Ex-MasterChef contestant loses home in Victorian bushfire

Former MasterChef contestant Jules Allen is among more than 100 Victorian homeowners who will be forced to rebuild after their properties were devastated by an out-of-control bushfire on Christmas Day.

Around 116 homes were destroyed yesterday in the extreme blaze along the iconic Great Ocean Road with Wye River and Separation Creek the worst hit.

Ms Allen, a foster carer whose home of 40 years was turned to ash, said she and her brother had a “gut feeling” that their Christmas would be “horrendous”.

”My brother and I knew the winds that were due on Christmas Day and we were doubtful the back burning would be enough,” she told news.com.au.

“We both had a gut feeling that Christmas Day was going to be horrendous. We grew up in the area and you can’t underestimate it, it’s bush and it hasn’t burnt out since 1962.”

Ms Allen, who appeared on the cooking show in 2013, said she travelled to Torquay with her children yesterday morning to have Christmas lunch with her mother after feeling the winds change.

“It happened right in the middle of Christmas lunch,” she said.

“It’s so surreal, I’ve known for years this could happen but I can’t for a second fathom it until I see it.”

Ms Allen and her children will stay in Torquay until they can return to what’s left of their home in the next few weeks.

She plans to start a crowd funding campaign in the coming months to support others who’ve become displaced because of the fires.