Guess who! MasterChef judge looks almost unrecognisable in throwback photo
He's the popular judge on the hit Network Ten reality show MasterChef Australia.
Since joining the show, he has quickly become a fan favourite for the way he mentors the hopeful chefs.
The famous foodie comes with quite the kitchen pedigree, having been awarded a formidable four Michelin stars.
He's no slouch in front of the camera as well, having appeared in a raft of small-screen fare, including Chef Academy, Celebrity X Factor, Cooking With The Stars, Celebrity Hunted UK, Hell's Kitchen UK, and many more.
One eagle-eyed MasterChef fan received quite the shock when they spotted the culinary king in a resurfaced clip from a 17-year-old show.
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Can you guess who it is?
That's right! It's none other than lauded French chef Jean-Christophe Novelli.
Social media user Vivid_Percentage5560 took to Reddit this week to share a throwback photo of Jean-Christophe during an appearance as a judge on American Top Chef in 2008.
'Guess who was a judge on the American Top Chef season 5?' they asked, before revealing they only realised who it was upon hearing his distinctive French accent.
'Jean-Christophe Novelli!' they excitedly responded.
'I was re-watching old episodes of Top Chef and recognised his voice.'
The photo showed a very serious-looking Jean-Christophe pictured when he was around 47 years old.
He looked almost unrecognisable, sporting a much fuller face than the one that appears in the MasterChef kitchen.
While his hairstyle has not changed much in the ensuing years, it appears Jean-Christophe has gone a couple of shades lighter.
The post was met with a flurry of chatter from fans, with the likes of: 'No way!!!'
Another made reference to Jean-Christophe's accent with: 'This find is fan-tas-tique!'
A third added that they too had been keeping tabs on Jean-Christophe's earlier TV appearances.
'He was a mentor chef on some older season of Cooking with the Stars and that was the only reason why I watched it,' they offered.
Jean-Christophe joined the cast of MasterChef in 2024, starring as a judge alongside Andy Allen, Poh Ling Yeow, and Sofia Levin.
He quickly became a fan favourite, with many viewers taken by Jean-Christophe's mentorship and personality.
Just weeks before last year's MasterChef finale, fans flocked to Reddit to expresss their dismay that Jean-Chrisophe was not given more screen time on his inaugural season.
But one disgruntled fan noted: 'I personally love him, but I feel the contestants as well as the judges don't pay much attention to him.
'Kinda chuckle whenever he's talking out loud, laugh embarrassingly whenever he praises or bangs the table.
'Poh gets all the attention and is part of everything. Even when he's praising the contestants, they don't take him seriously.'
The viewer went on to say Jean-Christophe is very 'sweet' and tries 'to be as helpful as possible, but nobody really cares'.
Other users voiced their agreement, with many praising the restaurateur for his uplifting and positive personality on the Channel 10 cooking competition.
'He's totally our favourite judge. Total breath of fresh air,' one person said.
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