Ash Pollard: The sharp-witted My Kitchen Rules diva has her own cooking show.

TV and radio personality Ash Pollard made a name for herself as a contestant on My Kitchen Rules three years ago. Now, the curly haired blonde returns with a cooking show on Network Ten, Foodie Adventures with Ash Pollard, where travel, recipes and celebrity dinner parties make the upper cut.

Born in Tasmania, raised on the Gold Coast and a former Melbourne gal, Pollard now calls the NSW Central Coast home after starting a job as host of a morning breakfast radio show on SeaFM.

She relocated north in December last year, leaving behind friends and boyfriend Peter Ferne to try her luck on air and further her media career. Pollard still has a soft spot for Melbourne, though, the city that inspired her to become a chef. She gets back every other weekend for love and pleasure.

“I moved to Melbourne when I was 24. It was a melting pot for cuisine discovery,” says the 32-year-old.

“My interest in food was spurred after I met Camilla [her teammate on the Network Seven cooking show] and being around her passionate family, who love to cook,” she says. “Nobody in my family really has a passion for food like I do, although mum makes exceptional desserts.”

It was a former boyfriend who encouraged Pollard to consider MKR. But these days she has mixed feelings about becoming famous via reality TV.

She says the competition to be seen and heard in a flooded market of runner-ups means getting noticed is harder than ever. “After telling my ex I didn’t want to be on a reality show, I suddenly found myself writing an application,’’ she says.

‘‘The next minute I was on TV and it changed my life within a month.’’

Pollard’s enthusiasm for her new life is infectious. The go-getter dreams of having a regular cooking show and a metro-radio spot in the next few years. For now, she’s focused on her new TV series, which combines travel to regions like Piedemonte in Italy, and Monaco, where she learns recipes from locals – avoiding tourist traps for an authentic experience.

She has spent the last three months filming episodes abroad and in Melbourne, recreating recipes for friends and a celebrity guest. Her dinner guests have included comedian Joel Creasey, model Kris Smith and former footballer Dane Swan. singer “I love entertaining people,” she says. “It’s my happy place, and food and recipes is one way to bring the best of all those worlds together.”

Pollard speaks highly of a meal in San Daniele, Italy, and tasting a life-changing pasta dish. “I walked into a restaurant and nobody spoke a lick of English,” she says. “It was very rustic and a beautiful Italian experience. I ended up going into the kitchen to learn how four ingredients turned into the best pasta I’ve ever tasted in my life.

“All you need is fresh fettuccini pasta, cream, prosciutto and a smattering of poppy seeds – a random but thoughtful addition. Simple, but so tasty.” ●

Foodie Adventures with Ash Pollard \ Network Ten, Saturdays, 4.30pm.