“It was something that initially … I wouldn’t say I was reluctant, but I thought ‘I don’t really think it’s the thing for me,’ the 39-year-old ex-St Kilda captain explains.

“And really, it was probably a reluctance to put myself out there more than anything.

“But after I thought about it — and it was after canvassing some people I confide in that I felt that sense of support and encouragement — that I drilled down and thought ‘I think it’s time to put myself out of my comfort zone’.

“It’s been about five years since I finished playing football and I hadn’t really done anything that would challenge me as much as I knew MasterChef would challenge me.’’

The more he thought about it, the more Riewoldt knew he had to say yes to the show, which was filmed in July and is now screening on Channel 10.

“Once I had that opportunity to embrace it and to think about it and consider it and think about the benefits … like improving my cooking … once I weighed all those things up, in the end it was a bit of a no-brainer.

“I’ve always been a massive fan of the show so to actually immerse yourself in that pressure environment … hopefully it has allowed people to see a different side of me.”

From the moment the first episode aired earlier this month, that’s exactly what viewers have been seeing of Riewoldt.

Fans have been gobsmacked to realise that the show’s 10 contestants — including actors Rebecca Gibney and Matt Le Nevez, Olympian Ian Thorpe, fashion designer Collette Dinnigan, former soccer player Archie Thompson, comedian Dilruk Jayasinhan, TV and radio host Chrissie Swan, singer Dami Im and British TV presenter Tilly Ramsay — are such accomplished cooks, and Riewoldt is no exception.

He has been wowing viewers as well as judges Melissa Leong, Andy Allen and Jock Zonfrillo with his repertoire of impressive dishes, many of which have had a distinctly Tasmanian feel and have been inspired by his Tasmanian upbringing.

Riewoldt grew up in Tasmania before moving to Queensland’s Gold Coast when he was 10. He still returns to the state regularly and spent the majority of his time on the first two episodes of the show spruiking the state — everything from our fresh produce and natural beauty to our laid-back lifestyle and shack culture — while serving up crayfish pasta and scallop pies.

It’s a special kind of publicity that money can’t buy. But Riewoldt, who works as a commentator for Fox Footy, isn’t being paid to talk up Tasmania, he’s simply raving about his home state because he’s so passionate about it.

Although he’s Melbourne-based when in Australia and is currently spending a few months in the US — in Texas, where his wife’s family lives and where he has a business interest — Riewoldt says Tasmania will always feel like home.

“I take a lot of pride in being Tasmanian,” he says. “To be able to tell a couple of those stories and showcase a bit of what Tassie has to offer, it was a privilege to be able to do that.”

Riewoldt loves bringing his wife, Catherine Heard, and their three young sons to Orford whenever he can. He joked he wouldn’t be allowed to return to Tasmania if he messed up the meals he cooked on the show, which were inspired by recipes handed down through generations of his Tasmanian family.

Riewoldt, who grew up in Sandy Bay, has fond memories of spending holidays at his family’s shack at Orford.

“My family has had some sort of presence on the East Coast for seven generations which is pretty incredible really,” he says.

“There’s a lot of history there.”

About 30 years ago, his grandmother sold her share of a jointly-owned shack, leaving the family without their own slice of heaven. So when the opportunity came up to buy another property just across the road from the original family shack about 15 years ago, Riewoldt jumped at the chance.

“Pre-Covid we’d come down for weekends and come down for a month over summer … whenever we have a spare weekend we’re always planning to come down,” he explains.

“And it gets used by extended family … it’s used as often as it can be.”

He says there’s something special about being able to take his boys James, 6, William, 4, and Edward (Teddy), 2, to the same hangouts he frequented as a child.

And it was also a delight to see his kids play happily with their cousins, just as he once did with his own cousins including Richmond Tigers star Jack Riewoldt.

“It’s such an important pillar in our family, it’s a place of just so many wonderful childhood memories,’’ Riewoldt says of Tasmania’s East Coast.

“There’s a real sense of community.

“A lot of things I’m doing with my kids now are things I did as child as well. The jetty is still the same and the boys fish off it the same way I did as a child and the same way my mum did as a child and the same way my grandmother did.

“It’s the only place I really feel comfortable with the kids being able to ride bikes with less than full supervision. It still has that sense of being stuck in a little bit of a time warp that I love.

“Not to mention all the activities we’re able to do.

“The more I travel the more I realise how special that little slice of heaven is.”

Celebrity MasterChef viewers have so far seen images of Riewoldt’s kids fishing and holding giant crayfish, while his eldest son can also be seen jumping off the sandbags at Orford.

“It’s considered pretty extreme or whatever for some people,” Riewoldt says of the seafaring way of life, which often sees him diving for things like rock lobster and abalone before cooking the catch with his family.

“But for people on the East Coast of Tassie it’s just what you do. It’s not lost on me how fortunate we are to be able to do that and how special it is.”

Right now Riewoldt is a long way from his Tasmanian homeland but he’s still not far from the ocean, chatting to TasWeekend over the phone on a balmy evening from the island city of Galveston in Texas.

