Having watched his fellow contestants attempt cook-along challenges before, Theo was apprehensive about tackling his first, especially in an elimination alongside Ben, Sarah, and Jamie.

The four chefs had to stay in sync with Curtis as he made a dish of slow-cooked lamb shanks with a ricotta raviolo without the help of a recipe, and with no idea how long they would have to make the dish. The chefs were also told that once Curtis finished his dish, they would have a mere 10 seconds to finish theirs.

Admitting that multitasking isn't one of his strongest skills, Theo said he would have preferred to have been given a pressure test rather than attempting to follow along blindly.

"When you're up [on the gantry], you're like, 'What's he doing? Just follow along!" But there are so many things going on when you're in that cook," Theo told 10 Play. "You're trying to listen to everything, trying to listen to the people up on the gantry, to the person cooking, trying to concentrate and follow your instincts as well. There's a lot going on.

"And you don't know when he's going to finish either... if you weren't right behind Curtis step-for-step, he could have just been like, 'I'm finishing in one minute' and you're gone," Theo continued.

"My head was just all over the place. It was crazy."

This challenge also gave Theo flashbacks to his elimination in Season 15, where he had to recreate a Peter Gilmore dish without a recipe, but a tricky squid membrane got the best of him. "I got in a headspace where I thought, 'I can't do this, I'm just going to give up, there's no point'," He said.

"As soon as I said that in my head, I snapped out of it straight away and said no, keep going. It doesn't matter what happens in this cook, I've done really well and I'm going to do well going forward," Theo continued.

"That's a huge thing to realise, in that moment. Whatever happens is not defining you at all, it's just a little hiccup in what is going to be a very long career in the food business."

During the cook-along, both Theo and Jamie struggled to create enough ricotta curds, and both had to remake the element. But Curtis kept cooking, and the pair had to troubleshoot their cheese while still listening to every step and instruction along the way.

After his second batch of ricotta also appeared to be too runny, Theo said there was another brief moment where he felt like he was giving up, but had vowed to return to the MasterChef kitchen with an improved mindset and positive outlook.

"I didn't expect to get the dish finished, to be honest... I can't believe I got it done," he admitted. "There may have been some flaws, but I thought, wow, I've actually put it together.

"I was pretty proud of myself, but it was the whole journey, coming back and getting to Top 12, I'm really proud of myself. That cook doesn't define me," Theo added.

After Season 15, Theo shared his dreams of one day opening up his own bakery, but life got in the way, and he returned to his day job as an electrician. When he received the call to return for Back To Win, the sparky saw it as a necessary circuit breaker.

"It was make or break for me, it has always been in my mind to do the bakery, but it was never the right time," he explained. "Now, if I went on MasterChef again, then that's it. There's no 'when is the right time?', you just have to do it. And that's what I'm doing."

During a chat with the judges, Theo opened up about also feeling trepidatious about making his passion for baking into his full-time job. "It's always a scary thing to think of, if you have a hobby you love or that drives you, you turn it into your job, and it becomes something you hate; where does that leave you?

"But I think it's more about your mindset, and that's what I've learned. You can turn a sh*t day into a good day just by thinking positively," Theo said, "and I think that's the major lesson I have learned from MasterChef and my journey on it. Be positive and grateful for everything you've got."

Since leaving the kitchen this time around, Theo has made strides to put the bakery together, building it and filming the whole experience to share his full journey to open up his dream bakery.

"I'm in the midst of building it, and I'll hopefully be at farmers markets very shortly, so stay tuned," he said.

"I'm so, so pumped," Theo continued. "I just got a delivery of some equipment I’ve been waiting on, it all came and was all good, and my dad’s been helping me build this bakery because it’s on their farm, and I just teared up because I was so happy that everything’s coming together and I love that I’m doing it all myself.

"I had a moment with my dad, thanking him and being grateful for the time we had together to build it as well. It’s been so special, and I’m so grateful and excited to bring the bakery to the world."

MasterChef Australia: Back to Win continues Sundays at 7pm and Monday - Wednesday at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play