Having appeared many times as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia and a current judge on The Great Australian Bake Off, Darren knows more than most what it feels like to stand at the front of the table watching contestants sprint to the pantry in a last-minute effort to finesse a dish.

So it may have shocked some fans to see the celebrated chef walk into the kitchen for the second season of Dessert Masters not in a judging capacity but as one of the contestants.

"A lot of people asked me why I wanted to do it but the real answer is I just love to cook," Darren told 10 Play.

"I wanted to go in there, test myself against some of the best chefs in the country and it didn't disappoint," he continued.

"It inspired me and I just love getting in the kitchen. Especially when someone else is buying the ingredients and doing the washing up," he added with a laugh.

On Sunday night, the remaining competitors walked into the kitchen to find Mystery Boxes filled to the brim with bubbles. Their task was to create a dish inspired by bubbles and aeration.

With just two and a half hours on the clock, Darren created a dish inspired by the Wispa chocolate bar from the UK. The dish featured dark chocolate mousse, crunchy puffed rice, blood orange jelly and a blood orange ice cream, with a chocolate bubble to be served at the judging table.

"I was really happy with my dish, I thought it was awesome! I thought I definitely nailed the brief in terms of bubbles -- visually it had a bubble effect, there was a bubble jelly, there were chocolate bubbles, but also in the dish I had a light, aerated chocolate mousse so there’s kind of bubbles in there," Darren explained.

"I don’t think I could have done anything more. Regardless of any outcome, if you go on there and cook something and you push yourself to the very limit and do the very best you can, you can’t ask any more than that."

Having been part of eliminations for MasterChef many times now, Darren knew first-hand how difficult these decisions can be for the judges, and with a competition full of dessert experts, Melissa Leong and Amaury Guichon had their work cut out for them. On top of that, the judges had revealed that it would be a double elimination.

"Two competitors had to go home and it’s really hard because the standard is so high - it’s not like someone dropped something on the floor and it’s an obvious mistake, they really had to split hairs. I respect their decisions and the challenges they had in making those decisions."

But like many of the challenges during the competition, Darren saw it as an opportunity to do as much as he could in what little time he was given.

"I've always worked under pressure and had more jobs on my list than are physically possible," Darren explained. "Two and a half hours did go by really quickly but, whatever time they did give me, I wanted to absolutely jam-pack It with as many components, tricks, techniques and recipes that I had up my sleeve.

"I didn't want to be standing there with five minutes left and nothing to do," Darren continued. "I wanted to push myself right to the very end and hopefully inspire people just to keep going. It's amazing what you can get done in the time if you really do set yourself a big list and run around trying to tick it off."

And the experience also forced him to dig through his repertoire. Seeing the calibre of his fellow competitors Darren knew he couldn't just rely on the same recipes he had been making for the last few years.

"I really had to push myself in terms of innovation and creativity, I had to delve deep back into the catalogue of some of the techniques I've done in the past while also keeping an eye on what my competitors were doing," he explained, adding that the whole experience has reinvigorated him in the kitchen.

"I was just happy to be on this journey, to run around and make as many things as possible, try to inspire some people at home with a few techniques they haven't seen, cook to the best of my ability and hopefully produce something they're going to love.

"I'm totally happy with how it all panned out and I think I've won in terms of the experience, the friendships, and the connections I've made from the show," Darren said.

Looking back, Darren said there were loads that he wished he could have shown the judges -- and Aussies watching at home -- by staying in the competition, but at no point did he ever hold back.

"I went into every single challenge doing the very best I could, I wasn't thinking I'd save anything for later," he added.

"The good thing for me is I have all this knowledge, 30 years experience in the kitchen, on my website Studio Kitchen and I'll continue to keep putting my creative side up on that website so anyone can jump on and learn from me. It's free and something that I'm loving doing at the moment."

Dessert Masters continues Sundays at 7pm and Mondays at 7.30pm on 10 and 10 Play.