LOS ANGELES, California -- Fil-Am pastry chef Sally Camacho admitted she was disappointed when she missed out on the chance to win $100,000 and the title of Top Chef on season two of Bravo's reality competition "Top Chef: Just Desserts."

Chris Hanmer of Las Vegas, Nevada was declared the winner. Camacho was the runner-up, along with Matthew Peterson of Arlington, Virginia

The LA-based Camacho, who works as the executive pastry chef for Wolfgang Puck's WP24, said the loss still lingers.

"I thought I was going to win it," Camacho said. "I came into the competition wanting to win. You don't go there to show up. You go there to win."

Camacho, who was born in Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines, wanted to become the first Filipino Top Chef winner. There have been five other Fil-Ams who have been contestants on Top Chef, but none of them came as close to winning as Camacho, who made it to the finale.

Throughout the show, Camacho seemed to be the favorite. She won several challenges, and received $5,000 in one of the competitions.

However, in the finale, she just came up short.

For the final challenge, Camacho created a display piece of chocolate with orange-chocolate flowers, salted caramel milk chocolate bonbons, a Parker house roll with bacon, onions and Gruyere cheese, an entremet cake consisting of chocolate mousse, mango vanilla cream, caramel cremeux and almond petit fours, and a plated dessert of white chocolate espresso mousse, chocolate cremeux, cashew nougatine and white chocolate ice cream.

"I did want to take it home. I really did. But I feel like I represented myself very well, but I also feel like I made a stand point for the Filipino people: if you work hard regardless of what everybody around is you saying, you can do it," she said.

Despite the loss, Camacho said that being on the show was a positive experience.

"There's still a lot of me to come," said Camacho. "I'm glad that Top Chef was able to allow me to put myself out there. People can see that hey someone is out there doing it and the stuff tastes good so that's really important to me."

It also hasn't dampened her competitive spirit.

Camacho was recently in Madrid, Spain, where she represented the United States in Valrhona's Madrid Fusion Pastry Competition.