If you take a cup of “The Apprentice,” a dash of “Shark Tank” and a sprinkle of “The Voice,” and mix it all together, you’ll get “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars,” a FOX reality show competition series where food and beverage entrepreneurs compete for a $250,000 grand prize.
Wellington resident Erica Bethe Levin, founder of baby food line Globowl, has survived the show’s first three rounds of elimination and, even more importantly to her, impressing her son. It was his persistence she apply that got her cast.
“I wasn’t planning on applying to be on the show, but my son is Gordon Ramsay’s biggest fan and we watched ‘Food Stars’ season one together, and he would comment like, ‘Mom, why aren’t you on it?’ Or, ‘Mom, you could do better,’” said the 40-year-old momtrepreneur of son Charlie, 7, and daughter Neve, 4.
Months later, her son asked if she ever heard back, and when she admitted she never applied, he insisted they fill out the application right then. Later that day, Levin received a call from a producer, and she was on a plane to London to film soon after.
Wellington woman was one of seven entrepreneurs who caught the eye of Lisa Vanderpump
Although all the contestants reside in the United States, the 10-episode season is filmed across the pond for seven weeks from the end of February until mid-April. Initially, 26 people pitched their businesses to Ramsay and reality TV superstar Lisa Vanderpump, who each selected seven entrepreneurs to make up their teams.
“The competition isn’t necessarily about who is making the most money currently in business. It’s about who the best founder is, the most promising entrepreneur, and promising idea,” explained Levin, whose baby food products only officially began being sold in October of 2023.
The 14 contestants who moved on, including Levin, entered a business bootcamp. Levin was joined by three other Floridians on the show — Roman Desmond, a Deerfield Beach native who now resides in Jacksonville; Peri Basel from Boca Raton; and Maria Laura Vacaflores from Miami.
Levin was recruited by Team Vanderpump, and it came as quite a surprise the popular bar and restaurant owner and animal rescue advocate was even there.
“We had no idea that Lisa was going to be a part of it until we got there, so it was a total twist,” admitted Levin. “I was all about getting to learn from Gordon Ramsay and being part of this incredible experience. When I found out it was Lisa, my mouth just completely dropped. I was so excited! I am a Lisa fan through-and-through for a very long time.”
What’s the format of Gordon Ramsay’s ‘Food Stars’?
Every episode, contestants are presented with a food or beverage-related challenge that is judged on certain criteria. Members of the winning team are automatically safe from elimination. The losing team is grilled by Ramsay and Vanderpump and the person they feel is the weakest link is sent home. Some later episodes will feature two eliminations in one episode.
“These are full-blown business challenges. They weren’t looking just for a chef, just for a mixologist, or just someone with a consumer-packed goods brand. They were looking for someone with overall food and beverage business experience and prowess,” Levin said.
Challenges that have aired so far include coming up with a profitable food truck concept, creating an immersive concept bar judged on customer experience and developing an easy-to-follow Fourth of July inspired recipe that was livestreamed in a cook-a-long demonstration on Delish.
Team Vanderpump won the food truck challenge by making a $1,399 profit, nearly double that of Team Ramsay. However, Team Vanderpump lost the following two challenges, sending two of Levin’s teammates home.
Each team divided responsibilities among its members, assigning tasks based on individual’s strengths whether that be cooking or marketing or organizing. In the first several rounds, contestants are only competing against the opposing team, but as the show goes on and the field narrows, contestants will also be competing with their own teammates in pursuit of the $250,000 grand prize. “Gordon always said, ‘Shine as individuals, but compete as a team,’” shared Levin.
Wellington woman says ‘Food Stars’ has taught her how to work more efficiently
A self-proclaimed control freak, the “Food Stars” experience taught Levin to go with the flow a bit more, spontaneity, and how to work efficiently to accomplish goals and tasks with a strict time constraint.
“These were pressure cooker situations — emotionally, mentally, physically intellectually. I am definitely a better founder and honestly a better person and mom, because of that experience,” she said. “It taught me how much faster my capabilities are in terms of how quickly I can get things done and to not underestimate that. [There were] very tight turnarounds, but you’re working on a team, so you have people who are providing different sorts of resources and different talents and different strengths, so that does help.”
Business is a team sport, no doubt. If Levin returns home as the champion, she plans to use the $250,000 on operations, production, marketing and possibly one more key hire.
“Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” airs Wednesdays on FOX at 9 p.m. and is available to stream on Hulu the next day. On the Wednesday, June 19 episode, the contestants will be tasked with creating a wine brand and shooting a commercial for it.
Wellington woman founded baby food line Globowl three years ago
When Levin founded Globowl approximately three years ago, she was a mom on a mission. Like many parents, when she introduced solid foods to her first-born, the menu consisted of one-note purees because she was hesitant to give him texture, flavor and spice. To this day, at age 7, he remains a picky eater. Levin took a completely different approach when it was time for her daughter to eat solids.
“We eat cuisine from all over the world. I conceptualized this during the pandemic because we couldn’t leave our house. I wanted her to eat what we were eating,” Levin said. “Her very first food was coconut shrimp curry. She’s still a great eater. It works.”
Made in Rhode Island, the organic baby food line currently consists of four recipes — Pad Thai for Tots, Veggie Tikka Masala, Yaya’s Medi Bowl, and Baby Spices Bean Bowl — and plans to add a Korean dish, Baby Bippin’ Bop, and Italian cuisine, MiniStroni, this summer. Ingredients include common allergens such as nuts, sesame, soy, eggs, shellfish and coconut because, according to Levin, research shows that early introduction of such foods decreases the likelihood a child will develop an allergy to those foods.
“Part of the reason we’ve become a country so prone to food allergies is because our baby food on shelves has been so sanitized,” she said. “None of this is good for our kids and now we have multiple generations of picky eating kids with food allergies. We’re basically taking a cue from the rest of the world, feeding the kids the way everyone else eats and hoping that we can counteract some of these problems that have come into existence the last few generations.”
In her pitch on “Food Stars,” Levin emphasized the story behind the brand and how her kids inspired it. She hopes that by introducing tots to international cuisine, they learn about other cultures through food, how to be globally minded citizens, and how to connect with others through food.
Levin works with a Chef Advisory Board who specializes in certain cuisines to authenticate the recipes and a Health Expert Board consisting of a pediatrician, dentist, speech pathologist, and registered dietician to advise on safety, serving size, and more. Served in a glass jar instead of a pouch, Globowl prevents infants from ingesting microplastics. It has a two-year shelf life when sealed. Once opened, it can be refrigerated for a few days.
Each jar is meant to be one or two servings, depending on the child’s age and appetite. It is common for parents and caregivers to begin introducing food to babies at four to six months of age, but Levin encourages everyone to consult with their pediatrician for guidance. The preservative-free baby food is sold nationally on Thrive Market and Amazon, as well as regional grocery stores including Milam’s Markets in Sunny Isles Beach and Miami.
