Jason Wang feels he had a good episode of “MasterChef” to share with a Worcester audience Aug. 2 at Valentino’s on Shrewsbury Street. It was the episode “Holy Cannoli,” which had him on the winning team in the first challenge, and thus safe from elimination. The elimination round had the remaining competitors making cannolis, which was of definite hit with the crowd.

“Everything worked out very well," says Wang, of the viewing party. “Valentino‘s has an Italian vibe … The staff there at the restaurant were really kind with the service, and the food was super yummy.”

Wang would know from “yummy” — the Valentino’s party was just a stop along the wild ride that took him from a career as a high school music teacher in Newton to being a finalist in the season of finale of the popular Fox gamechow show. That two-part finale had him cooking a three-course dinner against Eboni Henry, an addiction councilor from Chicago, and eventual winner Dino Angelo Luciano, a dancer from New York. Never mind that he was serving those meals to renowned chefs Gordon Ramsay, Christina Tosi, Aarón Sanchez and Joe Bastianich, with $250,000 on the line. No pressure.

“I think the finale was very exciting for me,” said Wang, “because I knew they were going to change the setup of the kitchen … turn it into high-intensity sports event, like boxing. Having some music experience, I’m used to having those situations. It made me want to bring the best of anything I’ve done, anywhere. There was intense pressure. There were a few times it got to me a little bit, but I just refocused. I was just very grateful to be there.”

Indeed, the finale was one of the few times viewers saw Wang visibly nervous. Usually, he was brimming with excitement and enthusiasm.

“I have such a busy schedule,” says Wang. “To have nothing to do all day but think about food, that was kind of a blessing. I felt like I was just taking a moment for me … it felt a little selfish … I was just so overjoyed. ‘Today’s a mystery box!' 'So and so guest is coming in, WOW!’ There’s a certain bit of childhood curiosity to have that opportunity. People were complaining, it's a competition but … you’re giving me ingredients I can’t’ necessarily buy, and I don’t have to do dishes! … You just create. It’s awesome.”

The one thing that did make him nervous, he admitted, were the times his parents or his partner, Nathan D. Pipho — a pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church of Worcester — were there to watch.

“I was so excited to see them,” says Wang. “We were almost gone two and a half months, and to have them there was exciting, but then it was like the real world crept back in … so in many ways, I wanted to make them proud, but on the other hand … to add in that extra component of that family there. … It was a funny, tense dynamic.”

Ramsey on more than one occasion accused Wang of being too cerebral or “chefy” in his cooking, but Wang says he was just being true to himself while he cooked.

“My strategy was to create dishes that got better as they sat,” he said, cognizant of the wait time between the end of the cooking time and judgement. He points to his final entrée, a tofu-skin wrapped black cod in a traditional Chinese preparation.

“That’s why I wrapped the fish in the tofu,” says Wang, “So it doesn’t dry out. I thought very specifically about how my food was going to be eaten and when it was going to be eaten … I always wanted to present something that, A.) tasted phenomenal, and B.) dealt with flavors that I’m familiar with … I tried to stick with flavors that I’ve experienced … I’ve traveled a lot, have a very wide range of flavors, ingredients that I can draw from. The strategy for me was to push the plating … I just want to make something super yummy that was pleasing to look at.”

Wang was frequently praised by the judges for his plating and the visual impact of his dishes. He says he drew a lot of his inspiration from natural design balance and natural symmetry, adding that he studied plant science as an undergraduate, and worked briefly for Mimosa Fresh Flower Design in Boston, and was influenced by owner Teresa Fung’s sense of how colors blend. He also says he drew inspiration from his background in music.

“When we’re cooking,” he says, “when we’re doing floral design, doing music things … it’s always about something that’s pleasing to the ear, the palate, the eye. I just applied the same principles translated through different medium.”

Wang intends to add food to his teaching repertoire. He recently taught a cooking class at the Cambridge Center for Adult Education alongside his fellow “MasterChef” competitor Cate Meade, and is hoping to do some events in the future with Trinity Lutheran Church. He says he was excited to share his skills and what he’s learned, saying his “food dream was to travel around the U.S. and teach people how to cook.” He wants to experience and learn more about different food cultures, and feels blessed to live somewhere he’s been lucky enough to be exposed to different foods and cuisines, a lesson that was hammered home when he and Pipho traveled to the Midwest.

“I think a lot of the stuff I’m familiar aren’t so mainstream across the U.S.,” he says, recalling a grocery store he visited on his Midwest trip. “Of the things I used in my finale dish, the only thing for sale was the ginger, and that was $7.99. My cooking might seem enigmatic to people watching, but I am who I am.”

He says for his final dessert course he used shiso and blueberries because he had the plants at home. “Hen of the woods mushrooms, scallops … I have these at the freezer! It’s literally things that are at my house! If you just have some things and wonder if they might go together, try it! You might come up with a new dish!”

Email Victor D. Infante at Victor.Infante@Telegram.com and follow him on Twitter @ocvictor.