Television viewers in the United States who tune into the Food Network cable channel might get to watch a Latvian-American caterer and chef from Texas win her own cooking show.

Dzintra Dzenis, 44, is among 12 contestants on the sixth season of “The Next Food Network Star.” Based this year in Los Angeles, the reality show pits the contestants against each other in various cooking and food presentation challenges judged by three Food Network personalities. Each week one contestant is eliminated.

Dzenis, whose first language is Latvian, runs her own catering business in Austin, Texas. She has been a caterer since the age of 17 and graduated from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. Through her business, Plate by Dzintra, she teaches private cooking classes and hosts a supper club. She and her family recently returned to the United States.

“I lived in Paris for 20 years, and when we decided (my husband and daughter) to move back to the U.S., we wanted to select a place where food still has a chance to grow,” Dzenis told Latvians Online in an e-mail. “I mean, in cities like New York, Chicago or San Francisco food trends change faster than people can clean their plates.  Austin is a small-big city, the capital of Texas, and it has the highest amount of restaurant goers in the country. This is exactly the kind of place I can grow my business in. Plus Austin is beautiful, the landscapes look like a cross between Provence and Tuscany. Also, the people here are super friendly!”

Filming of “The Next Food Network Star” is complete, but there is no word yet if Dzenis won or was eliminated. The first show aired June 5 and the program continues into August. An estimated 2.5 million viewers saw the first show, according to Nielsen Media Research.

In the first show, Dzenis for her “camera challenge” prepared a chicken and potato napoleon with spicy tomato-sambal sauce, according to FoodNetwork.com. For her “star challenge,” she prepared a limoncello and meyer lemon sabayon with crispy macadamia cakes and candied lemon rind. Both recipes can be found on the show’s website.

However, Dzenis got undesirable attention when an injury to her eye brought her to tears and to the hospital, restricting her participation. Although she survived the first episode, Dzenis was left “hanging by a thread,” according to one judge.

Although her Food Network profile describes her specialty as “New American Fusion,” Dzenis said her Latvian background will be apparent on the show in a recipe from her mother. But, she added, “you’ll just have to tune in to find out what it is!”

Her favorite Latvian food is pīragi, Dzenis said. “I also love sauer kraut soup with ķimenes, potatoes and a nice fatty piece of stewed pork. Yum-yum!”

Dzenis thanked the Latvian viewers who caught the first show.

“So many Latvians from around the country watched the show last night, and they’ve been sending me e-mails and messages, cheering me on,” she told Latvians Online. “I appreciate it so much… so please keep watching the show and rooting for their little Latvian lady!”

“The Next Food Network Star” is seen Sundays on the Food Network at 9 p.m. Eastern (8 p.m. Central) in the United States. The second episode airs June 13.

About 1,800 Latvian citizens could be served by mobile passport stations that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs are expected to bring to Australia, Canada and the United States this summer.

According to a proposal for extra funding approved June 8 by the Cabinet of Ministers in Rīga, the mobile passport stations will allow Latvian citizens abroad to get new type passports complete with biometric data in time for the Oct. 2 Saeima election.

The Cabinet of Ministers approved supplementary spending in the amount of LVL 27,551 for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and LVL 21,865 for the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs. The funding will allow for two technicians each to travel to the three countries beginning later this month through August.

Latvia began issuing new passports with biometric data in November 2007. Because it is necessary for persons to be physically present at the time of requesting a new passport, problems have arisen for Latvian citizens abroad who no longer have valid passports and are not able to easily obtain new ones. In Australia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs proposal noted, Latvia has no embassy, while honorary consuls are not authorized to issue passports. In Canada and the United States, the location of embassies (in Ottawa and Washington, D.C., respectively) would require citizens to travel great distances to deal with passport issues.

The problem has been accentuated by the coming parliamentary election, because citizens may not vote without valid passports.

In Australia, a mobile passport station will be brought to Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. About 400 Latvian citizens could be served, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In Canada, a passport station will be brought to Edmonton, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver. An estimated 300 citizens could be served.

And in the United States, a passport station will be brought to Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, New York and Seattle. About 1,100 Latvian citizens could be served, according to the ministry.

Costs of the mobile passport project, according to the foreign ministry’s proposal, will be offset by help from Latvian organizations and honorary consuls in the three countries.