MANILA, Philippines – The count to the first episode of AXN’s “Apprentice Asia” is now down to a few days. Airing on May 22, viewers will finally get to meet the 12 candidates vying for a dream job under renowned aviator tycoon and 2010 Forbes Asia’s Asia Businessman of the Year, Tony Fernandes.

Two Filipinos have found their way among the 12 hopefuls. Jonathan Allen Yabut is a 27-year-old senior product manager in a pharmaceutical company.

READ: Pinoy is part of ‘The Apprentice Asia’

The second Pinoy “Apprentice” bet is Celina Le Neindre, a 30-year-old food and beverage consultant who studied at the Philippine School of Culinary Arts.

Climbing to the top

This won’t be the first time the pretty mestiza competes in a tough working environment far away from home.

Her passion for the hospitality and tourism industry had her washing dishes and scrubbing toilets in the South of France.

She takes cue from her father who worked his way up from bellboy to general manager of a large hotel chain, a career that took their family from France to Tanzania to the Philippines.

Aside from being the food and beverage consultant for a steakhouse, Celina ran her own pasta bar for 3 years.

Charmer

In her profile video, Celina oozes with graceful self-assurance as she says, “I love what I do and I never stop learning. I’m never afraid to step up to challenge and I always defend what I believe in. I’ve got skills, I’ve got the experience and definitely I’ve got the confidence to make it to the top.”

Will she hold her own among the 11 other competitive and highly-driven candidates? We’ll soon find out.

The show, shot in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, will follow the candidates as they are eliminated one by one based on evaluation by head honcho Fernandes and his two advisors, Tune Hotels’ Group CEO Mark Lankester and Expedia Asia CEO Kathleen Tan.

It is unclear if viewers will be able to vote for their favorite candidates during the show. – Rappler.com