Filming for MasterChef: The Professionals, started at the beginning of May and finished in July, just a couple of weeks after my son, Kyan, was born. I had an awful lot on at that time. I don't really know how I got through it all, other than not taking any time off at all. My wife, Laura, was going mad!

I was fortunate in that I had a good first round and that settled my nerves, but then I made a few flavour combination errors that didn't win over the judges. I went back to basics to a degree so I could understand what they were after.

I think I did surprise myself during the competition. I took it round by round and never looked ahead as I only wanted to do my best. I never felt pressure from the other chefs as it was more the pressure that I put on myself.

The critics round was a bad one for me, as I was rushed and didn't present food I was happy with. I was lucky to get away with it. That was a round that taught me that, perhaps, it is better not to do too much and do less to a better standard. You learn lessons along the way, about your food and about what the judges want.

I felt my style evolved throughout the competition.

Going to Italy and working with Massimo Bottura was the best experience of the whole series. I was a bit shocked that you could go to the third best restaurant in the world and do things that way. That is what I love about Massimo; he is an artist and is really passionate. The thing all of us chefs took away from Italy was to be yourself and don't let anyone tell you how to cook.

There was one dish where we had to splatter sauce around the dish. The food could not be thrown on the plate as it has to be artistic. There is a finesse you can't explain and it seems crazy. The first one I prepared was wrong, but by the third attempt I was really into it and I loved sending that dish out. For me, the lemon tart was the more shocking! The change in direction from being neat and precise to finishing the dish in that artistic style was so dramatic. With Massimo it is all about the story and the theatre.

During filming, I wasn't aware that Adam was the perceived favourite, although after watching it back I can see why viewers would think that. But during the Showstopper round, I felt my chocolate and cherries dish was as good as anyone else's and I knew that the title was there for the taking.

When we were paired up together in the semi-final, I was a little disappointed as I knew it would be tough. But that took the pressure off as if I had been paired off with a more junior chef I would have been more fearful of going out. As Adam and I are both head chefs, the pressure was off and I think we both felt that way.

That whole episode was brilliant, when we cooked at Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, and we both went through. We were competing with ourselves rather than each other.

After we had presented the dishes in the final, the three of us sat for two hours in the Green Room. When you're not filming, you sit around with drinks and snacks and just chat. I got on very well with Adam and Scott, so we would relax and try to take our mind off it. Then as soon as you go back in to face the judges, you feel the tension.

It's like a firing line as you're put in front of Michel Roux Jr, Monica Galetti and Gregg Wallace and there's the long pause when they announce the winner. The wait was awful!

I think all of us had the potential to win. Adam was the strongest at the start but Scott and I finished strongly. I don't think anyone would have been what you would call a 'surprise winner'.

After they told me I had won, I didn't call anyone. The whole thing had to be kept a secret. During the competition, I could never let on what round I was filming or how I was doing. I would just tell people at work that it would finish soon. The Italy trip was tricky, as nobody could know that I had been abroad as they would be able to piece it together with a glance at the TV listings.

You feel a bit like James Bond, as it's all so secretive.

For the final, we set up a TV in the Drawing Room at South Lodge Hotel. I invited my parents and my wife and a few friends and family were undecided what they were going to do. But by 8.30pm, I looked behind me and the whole room was full. They had stopped dinner service in both The Pass and The Camellia restaurants to come in and watch the show. Customers were coming out, all the chefs were there and my family too.

Only a handful of people in the room knew the result so when the judges said my name the whole hotel erupted! It was such a nice feeling, and it was almost as though a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

The chefs that work with me didn't know, and I had felt bad about lying to them. They are my boys, my team, but I had to keep it all quiet. I hope they do the same to me one day!

You go on a cookery show and whilst you obviously know it is on TV, you do not expect much to change. Previous MasterChef: The Professionals shows have not had the viewing figures of the Celebrity and regular MasterChef shows, but this year it was very popular. In the final all three of us were head chefs with eight rosettes between us so it made it more intense. But since the final was televised, it's gone mental!

The phone was constantly ringing after the final and it has been ever since. A day later, on the Friday, I went straight up into London to do magazine interviews and then on Saturday I had to go to Manchester to film BBC Breakfast. On Sunday I finally managed to catch up with my family.

I wasn't at South Lodge for the first few days after the final aired. I obviously knew the result and most of the boys didn't, so I knew that we would probably have a lot of bookings at a time that I couldn't be here. So for a whole week before I was busy with food preparation to help them out. I do feel guilty for leaving them!

Since I returned to The Camellia, I have signed a lot of autographs and a lot of people want to have their photo taken with me. I've also been given about 40 bottles of Champagne!

I went through Horsham town centre on the Sunday before the final and people were stopping to congratulate me and I could hear people saying 'It's the guy from MasterChef!' Even on the train at 7am on the morning after the final, people were congratulating me for winning. It's been very surreal.

My children keep me down to Earth. Scarlett, who is three, just walks past the TV whilst I'm on it and carries on playing with her toys. In the final, she was excited though as she was on the show!

It is hard to juggle everything, and I'm still blown away by all the support I've been given as it is not something you are used to. That's why I became a chef – to cook and please people –but I can't believe how many people want to see me.

I would say I have a more calm approach in the kitchen now and I have changed the way we do things at The Camellia. We are in a good place at the moment, with a very good team, and what MasterChef has done is get all the guys excited. I think 2014 is going to be a great year for us in terms of pushing on.

The experience has taught me to be happy with what you are doing. A lot of chefs set goals and say 'I want a Michelin Star'. To be honest, I want to make the menu better than what it was and that is a good focus. It's how I went through the competition. Look at what is directly in front of you, rather than looking too far ahead and getting lost.

I haven't been given a trophy or anything. I think there might be one at some point but it's all been so manic. I recently went for lunch with Michel and the production team and we're going to meet up after Christmas. But I don't know what will happen next, which is exciting. There will be things like MasterChef Live which I must commit to, but nothing has been discussed as yet. Until then, all I have to do is concentrate on work at The Camellia.

One day the goal may be to run my own restaurant, as I'd like to leave a legacy for my two children, but Exclusive Hotels (which operates South Lodge Hotel) is a really good group to work for. If you look at the chefs within the group, they are getting better and better and we have a Chef's Academy going live next year.

I have no reason to leave and I'm very happy here.