“I’ve certainly had my ups and downs on the show,” laughs Billy Law, one of Masterchef Australia’s most popular contestants.

Can he survive in one of TV’s toughest contests?

The 34-year-old web designer was one of our very first photographers in the early days of Same Same a few years ago – check out his work here – and since then his tasty blog A Table For Two has really taken off, inspiring the passionate foodie to really challenge himself by entering into the Masterchef challenge.

Recent online polls suggest he’s a real viewer favourite, but as the contest boils down to the top 10 cooks, he’s finding himself perilously close to elimination.

Same Same asked Billy how he’s enjoying his time on the hit show so far…

Hi Billy, great to chat to you. So how are you coping with your newfound fame?

It’s alright, thanks! I live in a small town on the central coast, and every time I walk out, people recognise me. It’s a little bit surreal. You’re walking out, and people are calling out your name. But I’ll have to get used to it.

What’s been your highlight on the show so far?

Oh well, there’s too many actually. Meeting chefs that you’ve seen so many times on TV in real life is just amazing. I met Nigella Lawson – you can’t beat that!

But what’s been the most challenging aspect?

The hardest part is when you screw up a dish, and then you know there’s a chance you’ll be out of the competition on the next morning. That’s always tough.

A lot of people don’t understand how tiring and exhausting the whole process is. They get you up at 5am and you don’t finish until about 7 or 8 o’clock at night. So by the time the judges give you their verdict, it’s night-time and you’re so tired. Exhausted and emotionally drained. People just crack up and cry. It’s hard.

How do you cope with the stress?

From day one I tried not to think of it as a competition. I always thought I was there to enjoy the experience, cook and learn, working with a group of nice people who a make friends with. So I never really think about being strategic or doing something differently to what I’m used to, just to get further in the competition. For me, I just love to cook.

Did you always love to cook, even when you were a kid?

Oh yeah, I grew up in a culture where everyone talks about food, in Malaysia. We eat, like, six meals a day! I just watched my mum cooking… that’s part of the culture, women stay in the kitchen and men are in the front of house.

When I moved to Australia and started studying at uni, I had to start cooking for myself and that’s how I started learning. I tried out a few of mum’s recipes and went from there.

And when did you start your foodie blog, A Table For Two?

I started it in 2008, and it’s been going great. My background is web design, and some of my friends started a food blog, so I thought I’d start one myself, talking about food and sharing some recipes.

Well, now that I’ve been on Masterchef, I seriously can’t see myself going back and doing web design. Cooking and talking about food is what I enjoy.

So Masterchef has changed your life, in a way?

Definitely. It opened up the opportunity for me to do what I want to do next. So, after Masterchef I’ll definitely concentrate more on my blog, but I have a dream of opening my own dessert restaurant. So the experience has taught me more about pastry and helped me to achieve my goals.

And what do your family and friends think about you on TV at the moment?

(laughs) It’s quite strange. My family are in Malaysia and I don’t think they get the show there. And my brother is in the US. But somehow every time I phone them up they say ‘yeah, we’re watching you on YouTube!’ So they’ve been watching it, and they seem to enjoy it. They say that I have to cook for them next time I go back to Malaysia. But I think cooking for family will be even more stressful!

What does your boyfriend think of it all?

He loves it! He understands and fully supports me in what I’m doing, which is great. We’ve been together for ten years in October. We met because we were both working on the web. He’s the geek doing all the technical stuff, and I’m more the web design and focus on the creative side of things. We’re a good team. So technically you can say we met online, I guess!

Out of anyone in the world, who would you most like to cook for?

Hmmm… There’s a few people, definitely. Oh, I would like to cook for Katy Perry – that would be fun, wouldn’t it? Well the show uses Katy Perry’s song for the intro, so they have to invite her over! That would be fantastic if I ever got to meet Katy Perry.

Well if I could cook for the Queen or Barack Obama, that would be fantastic. It would be a one in a lifetime experience, for sure.

All being well, it looks like you’re heading for the Top 10 on Masterchef. So if you were to actually win, what would that mean to you?

When I entered the competition it was like I was setting myself a challenge to see how far I can go and how well I can cook. So if I’m able to win I think it will definitely open some doors.

I think people always doubt themselves and what they can do. So if I can win Masterchef I’ll think maybe I’m not too bad at cooking, and I’ll really have to think about the food industry as a career. But even now, I’m thinking food is definitely my next career move!

Good luck Billy! Watch his progress on Masterchef Australia, 7:30pm Sunday-Friday on Ten.