Foodie Andy Allen has finally addressed a bizarre rumour that has dogged his time as a cast member MasterChef Australia.

The 36-year-old who has been a judge on the cooking competition since 2020 has been known to pull a face after tasty a spicy dish.

And fans have drawn the conclusion that the former contestant is not a ‘friend’ of chilli.

‘I’m going to put this to bed once and for all,’ Andy told Pedestrian TV as he addressed the ‘spice’ rumour.

He explained, ‘I love spice, but I show my emotions.

‘When I have chilli, I start crying, there might be a little bit of sweat. I really do enjoy spice, it just hits me!’

Foodie Andy Allen (pictured) has finally addressed a rumour that has dogged his time as a cast member MasterChef Australia. The 36-year-old who has been a judge on the cooking competition since 2020 has been known to pull a face after tasty a spicy dish on the show

‘Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, you can’t handle spice’. I can handle spice, but I just show it,’ he continues.

‘I’m not that tough guy who just stands there, and you just see beads of sweat rolling down his face. I let everyone know that it’s hot!’

Andy will be returning to the MasterChef kitchen on Monday alongside Sofia Levin, Poh Ling Yeow and Jean-Christophe Novelli.

This season sees 24 past contestants come back to win the MasterChef trophy and $250,000 in prize money.

Among the cast are MasterChef fan favourites, including season one’s Andre Ursini, Sarah Todd from season 14 and Tim Bone from season 11.

And already fans of the cooking competition have emerged with a theory about who will be crowned the winner.

Viewers have gone online to speculate that the producers have spoiled the show after dropping a promo poster showing just six of the 24 contestants who will battle it out in the kitchen.

The featured contestants are lined up in the image and appear in various sizes, including Laura Sharrad who starred in seasons 6 and 12.

Also appearing in the promo are season 16’s Savindri Perera and Darrsh Clarke as well as Tim Bone from season 11.

‘I’m going to put this to bed once and for all,’ Andy told Pedestrian TV as he addressed the ‘spice’ rumour. He explained, ‘I love spice, but I show my emotions’

MasterChef Australia premieres on Channel 10 on Monday April 28

There’s also Declan Cleary from season 15, while the image of fan favourite Steph De Sousa from season 11 looms largest in the poster.

Many fans felt Laura Sharrad was a shoe-in based on her appearance on the poster.

A fan Reddit started the discussion by asking, ‘Do you think the winner is pictured?’

‘Considering that Laura is the only pictured contestant from before season 11, do you think she wins, or do you think that the winner is not pictured?’

‘I do think majority of them probably went far or did pretty well, while maybe at least one maybe goes out relatively early?’ said one fan.

Observed another: ‘It’s interesting that those are the ones chosen for it. I do think just based on the trailers, it seems like Laura and Darrsh are the main characters so far.’

‘The only one out of these that could realistically win is Laura, I think.’