A Leander chef appeared on a Sept. 24 episode of Food Network's "Chopped," winning the weekly cooking competition show.

Janelle Reynolds, co-owner of personal catering service @t Large, was among four contestants—the only of whom to hail outside New York City—to appear on the episode.

The TV show pits four contestants against each other in time-sensitive cooking competitions. The show is broken up into three rounds, with one contestant eliminated after each round. Each round includes secret ingredients the chefs must include in their dishes, which are then judged by a panel and ultimately ranked. The winner at the end of all three rounds wins $10,000 and the title of "Chopped" champion, she said.

Reynolds won all three rounds of the competition to take home the $10,000 in prize money, which she said will go toward her business @t Large. It also helped pay for a trip to Las Vegas, where Reynolds visited many famous restaurants. She said her favorite was Jaleo, a restaurant opened by Jose Andres. She especially appreciated the unique architecture, she said.

She learned late last year that Food Network selected her to be a contestant. The episode was filmed in New York in February.

"It was awesome—very intense," Reynolds said of the episode. "I was so nervous at the beginning I could barely hold my chef knife, but it was a lot of fun. I'm glad I did it and glad I got to go and represent Austin."

Reynolds said she takes pride in bringing more attention to the rising Austin dining scene, which has been in the spotlight in recent years thanks to various food-focused television networks that have featured Austin-based chefs.

"The celebrity chefs in Austin are really attracting a lot of attention to the incredible food in this city," she said. "I think it's incredible for these people, including myself, to show what we're doing here in Austin, Texas."

Aside from managing @t Large with her husband, Jayson, the 2004 graduate of the Austin-based Texas Culinary Academy—now called Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Austin—also is working to open Mighty Bird, a local rotisserie chicken restaurant expected to debut two locations by the end of this year. In addition, she also assists Dinner Lab, a membership-based dinner party group that operates at various locations.

Reynolds said Food Network told her she may be asked for future airings, but no such invitation has yet been extended.