Food and family are two things that are intrinsically linked for Peter, and, like MasterChef Australia judge George Calombaris, his cooking is heavily influenced by his Greek family and heritage.

"I grew up with the front door always open and there was always food piled up,” says Peter. “My mother and grandmother were my inspiration. They were singlehandedly responsible for my childhood weight! We ate a lot of Greek food - generous, colourful and flavourful and that continues into my cooking today."

Lawyer Peter relishes the time he spends in the kitchen as it gives him the much needed opportunity to wind down after a hard day at work. However, he readily admits that despite his love of food, he probably wouldn't have applied for MasterChef Australia this year without a push.

"I'm the type of person to sit on my hands,” he confesses. “I’m not sure I would have filled out an application had a friend not done it for me. This represents the unknown for me and it's not necessarily fitting with my personality."

Peter is married to his childhood sweetheart Erica, and describes her as the "open one" in their relationship, compared to himself as being "conservative." Putting himself in the spotlight is a complete role reversal for the couple.

"Erica has been so supportive,” says Peter. “All she wants is for me to be happy. I've been plodding along in life and she knows I haven’t had that spark for a while. This is a journey for me, and it’s helping me to realise what I want to do. I'm starting to open up. For the first time in my life, I've got a chance to think, breathe and consider that there might be a clean slate in front of me."

His wife had wanted him to apply for Season One of MasterChef, but Peter was concerned about the concept of being judged.

"My first thought was that I wasn't prepared to have people judge my cooking,” he says. “As I watched more though, I realised the show was about getting the best out of people. I kept my change of mind very quiet though."

Pragmatic by nature, Peter doesn't necessarily expect MasterChef Australia to give him a new career, but he recognises that already it has changed him as a person.

"People here love food, we talk about it 24/7 and I find that amazing. It's really enabling me to develop and I want to continue building the trait of my personality that involves risk taking," he says. "If I decide after this experience that cooking is something that I keep for my family and friends to enjoy then still I'll be a richer person for it."