Despite the northern hemisphere heading towards winter, the temperatures in Texas still hit 30C most days.

And after being locked down in Melbourne many times over the past 18 months, Riewoldt says it is “refreshing” to have a change of scenery and enjoy being somewhere where tough restrictions aren’t currently in force.

Riewoldt and his family arrived in Texas in mid-October and plan to stay until early next year when they hope to return to Australia in time for the start of the new school year.

“I’m going to do a bit of work while I’m here, that was the reason I was able to come over,’’ Riewoldt explains.

He’s a partner in tech and infrastructure business PMY Group, and the group acquired a business based out of Texas, giving Riewoldt the perfect opportunity to work and also spend time with his wife’s extended family who hail from Texas.

Riewoldt and Heard married on her parents’ property in Waco, Texas, in 2012.

They were last in Texas two years ago, just prior to the pandemic. The couple’s youngest child Teddy was just three months old then, and has now been reunited with his grandparents, just after his second birthday. The older children have obviously grown a lot in two years as well, and Riewoldt admits it was a pretty exciting reunion.

“One of the conditions of exit was staying over here for a sustained period,’’ Riewoldt says.

“So we’ve got the boys enrolled in school, but we’ll be back at the start of the [Australian] school year.’’

Fortunately he’s been able to tune into Celebrity MasterChef Australia from the other side of the world and he says he’s loved watching how all the footage has been edited together.

“It was fun … there was a real sense of spirit and camaraderie,” he says.

“But you always wonder how it’s going to look on TV. Is it going to look fun?.’’

Riewoldt has always enjoyed cooking at home but says stepping into the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen, where contestants are required to cook within strict time limits and with specific ingredients, took things up a few notches.

“You can pour yourself a drink at home and cruise,” he says of cooking.

“Other than the kids saying ‘when’s dinner ready, when’s dinner ready’ — that’s the only real time pressure at home when you’re feeding hungry kids.

“We were not striving to be chefs, unlike the regular MasterChef contestants, but there is still that sense of wanting to achieve and do well. It was a really thrilling environment to be in and to see that big clock just hovering over the kitchen with a sense of doom and to challenge yourself against it.’’

Riewoldt also had another motivation to sign up for the show — the winner gets $100,000 for their chosen charity and he was keen to fly the flag for Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision, a foundation set up in honour of his sister Maddie, who died in 2015.

Maddie was just 26 when she lost her five-year battle with aplastic anaemia, a rare disorder in which the body’s bone marrow fails to make enough new blood cells.

Riewoldt says appearing on the show was a great opportunity to raise awareness for the foundation nationally, regardless of whether or not he walked away with the prizemoney.

“Maddie was a huge advocate for change in that space and we’ve picked up that challenge in her name,’’ Riewoldt explains in an early episode of the show.

“To be able to drop $100,00 into the organisation and knowing what outcomes that could bring, it’s clearly a cause that’s really close to my heart and I’m going to be super determined to do her proud on this show.”

Riewoldt admits he felt “completely overwhelmed” and also a little bit starstruck stepping into the Celebrity MasterChef kitchen and meeting his fellow contestants.

“I thought ‘if people are agreeing to go on this show, they back themselves as cooks’,’’ Riewoldt explains.

“I thought ‘I’m going to be so far out of my depth here and it’s going to be really clear and obvious to everyone straight away.

“But none of us had any real pedigree. Except [chef Gordon Ramsay’s 19-year-old daughter] Tilly Ramsay. But just because I played football doesn’t mean my kids are going to be great footballers.”

During the first couple of episodes it was obvious that, despite being a celebrity in his own right — Riewoldt spent 17 years with the Saints, 11 of those as captain, and played 336 games before retiring in 2017 — he was feeling star struck by the calibre of his competitors.

“I mean Thorpie’s here, I’ve cheered my lungs out for Thorpie, he’s one of our greatest ever Olympians,’’ he gushes at the start of the season.

“Rebecca Gibney’s here, I can’t believe it – as a child I would stay up late and watch The Flying Doctors.

“And my wife will be rapt that Collette Dinnigan is here, she loves her work.’’

Despite filming wrapping up a few months ago, Riewoldt still struggles to believe he got to hang out with people he admired so much.

“Oh my gosh, talk about pinch yourself moments,’’ he says.

“In the first episode I had Ian Thorpe come up to ask if he could help me finish my crayfish pasta. On the list of things I never thought would happen in my life, that would be right at the top!’’

Riewoldt says he and his fellow contestants have become “lifelong friends”.

“I didn’t anticipate I’d walk away with lifelong friendships and that sense of walking away from being in something really special,’’ he admits.

“I think we all came in with some preconceptions but pretty quickly they all dropped and we essentially became like a big family.

“That was definitely the most enjoyable part of it, bonding with the cast and crew.

“I’m feeling sort of nostalgic I guess because it was just such an incredible experience.

“It was honestly one of the best things I’ve ever done.’’•

Watch Celebrity MasterChef on Channel 10 on Sundays and Mondays at 7.30pm. For more information about Maddie Riewoldt’s Vision visit mrv.org.au