Stephen explains why he's always the last out of bed. Courtesy Network Ten.

MASTERCHEF fans know the basics — contestants spend long days filming on little sleep, honing their cooking skills during any free time, grabbing a bite to eat where possible.

But who knew 24 hours in the life of a MasterChef contestant could be quite so hectic? Sara Oteri, one of this season’s hot favourites, has kept a diary exclusively for news.com.au during her time on set.

Ten’s production team let the 26-year-old pocket rocket loose with an iPad while filming the Mystery Box and Invention Test with Heston Blumenthal, which aired Sunday night.

From the dreaded 5.30am alarm, to a weary group dinner at almost midnight, here is Sara’s day on a plate.

5.30am:Alarm goes off. Nooooooo, just 10 more minutes.

5.40am: Planning what I’ll wear today from the comfort of my bed. Also in serious need of a coffee.

6.00am: Coffee in hand. Discussing what we think will happen today with the other contestants. We always speculate, but 99 per cent of the time we get it wrong.

MasterChef Australia: Heston's invention test Speculation about what Heston has planned for the upcoming invention test. Courtesy Network Ten.

6.15am: En route to the studio. It’s quiet as usual — everyone is studying or listening to their iPods. It’s a good time to chill and get ready for a big day.

7.00am: Time for a tea and toast with the girls. We are leafing through our cookbooks in the green room. We’re expecting a mystery box this morning but won’t know until we’re on set. Gotta go, we’re being called into the kitchen.

11.00am: Hahahaha … so I kind of just did a Mystery Box for HESTON … and I won!!!! Who knew emu could be so tasty. I’ve never even cooked with it before.

When Matt was listing Heston’s achievements we instantly knew it was him and everyone went crazy — like proper crazy. We’ve been hoping to see him this series, but weren’t expecting him so soon.

MasterChef Australia: The Mystery Box Challenge Thoughts on the latest Mystery Box Challenge. Courtesy Network Ten.

12.00pm: It’s lunchtime! Going to nibble on something before I return to the studio to find out what my advantage is. My stomach is going nuts with butterflies.

1.00pm: So my advantage was really different today. I got to choose from three different types of cocktails. I think I picked the right one, I think it’ll be the simplest to recreate into a solid dish because it’s just sweet, sour and whisky.

Jessica is going to love this challenge.

4.00pm: Honestly I’m kind of numb right now. I can’t believe how horribly that cook went, the worst I’ve had. The dish I created wasn’t really me but I thought it would impress Heston and the judges.

Just reinforces that you should always be true to yourself. I really let the pressure get to me, I felt so overwhelmed, and my emotions bubbled up when things started to go wrong.

I’m positive I’m going into the pressure test.

6.00pm:So I’m safe … just. I’m not proud of my performance this afternoon. I’m going to make sure I give as much love and support to the other guys as possible for tomorrow’s elimination.

11.00pm: Had a nice group dinner at the house, it was the boys’ turn to cook — we had Spanish chicken together at the table and it gave us an opportunity to debrief about the day.

Nothing can prepare you for the twists, turns, emotional highs and lows of this experience, you’ve just got to roll with the punches. Everyone jokes about the ‘MasterChef roller-coaster’ but it’s actually what it feels like. I’ve got to go and write up today’s recipes before

bed.

MasterChef continues tonight, 7.30pm on Ten.