All pictured
Zonfrillo, who had recently moved to Rome with his family just before his death, left his wife and two young children Alfie and Isla in Italy to return for the launch of MasterChef's 15th season.
He checked into the hotel hours before the tragedy and was facing a big week of media commitments, but died the day before the show went to air.
The chef was laid to rest in a private funeral in Sydney surrounded by 200 family and friends. Pallbearers included his wife Lauren and MasterChef co-host Andy Allen.
Zonfrillo opened up about his battle with heroin addiction, his rise to the top of the culinary world, and about his relationship struggles in his 2021 memoir, Last Shot.
In the book, he spoke candidly about how he began working for celebrated British chef Marco Pierre White at 17, when he was homeless and addicted to heroin.
When his boss realised he was sleeping in the restaurant, he found him accommodation and lent him cash.
Zonfrillo moved to Australia aged 20 in 1996 and gained work at Forty One in Sydney's central business district. He was using cocaine, pills, LSD and cannabis, but kept a raging heroin addiction hidden from everyone.
He went back to the UK when his visa ran out in 1997.
Two years later, he took his last syringe of heroin in the toilets at Heathrow airport before returning Down Under, and used the experience as inspiration for his book title.
He quit cold turkey and maintained that his love of food and cooking saved his life.