On Tuesday night, Chef Nelly Robinson revealed his dish Mr McGregor Garden, which he said was an 11 out of ten on the difficulty scale. Standing alongside Rhiannon and Malissa, Ralph was already stressed by the overly technical dessert.
"Black apron days are never good for anybody," Ralph told 10 Play, "you are devastated because you tried your best to not be in that position but unfortunately you are.
"Getting into a pressure test, the hardest thing and most important thing is to shake it off," he continued. "If you take that previous cook in with you, that's when you find yourself in a bit of trouble."
Despite having multiple successes with sweet dishes, Ralph felt more comfortable with savoury cooks, so when Chef Nelly revealed the dish, Ralph went through a whole range of emotions.
"Me and desserts are not the best of friends, but it looked beautiful. When you see food like that and you get to taste it and eat it, it was a complete dish... but I knew it was going to be a bit of a tough one."
Slow and steady, Ralph wanted to make sure that all his ingredients were meticulously measured out and correct before moving forward, in what he described as a "measure twice, cut once" approach.
"The problem with that is, if you're being that pedantic, it's going to eat into your time," he continued. "It was a catch-22, trying to do things too perfectly."
As the time ticked away, Ralph had to frantically speed up to make sure that he was able to get all his elements ready for plating in front of the judges.
"That's when I felt l was going home, I remember running all over the kitchen trying to get stuff done," he added. "After the cook, I was exhausted."
But despite the hectic end to the challenge, Ralph was still happy with what he was able to put together during the pressure test.
"I enjoyed most of the flavours, I would have liked to do some things a little bit better if I didn't run out of time and was rushing all over the place but overall I was happy," he admitted.
Unfortunately, the judges agreed that Ralph's was the furthest away from Chef Nelly's original dish, and his time in the MasterChef kitchen came to an end.
"There was so much more I think I could have given, and there's so much more I could have learned," Ralph said. "We all evolved every single time we get into that kitchen... looking at when I walked in the doors to start with to where I am now, the progression I've had is tremendous."
Cooking from a young age, Ralph said he was always just cooking "For the sake of having to cook", not because he was particularly fond of it. Then, around 2015 he made a dish he had never cooked before.
"From there, the love of the process just grew, the love of tasting food and trying new things all grew from there. It's been a love affair for a while," he said.
"There was a period in the middle where I was at uni and cooking wasn't important and noodles were my only sustenance," he added, laughing, "but other than that... I got that energy from food."
After applying for MasterChef once before in the past, Ralph took some time out and travelled to Europe, unsure if he'd want to attempt to earn himself a sacred apron again.
"I remember speaking to my sister and she just reminded me that I have a passion for it and it's something I'm good at, something I did want before and I should try it again. So I did, and this time we made it on!
"Walking in there is so surreal, to actually be in a place I've only seen on TV or watched competitors cook in there... it's real when you walk in and see everything that's in there. I've seen the clock, it's the one thing that's most memorable, I know the benches... but being there is extra special."
Growing up in Zimbabwe and South Africa, Ralph moved to Australia when he was 17 years old, so throughout the competition, some of his proudest moments were when he was able to bring dishes that showed the judges -- and Australia -- some of the dishes from his heritage.
"Although I busted it, my Milk Tart was probably one of my favourites, and the sauce-making episode, Chakalaka because that's just a bit of my culture and what we're familiar with back home," he said. "I was very happy I got to share that with everyone."
Now, back in the real world, Ralph's dream is to continue to share his love of food in whatever way he can.
"I just realised how much I had to learn, and how much of a better cook I am. Being able to take that and share it with everybody... the food dream for me is leading in that direction.
"Whether it's through a cookbook, social media or on a TV show of some kind, that's more or less what I'm looking for -- the opportunity to share the knowledge of food and bring people closer together."
