I was kind of at peace with the idea that they’d got me back as a bit of a novelty. A bit of nostalgia, look who’s coming back, it’s the very first winner. I think the competition has moved along, there was no expectation that I was going to stick around for long. And I kind of had that feeling for myself as well.

But at the same time I’ve got a fairly competitive spirit, so I wasn’t gonna just lie down. And what I found in my first season was if you have your ears open and your mind open and you’re willing to take advice and learn and grow, that you can keep up. I’ve enjoyed it more and more as I’ve gone on. It’s been a lot more fun than I expected.

So it is fun? It seems so high pressure, moments of pain, moments of panic, everything seems incredibly stressful, but somehow, in the kitchen, it is still fun?

Absolutely. I think that when you’re in a high-pressure situation, everything is heightened. The stress is heightened, the importance you place on a plate of food is certainly heightened! And the hilarity is heightened as well. The fun is heightened.

After winning MasterChef, you embarked on a career in the food industry. How well does the show prepare you for the industry?

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I think MasterChef, if you lined up all the food shows side by side, you wouldn’t find one that comes anywhere near MasterChef in terms of people who actually make a living from hospitality after the show.

It depends on what you want to go on to do, in terms of how well the show prepares you. If you want to go and work in a kitchen under a chef, or learn to be a chef, it’s a great start because it teaches you a bit about the pressure. If you want to start your own business, that’s a different kettle of fish, because running a business and cooking are not the same. The fact you’re an excellent cook does not mean you’ll be an excellent businessperson.

Do you watch other reality shows?

I occasionally watch other reality shows. I love Survivor, I love I’m A Celebrity … as well. I like things with competition, but with good intent also. I love the high-spiritedness of I’m A Celebrity, I love Julia and Chris and the fun they bring to it.

When you watch a show like Survivor, given your experience on MasterChef, do you have extra insight, you see things happening and think, oh yes, I understand what they’re going through here?

Oh 100 per cent I do. And on Survivor, those episodes where they get letters from their families, I cry like a baby. This experience of MasterChef has been very different to my first one: this time we’ve had access to our phones and to our families. But I know what it’s like to be cut off from the people you love and thrust into a competitive environment. It’s super hard. I feel a huge amount of empathy for people in those circumstances.

MasterChef is on Ten, Sunday to Thursday, 7.30pm.

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