TACOMA, Wash. — She may have been born in the States, but chef Jan Parker's biggest food influence lies 6,500 miles away.
"My love of food came from my parents. My mom is from the Philippines and so is my father," said Parker. "Every activity that we have revolves around food. And honestly, it's the way we show each other love."
Today, Parker shows her love and her Filipino heritage in the food she prepares through her catering company, Jan Parker Cookery.
"We like to incorporate flavors of the Philippines. In America, I also incorporate American flavors," Parker said.
Her distinct flavors have made her a South Sound favorite. But her talents also caught the eye of a national network.
"My first involvement with Food Network was with 'Chopped,'" said Parker. “The Food Network found me on social media, they contacted me through Instagram. I went through the casting process, and I guess they liked me."
They liked Parker so much that the network reached out again to see if she would be a part of Season Two of their reality TV show, "Ciao House."
"I received an email with an invitation. And I was very shocked. And I was like, 'Is this real?'" said Parker. "'Ciao House' [Season] Two is basically within a villa in Puglia, Italy. And we are in a beautiful state-of-the-art kitchen. And we are all competing with each other to become kappa, which is the head of the house."
Though Parker has been thrown into the fire of reality tv before, shooting "Ciao House" required a whole new recipe for success.
"As we are filming we're also learning about who we're competing against," said Parker. "So, that is also in the back of your mind to like, 'OK, I need to push a little harder, we're going to need to just perform at the highest level.' A lot of the chefs and myself have specialties and so we definitely used our specialties to our advantage and so definitely what you can expect with whatever I produce, it's going to have the Filipino influence."
You'll have to tune in to see how Parker does, but she says the experience of shooting "Ciao House" was well worth the heat.
"It was challenging to compete, a little stressful, and a lot of energy," she said. "But it was worth it, I would definitely do it again."
Season Two of "Ciao House" starts Sunday, May 19 on the Food Network.
KING 5's Evening celebrates the Northwest. Contact us: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Email.