Andy Allen, a former MasterChef Australia winner himself, also posted a tribute on Instagram on Tuesday afternoon.
“When I met you five years ago, I knew our lives were about to change forever. What I didn’t realise is how close [my wife] Alex and I would become outside of the kitchen with you, Lauren and your kids,” Allen wrote.
“You’ve become such an inspirational and important part of our lives. Sure, you’ve taught me so much about food, but it’s the lessons I learnt about what it means to be a great father, husband and friend that I’ll take away from our time together and will last forever.
“I’ll miss the way you mentored me and every contestant that walked into the MasterChef kitchen. I’ll miss you ordering the entire menu no matter how many dishes deep and making me eat every last bite. I’ll miss your morning on-set coffees that made me shake from the amount of caffeine you were able to extract out of every individual bean. I’ll miss the morning FaceTimes with Loz, Alfie and Isla, but overall, I’ll miss you looking out for me every single day.
“Thanks for making me constantly laugh and being there when I needed to cry.
“You really were the complete package mate and life will never be the same without you. I know you’ll be looking down on Loz, Ava, Sophia, Alfie & Isla.”
The 15th season of MasterChef Australia was due to begin on Monday night. But, Ten has announced the series will now not air this week.
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