Nicole Renard (‘Next Level Chef’) exit interview: ‘I was definitely overwhelmed’ in the Bento Box challenge

Nicole Renard, the 28-year-old social media chef from Kennewick, Washington was eliminated in seventh place on Thursday’s episode of “Next Level Chef.” The former Miss Washington from Team Richard Blais struggled in the Bento Box challenge, admitting Japanese cuisine is not her strong suit. She landed in the elimination round against Izahya Thomas and Gabi Chappel, both from Team Gordon Ramsay. Watch her exclusive video interview with Gold Derby above. 

“I’ve never made a bento box,” Nicole admits. “And to do three different components in 30 minutes essentially gave us all 10 minutes for each. That’s less time than we’ve had for any challenge. I was definitely overwhelmed. I’m not familiar with Japanese cuisine. I’ve never cooked it. I don’t eat it a lot, so heading back down into the basement I definitely felt in over my head.”

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Nicole had some highlights throughout the season, including Week 9 when she won the pizza challenge with lamb tongue. “I actually re-created that pizza a few weeks ago for my YouTube channel,” she explains. “Because I didn’t get to taste the pizza. We had to serve them whole. I was just guessing if my flavors were going to go together. When I re-created it, I did it almost exactly how I did it on the show based off the ingredients I grabbed and how I remember assembling it. Honestly, the flavors were great. It did taste good.”

The social media chef is going strong on all platforms. Known as @nicole_thenomad, she can be found on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Pinterest. She’s most known for her famous smoothie bowls, but gives many cooking demonstrations and hopes to soon come out with a cook book.

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