Originally appearing in Season 4 of MasterChef Australia, alongside familiar faces like Beau Cook and Andy Allen, Audra made it to the final three.

After leaving the kitchen back in 2012, Audra went on to run her private and corporate catering business, published two cookbooks, and hosted several TV shows, including acting as a host on MasterChef Singapore and MasterChef Asia.

"I think we underestimate the effect the MasterChef kitchen has on people, it really mucks with your mind," she told 10 with a laugh. "But it challenges you in a way that nothing else does.

"I embraced every day and everything that was thrown at me walking into that kitchen."

Audra explained that part of the reason she was so keen to return to the competition was because, 13 years ago, she was still trying to define and discover her 'inner food dream'. Now, with over a decade in the industry, Audra is clear in her mind of who she is and what she's about.

"I'm a real advocate for the preservation of cultural cuisine. To me, it's what makes every one of us so unique," she explained. "Australia in itself is such a multi-cultural nation, and that's the beauty of going out and dining in Australia.

"For me, it was really putting out there to Australia what South East Asian cuisine is, and not just putting an umbrella statement over it saying it's 'Asian cuisine'. Let's be smarter about it, saying it's Singaporean, Malaysian, South Indian cuisine."

But returning to the competition as a contestant after serving as a judge, Audra said she felt no added pressure or risk to her reputation. "They're two very different roles, I remember Gordon [Ramsey] saying to me at the very start, 'You're a judge, you should know', but I think cooking and judging are very different.

"I believe I've got a really strong palate in terms of tasting food and flavour profiles, but when you're a cook in the kitchen, it's entirely different," she continued.

On top of that, quite literally, there's the pressure of the MasterChef clock hanging over the contestants' heads. While on the outside of the competition, Audra prides herself on being meticulously organised and in her own zone, the pressure of timed tasks forced her to think differently and pushed her outside her comfort zone.

"Holy hell, that's a lot of growth in 75 minutes," she laughed.

Though the theme of the season is Back To Win, Audra very humbly said, "I've been winning for the past 13 years, and I'm still winning".

"People often say it's not the ending, it's the journey, it's the experience. I tell people, if you focus so much on the endgame and lose sight of the process, you haven't really lived. And that's the way I've lived my life as well. I haven't looked at a prize and gone, 'I have to get that'. It's more about, along the way, these small little wins I gain.

While the occasional glint and glimmer from the trophy in the corner would catch her eye, reminding her to go as hard as she could, Audra said the end was never her focus, but rather soaking up all the glorious experiences throughout the season.

"Cooking for Maggie Beer, for god's sake! I can't even speak when Maggie is in the room. I get emotional because of what she represents, where she's come from, and what she's done for all of Australia.

"These moments were the wins, being able to put up a delicious tart in front of her, to me, that was a win," she continued.

"The kitchen is my happy place. I could be working through the night just to meet deadlines, but I'd still be happy. I laugh a lot, I don't take life too seriously, [and] I think there's so much value in finding the beauty in small things. There's enough crap going on in the world, responsibly what we should all do is just have a bit of a laugh."

Making it to the Top 9, Audra said it brought out the "quiet competitiveness" in her, but it was also the validation that she had been on the right track.

"Hopefully, getting as far as possible would give Australia a chance to see what beautiful food South East Asia has." It's a concept Audra continues to explore in her series Eat Roam Relish on SBS.

But on Sunday night, Audra's time in the competition came to an end after the judges tasked the contestants to take them on a journey to a country listed on one of 10 cargo boxes at the front of the kitchen, representing destinations available to fly via Qatar Airways.

Walking in, Audra immediately noticed a common theme in the countries on offer. "I looked at the boxes and thought, where the hell are the Asian destinations! Start changing your route to include Singapore, for god's sake," she laughed.

Deciding to take the judges to Spain, Audra opted to make a paella but still wanted to bring her own spin to the dish, using yuzo kosho -- a mix of yuzu peel, chilli and salt which is turned into a paste and fermented.

"You really get a funky, salty flavour with a bit of heat, and I felt like that was close to lemon being used in paella. I actually thought I did pretty well," she admitted.

"I was pretty happy with the dish, and I was a bit surprised, but I've got to remember I'm a contestant, I'm not judging, so I have no role in passing judgment on my dish, and I totally respect that," Audra added.

With the competition closer than ever, small mistakes in Audra's dish meant that it was her time to hang up her apron. Looking back on the competition as a whole, she admitted that her mind still turns over new ideas that she wished she had shown during her time in the MasterChef kitchen.

"Give me a lifetime on MasterChef and I still won't be able to cover everything I want to cook for Australian TV and showcase the depth of the cuisine Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia have.

"But you can't regret these things," Audra said, "People will just have to follow me to watch all the yummy things I cook online."

With Eat, Roam, Relish available now to watch, Audra hopes to continue inspiring people to dive into global cuisines.

"Travel isn't just about ticking off boxes and jumping on and off buses. It's about immersing yourself in a particular culture, and we use food as a gateway to peel the layers off," she explained.

"I think, through MasterChef, I'm trying to encourage people to dive deeper into travel, because it opens your mind. And when you do travel, go in with an open mind, an open heart, and give everything! Eat everything!"

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