Houstonian among chefs in Season 3 of ABC's 'The Taste'

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- One bite could make or break their careers: Season three of "The Taste" is back on ABC-13, and one Houstonian is representing the Bayou City.

For Tristen Epps, it didn't take much time to find his passion for cooking - it took distance.

"My mom was transferred in the military to Japan, and me sitting there and not understanding a single thing on TV except for The Cooking Channel," he said.

Traveling the world at a young age became a lesson in international cuisine and fed his hunger for more.

"The world became so much bigger to me and that's what made me want to be a chef," Epps said.

He's now a rising star, chef in Houston and making his mark on the food world on the third season of ABC's "The Taste," a competition food show.

"You have one bite on that show to prove yourself, not a whole plate. It gets hard," Epps said.

In the judges seat are Anthony Bourdain, Nigella Lawson, Marcus Samuelsson and Ludo Lefebvre.

Stakes are high for the contestants. But the hardest part for the Trinidad-born chef is taking criticism with a grain of salt.

"For them to insult my food or criticize my food, was probably one of the biggest things. This is my resume on a national level," he said.

Epps says he's moving to the Big Apple next week to start another chapter. Will he go all the way? Tune in to ABC-13 at 7pm every Thursday to find out.