The hospitality business junior still holds a passion for food, and he had an opportunity to display his drive and talent while participating in the upcoming MTV series, “House of Food.”
Eight contestants from across the U.S. all gathered under one roof in Los Angeles, Calif., from October to December 2013.
The previously untrained participants were all within the age range of 21 to 25 years old, and Kho said they had one thing in common - shared passions for cooking and food.
Kho took time off from school to compete in the show and was not registered as a student for fall 2013 or spring 2014 semesters.
The chosen eight trained under famed Los Angeles chefs Brendan Collins, Brooke Williamson and Casey Lane during their time on the show.
Whoever is victorious after the three month period will win a month-long apprenticeship with each judge.
“It was a surreal experience,” Kho said. “It was breathtaking to think about getting an apprenticeship with those three chefs.”
According to the MTV website, “House of Food” mixes the fiercely competitive elements of culinary school with the elements of house-based reality shows like “Jersey Shore” or “The Real World.”
Few people knew where Kho disappeared to while he was filming the show.
Although his roommates and parents were aware of the situation, he told other friends that he was partaking in an internship and traveling out west to discover himself.
This wasn’t Kho’s first stab at a reality cooking show. In 2012, he auditioned for the FOX reality TV show “MasterChef,” another cooking reality show. Kho placed 24th out of 36 contestants, according to a previous State News article.
“They didn’t think I was up-to-par,” he said. “I had a lot to learn, and this gave me a huge opportunity to do that.”
With the show now behind him, Kho plans to return to his studies for the fall 2014 semester.
He said his passion for food will always have a place in his heart, and he hopes to one day have his own bistro or cafe restaurant.
“You cook to live, you eat to live,” he said. “It’s always going to be a necessity for us to have around.”
The show will premiere at 10 p.m. on March 31 on MTV .
