Rex Alba learned to cook in his home country of the Philippines before moving to Columbus 20 years ago.
He's now sharing Filipino flavors on national television as a contestant on "," now in its fourth season on PBS.
The hit show celebrates home cooks from across the country as they share the dishes鈥攁nd the stories鈥攖hat define them.
You can catch the show Fridays at 9 p.m. on 网曝黑料 TV.
Watch the first episode now.
Matthew Rand: Tell us a bit about yourself. What got you into cooking and how did you end up competing on 鈥淭he Great American Recipe?鈥�
Rex Alba: So, my mom is my mentor and back home in the Philippines. I had a small restaurant, like a very small diner, to help out the family when my mom died back in 2005. So that's how I really honed my cooking skills.
Matthew Rand: This isn鈥檛 your first time on national TV. Some folks might remember you from 鈥淎merican Ninja Warrior鈥� back in 2017. What was that experience like鈥攁nd how does competing in the kitchen compare to competing on an obstacle course?
Rex Alba: So, with American Ninja Warrior, it's more like a physical challenge. And at the same time, it鈥檚 similar to the cooking show. Some of the challenges we weren't aware of beforehand. So, with this cooking show, it's kind of different because we also have challenges that we weren't aware of and they didn't do it in the past seasons.
Matthew Rand: I think it's fair to say most every cook has that one dish they like to make to impress. What's your signature recipe and the story behind it?
Rex Alba: So, it's a pork blood stew. I know people will throw a fit on that one, but I just wanna show that we Filipinos, especially in a third-world country, we don't waste any meat parts. It's made with pork blood and pork ears, pork snout and pork belly, but it's really delicious.
Matthew Rand: 鈥淭he Great American Recipe鈥� puts a big spotlight on cultural identity. How does your Filipino heritage influence the way you cook and the kinds of dishes you love to make?
Rex Alba: I tried to incorporate both my Filipino background and Columbus, since I've been living in Columbus for the past 20 years now. So, I have the influence of whatever we have here in Columbus. It used to be so hard to get the source of the ingredients here in Columbus, but now we've been able to have more Asian grocery stores. So, I've been able to just modify the ingredients on what we have here in Columbus locally.
Matthew Rand: Without giving away any spoilers, what was one moment from the show that really surprised you鈥攅ither in the kitchen or behind the scenes?
Rex Alba: So, the camaraderie. It's different. This is a different competition. We try to cheer for each other. For some reason, when two of the cooks were sent out during episode two last Friday, I was really sobbing. I was so sad that someone has to go and they could have taken their place. But yeah, emotionally, I was really attached to my co-cooks.
Matthew Rand: Now that Columbus knows you're repping us on a national stage, where can we taste your cooking locally, or how can we follow along with your food journey?
Rex Alba: So, you can check my recipes on or Bisdak Chef, I have it on , and . And I also collaborate with a few of our Filipino restaurants here in Columbus, like Bonifacio, as well as some food trucks and festivals.
