We're excited to keep you updated every week as Erica Bethe Levin, our founder and CEO, competes on FOX's Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars.
The show aired every Wednesday on FOX at 9/8c. It is now available to stream on Hulu!
For the episode 1-5 recap, click here.
Buckle up, chocolate lovers! 🍫🚀
In this week’s episode of Food Stars, our fearless entrepreneurs embarked on a sweet and sticky mission to create a brand-new chocolate product from scratch. The catch? They had to come up with a unique name, design eye-catching packaging, and compose a jingle that would make Willy Wonka jealous – all in just 24 hours! And to top it off, they had to pitch their creations to bigwigs from Mars Inc., including Rankin Carrol, Esther Gamble, and Sarah Bilson. No pressure, right?
The teams conducted market research before pitching. Rankin emphasized the need for “pace, pop, and pull” in packaging, Sarah highlighted mass appeal with a unique twist, and Esther stressed the importance of calorie count.
Erica led her team in creating Tattle Tale, a kid-friendly chocolate bar, while Team Ramsay, led by Liz, developed Joopz, an artisanal mini chocolate inspired by Jupiter. The teams utilized a kitchen, design studio, and music studio, with a professional chocolatier on hand for advice.
As the teams hustled, Gordon Ramsay and Lisa Vanderpump swooped in to offer their sage advice. Gordon found Team Ramsay’s creation a bit too complex, while Lisa pointed out a major marketing hurdle: you can’t market chocolate to kids under 13 in some countries.
The focus groups provided valuable feedback. Team Ramsay’s Joopz was well-received for its flavor but considered too luxurious. Team Vanderpump’s Tattle Tale was seen as overly sweet and faced criticism for its packaging. Despite these challenges, both teams gave polished presentations to the judges.
In the end, the episode highlighted the importance of cohesive branding, targeted marketing, and the ability to pivot based on feedback. The pressure was immense, but the entrepreneurs rose to the occasion, showcasing their creativity and resilience.
Erica's Reflection:
I took the lead on this challenge because, as a parent and the owner of Globowl, I truly understand kids. But chocolate making and creating a full product and brand in 24 hours, that is still new to me.
Parents often see candy with its bright colors and fun branding as different from the fancy chocolate boxes we love on Valentine’s Day. However, when Lisa told us about the law prohibiting marketing chocolate to kids under 13, it hit me that even brands like M&Ms with their funny characters aren’t targeting young kids.
We did our best to use our business minds and pivot our pitch in front of Mars.
The real difficulty in this challenge was being split up. As an avid home cook, I might have noticed how sweet the candy was, and if we had worked together more closely, the team could have provided more feedback on branding.
As the team leader, I take full responsibility. As a businesswoman, I know Mars looks for products with high "velocity," meaning they can sell a lot and often. But as a mom, I know chocolates are a once-in-a-while treat.
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Episode 7 Recap: Show and Sell
In Episode 7 of Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars, "Show and Sell," the heat was on as contestants hit The International Food and Drink Event. With 30,000 visitors, teams had just three hours to demo and sell kitchen gadgets, including a $2,000 blender, to brand reps and buyers.
Rose led Team Ramsay with products like an automatic pot stirrer and a butter knife. Kyson struggled with his butter knife demo, but Andrew’s blender presentation was a hit. Despite their energy, the team was criticized for being too informal and missing their target audience.
Nicholas led Team Vanderpump, featuring Roman with an avocado tool, Erica with a whisk, and Jess with a grater. Jess faced a major hurdle when she sliced her finger during practice. The accident left her feeling overwhelmed and doubting herself, but Lisa stepped in, reassigning Jess to demo the whisk instead. Despite the rough start, Jess bounced back with an energetic and confident pitch, even handling a question about making milk foam with ease. Erica nailed her whisk demo, and the team's smooth presentation impressed the judges, though they missed some product details.
Ultimately, Team Vanderpump snagged 50% of potential sales, leaving Team Ramsay with 33%. Team Vanderpump celebrated their victory, while Kyson and Rose faced elimination. This episode underscored the importance of sales skills and quick thinking under pressure.
Erica's Reflection:
The days on set were long, and by this point, it had been six weeks without seeing my family. All of us were growing tired
What stands out most from that day was celebrating Rose's birthday, one of my best friends from the show, on the very day she got eliminated. Filming tested all of us, pushing our mental health to the limit. Thankfully, we had incredible support from the amazing staff, as well as from Gordon and Lisa.
When Rose left, I knew I had to give it my all—not just for myself, but for her and all the women watching the show.
