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Local girl close
to being a star --
and it’s not
Jasmine Trias

THE search for the "Next Food Network Star" includes a semifinalist who was born and raised in Manoa.

She made the cut from more than 8,000 entries.

Tessa Pang, contestant No. 9 at www.foodnetwork.com's contest page, is shown as "Tessa from New York," but she is a Punahou and Georgetown University graduate who cites local grandmother Tita Pang as her culinary mentor.

She returned to New York Monday after a three-week visit home to find that "Food Network had called to say I had moved to the semifinals," said Pang, who spoke yesterday from New York. When she's not cooking, Pang works as a project manager for Web site development at IBM.

Her three-minute video entry can be viewed on the contest page at www.foodnetwork.com, where votes are also cast. On the video, which is shot in New York City, Pang introduces herself, talks about growing up in Hawaii, shops for ingredients in Chinatown and whips up paella.

A viewers' choice candidate and seven others chosen by Food Network judges will appear in a new reality series that will end with two TV-chef hopefuls. They will tape pilot shows that will be voted on by viewers.

The ultimate winner will tape six episodes of his or her own show that will premiere in September.

Pang hopes for plenny votes before 5 a.m. Monday, so she can make it to the last round of voting next week.

"I was in the lead before and now I've sort of fallen behind; I'm vying for second," she said. A fellow contestant received about 18,000 votes in 24 hours, knocking her out of the lead she needs to advance.

As of yesterday, Pang was in fourth place with about 21,868 votes, or about 19 percent of the total, according to Food Network's Web site.

Her travels in Asia and Europe and the multicultural food environment she grew up in fueled a passion for the culinary arts. Quitting her day job was not an option, so she took part-time jobs with a catering company and in a restaurant kitchen.

In February, Pang attended a three-month program at the French Culinary Institute in New York City, whose graduates include Food Network celebrity chef and restaurateur Bobby Flay.

"I'm not sure where it will ultimately lead me, but I've started a mini-catering business with my boyfriend in New York."

Pang's boyfriend and contest videographer, Eric Szafran, also has a technology-related day job as director of a sales group for Oracle.

"He says I should be happy I made it this far, but you know, I would love to see it go further if I could."

Buzzbits

La Mer has received its 15th consecutive AAA five-diamond dining award and remains the only Hawaii restaurant with that ranking ... Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is boasting about its 51 properties on Conde Nast Traveler's Gold List and Gold List Reserve, featured in the magazine's January issue. The Hawaii listings include the Princeville Resort Kauai, the Lodge at Koele and the Manele Bay Hotel on Lanai and the Royal Hawaiian Hotel in Waikiki ... Surfer Gavin Sutherland of Kahuku has added Honolua Surf Co. to his list of corporate sponsors that also includes VonZipper, Aloha Surfboards, 50/50 Wave Skates and cfafilm.com.