Lauren Smith (‘Next Level Chef’) exit interview: ‘It was just a bad grab’ [Exclusive Video Interview]
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Lauren Smith, the 36-year-old home cook from Santa Monica, California was eliminated in 11th place on Thursday’s episode of “Next Level Chef.” Despite Team Richard Blais cooking in the top kitchen, Lauren struggled to find the ingredients she needed on the platform and found herself up for elimination against Team Nyesha Arrington‘s Mada Abdelhamid. Watch her exclusive video interview with Gold Derby above.
“It was just a bad grab,” she tells Gold Derby. “I grabbed that bell pepper and I just didn’t know what to do with it. I didn’t grab enough. Also, just the pressure of being in the top kitchen. We were used to the ‘Blaisment.’ I was comfortable down there.”
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Lauren explains she became a self-taught chef while working on a private jet. Her boss pushed her to get better stating, “I want a chef on a jet.” Although she had her doubts, Lauren studied menus from Michelin star restaurants and cooked over 10,000 unique dishes over eight years on the jet.
The private chef has since quit her day job on that jet and has many plans in the works. You can follow her Instagram page to see what she’s up to now. In addition to private chef events with Taste Collective, Lauren plans to launch an aviation culinary business and become the food and beverage director for a boutique hotel in New Orleans.
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