CLERMONT park ranger Miles Pritchett has battled his way into MasterChef.

The father-of-two earned the final spot in the show's Top 24 group last night in a cook-off against six other aspiring home cooks.

The 46-year-old puts his success down to his optimistic attitude that buoyed him during the pressure-filled challenge.

"I was just excited to be in the big smoke in that atmosphere," he told The Bulletin.

"I was so proud of myself for getting that far. Even if I didn't get the apron I was still on a high. If I didn't make it through then I wouldn't have lost any sleep over it."

He was asked to recreate Melbourne chef Shannon Bennett's Snickers-inspired chocolate bar, which featured a hot chocolate, caramel and honey sauce poured over the top of it upon serving.

"It was a big emotional journey. There were a lot of firsts in that dish for me," he said.

"To get it up was a remarkable achievement. I'm quite proud of that. I'm typically not known to have a sweet tooth, but I might have changed since going on the show."

He impressed the judges with his first attempt at tempering chocolate, with Bennett praising his determination.

He compared plating up the recipe, which had eight individual elements, to his university exams.

"I rate it to being a similar experience to a practical chemistry exam at university," he said.

"It was the most daunting and nerve-racking experience of my life.

"At least I didn't have to balance any equations. I just had to follow the instructions."

Mr Pritchett has since made the decadent dessert at home for his family.

"I put it up for 16 of them, you know, just a small family gathering," he laughed.

You can try to recreate the decadent dessert at home as well by following Bennett's recipe.

Bennett told APN he chose the dish because it would identify the competent cooks who could work under time pressure.

"We were looking for the organisational skills to make all of these components separately and working under the pressure, it's not easy even for a chef," he said.

"Three or four out of the seven had the potential to progress through the show. It was difficult episode to judge."

Mr Pritchett and the rest of MasterChef's Top 24 will now compete in their first mystery box challenge, set by last year's winner Billie McKay, tonight.