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Episode 8 Recap: Breakfast Bootcamp
In this week’s "Breakfast Bootcamp," the remaining seven contestants faced a grueling challenge at the iconic Savoy Grill. Gordon and Lisa tasked them with running a full breakfast service, covering both the back of house (BOH) and front of house (FOH).
Team Vanderpump (Nicholas, Jess, Roman, Erica) and Team Ramsay (Andrew, Ali, Liz) had to prepare dishes like full English breakfasts and French toast. The challenge highlighted communication issues, with Jess struggling with French toast and flambéing peaches, and Andrew overloaded with multiple dishes.
FOH troubles included Nicholas mishandling allergy requests and Liz and Erica colliding. Mistakes like serving black pudding to customers who didn’t want it further marred the service. Gordon and Lisa were unimpressed, criticizing the lack of coordination and organization.
With several tables left unsatisfied, Gordon pointed out the flaws. Liz and Nicholas left the competition, and the rest of us were on to the semi-final.
Erica's Reflection:
The challenge revealed the crucial need for effective teamwork and communication under pressure. It was BY FAR our most intense, draining, and difficult challenge yet.
This was the only episode where we didn't get to pick out our own outfits. I brushed up on the serving skills I learned at Bistro110 (RIP) 18 years ago, and took the opportunity to learn from the Maitre D' and soak in this once-in-a -lifetime opportunity of working at Savoy.
This challenge was difficult not only for what we had to do, but for what was at stake: the semi-final and final. And ... I MADE IT!
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Episode 9 Recap: Semi Finale
In this episode, we faced the challenge of creating the branding, concept, packaging, and a social media campaign for a new product in 36 hours. Our categories were pet food, non-alcoholic drinks, spirits, and breakfast items.
I chose non-alcoholic drinks, designing EEEZI, a three-flavor artisanal beverage pack. Andrew created a health-boosting cocktail alternative, Jess worked on a resealable cocktail, Ali made a healthy dog whiskey, and Roman crafted a microwavable breakfast treat called "Happy Risers."
After presenting our products, Jess's Sip Strips had maneuverability issues, Roman's Happy Risers tasted good but lacked market distinction, Ali's Woofskey Shots impressed but had packaging flaws, and my EEEZI branding was praised though I didn't know the calorie count. Andrew's Mocksy had target market confusion.
During the final grilling, Lisa praised me for taking a risk, but Gordon questioned my packaging choice. In the end, Roman, Ali, and Jess advanced to the finale. It was intense, but I'm proud of what I created and learned.
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Episode10 Recap: The finale: Pitch Perfect
The finalists had to pitch our businesses live to industry experts with only one night to prepare.
Gordon and Lisa gave us last-minute advice: Jess needed brand diversity, Ali had to improve her social media presence, and Roman was encouraged to expand beyond Florida. Each of us had a consultant and a previous contestant to assist.
I teamed up with Jess (my partner in crime at this point!) to create a lychee and rosé wine sorbet, guided by Julie Fisher, CEO of Ruby Violet. Lisa liked our flavor combo and encouraged Jess to be herself.
Roman worked on seasoned pretzel bites with Andrew and George Rice of Serious Pig, while Ali, with Liz and content creator Olivia Tiedemann, focused on her social media presence. Gordon urged Ali to let her personality shine.
During the pitches, Roman confidently presented Hot Box Pretzel Bites, Ali showcased Chin Dribblin’ Asian-Fusion Sauces, and Jess introduced the Whiny Baby Meltdown Rosé Sorbet, sharing her heartfelt story of starting Whiny Baby.
All three did an amazing job, making it tough for Lisa and Gordon to decide. In the end, Jess Druey won, becoming America’s Next Food Star and taking home the $250,000 prize!
Jess's victory speech was heartfelt, thanking Lisa and Gordon for their mentorship and expressing her commitment to making a significant impact with Whiny Baby. It was a perfect ending, especially with her mom there to witness her success.
Erica's Reflection:
Well, that’s a wrap!
On the most exciting, exhilarating, thrilling and surreal experience of my entire life. Since January, we have been eating, sleeping and breathing #FoodStars - from audition to filming in London 🇬🇧 for two months, to watching the show premiere just a few weeks after returning, to throwing watch parties, to keeping up with the show and its social media weekly, and all of it ending yesterday….it’s been a whirlwind of a 2024.
A whirlwind of getting to spend almost 8 weeks with two of my idols, @lisavanderpump and @gordongram (I literally SQUEALED out loud when they surprised us with the #teamlisa news), promote my greatest passion in life Globowl, in front of the whole world, and walk away with some of the best friends I’ve ever made. My life is forever changed because of this show and I am deliriously thankful for all of the love and support. I said from the beginning, “may the best (wo)man” win….and Jess did.
