Food Network's Duff Goldman may have to relearn how to cook with his left hand after a head-on collision with a 'drunk driver' CRUSHED his right hand and left him fearing for his life

Food Network star Jeffrey 'Duff' Goldman has revealed he has no choice but to relearn how to cook using only his left hand after his right hand was crushed in a head-on collision with an alleged drunk driver.

The pastry chef's dominant hand suffered serious injuries during the traffic incident, which occurred as he was being driven from the airport to his home in Topanga, California, on February 1.

Duff, 49, does not currently know if his injuries are life-changing and will only learn the true extent once his bandages and stitches are removed – but he recently revealed that his middle finger, index finger and thumb were twisted and bent in different directions.

In an exclusive interview with DailyMail.com, he insisted: 'I will do whatever I have to do to get it working again. And if it doesn't work one hundred percent, I have to relearn how to do things. I can do that. I'm not too worried about it.

“Honestly, I think whatever happens, once I get all the stitches and bandages off and I can actually start moving it and see if it's really moving well, I'll just take it day by day, but the worst is coming… worst, I 'I'll learn how to do it with my left hand.'

On the day of the accident, Duff, who recently celebrated his five-year wedding anniversary to Johnna Colbry, was excited to bake a cake for his daughter Josephine's third birthday.

“Before I knew it, I was bleeding and surrounded by airbags,” he wrote in an Instagram post at the time.

'A drunk driver had drifted into my lane on a windy country road.

'After I did a system check and discovered my only injury was my hand, I thanked my lucky stars that I would still be there to celebrate her third birthday even if I couldn't make her a cake.'

Duff, his driver and the alleged drunk driver were all taken to hospital. It is unclear if the man was arrested for DUI/DWI.

The Bake It 'Til You Make It host previously told People that the other driver “stumbled” onto the scene, recalling how when he went over to check if he was okay, he “smelled his breath , and I thought'. ..” He added, “Man, I was pretty mad.”

Since his accident, Duff has found new appreciation and zest for life.

“I just have this overwhelming sense of gratitude for everything: my life, my family, my career,” he continued to DailyMail.com.

“I'm just so happy to be here, and that's all, right? I mean, you're here for a good time, not for a long time.'

In the immediate aftermath, Duff recalled quickly checking himself for injuries.

“I sat in the backseat and made sure the driver was okay too,” he said.

“I kept saying, thank God, thank God, thank God, thank God. Just over and over again.

“If this guy zigged instead of zagged, we wouldn't be having this conversation. That's powerful stuff.

'You hear people talk about those kinds of experiences and how they change you, and they really do. I think it's just that: you die intellectually.

'Do we all understand that correctly? But I think if you really face it, you learn things that you really can't learn any other way.

“It's weird, right? Because my hand is really messed up and that's a problem because this is all I have.

'And yes, you would think anger, right? Honestly, I'm almost filled with joy. In a strange plot twist.'

But it's not just Duff's cooking skills that could be in jeopardy following the accident, as he revealed his newfound passion for toy making could also be in jeopardy.

Duff, who signed a multi-year contract with the Food Network last September, said, “I've always been a carpenter and just built all the big, crazy cakes that we make. I have always been a builder and now that I have a daughter, I have made many of her toys.

“We're starting the process of actually starting a toy line and I'm going to do all the production myself.

“So when people get a Duff toy, I'm actually building it myself.”

Next month, Duff will join forces with celebrity chefs Kardea Brown and Nancy Fuller to judge the Food Network's Spring Baking Competition on March 4.

The competition show, hosted by Jesse Palmer, will see 12 bakers compete against each other in a series of challenges as they are tasked with creating the best possible desserts.

Duff teased what viewers can expect, saying, “We put a lot of focus on spring breaks, which I think is one of the best ways to really highlight really crazy food.

'When you have a big festival, people go all out. There's a May Day episode and some really good spring-themed episodes.”