Erica Bethe Levin, of Wellington, is one of 14 entrepreneurs competing on “Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars.” Levin founded baby food brand Globowl three years ago. “Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on Fox.
Mix a pinch of “The Apprentice,” a pinch of “Shark Tank” and a dash of “The Voice” and you get “Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars,” a reality TV competition series on FOX in which food and beverage entrepreneurs compete for a chance to win a $250,000 grand prize.
Wellingtonian Erica Beth Levin, founder of baby food brand GloBowl, survived the first three rounds of eliminations on the show and, more importantly for her, impressed her son, whose tenacity earned her a place on the show.
“I had no intention of applying to be on the show, but my son is a big Gordon Ramsay fan, so we watched the first season of Food Stars together and he said, 'Mum, why aren't you on?' and 'Mum, you can do more,'” the 40-year-old entrepreneur-mom, who has son Charlie, 7, and daughter Neve, 4.
A few months later, her son asked if she'd heard back, and when she admitted that she hadn't, he insisted that she fill out an application right away. Later that day, Levin got a call from the producers, and shortly thereafter, she was on a plane to London for filming.
The Wellington woman was one of seven entrepreneurs who caught Lisa Vanderpump's eye.
While all of the contestants live in the United States, the 10-episode season will be filmed across the ocean for seven weeks from late February to mid-April. Initially, 26 contestants pitched their businesses to Ramsay and reality TV superstar Lisa Vanderpump, who then chose seven entrepreneurs each to team up with.
“The competition isn't necessarily about who's making the most money in the business right now, it's about who's the best founder, who's the most promising entrepreneur, who has the most promising idea,” explained Levin, who finally officially began selling his baby food in October 2023.
The 14 remaining contestants, including Levin, attended a business boot camp along with three other Floridians: Roman Desmond, a Deerfield Beach native who now lives in Jacksonville, Peri Barzel, of Boca Raton, and Maria Laura Baca-Flores, of Miami.
Levin was recruited by Team Vanderpump, but it came as quite a surprise to see the popular bar and restaurant owner and animal rights activist there.
“I had no idea Lisa would be there until I got there. It was totally unexpected,” Levin admitted. “I wanted to learn from Gordon Ramsay and be a part of this amazing experience. When I found out it was Lisa, I was totally surprised. I was so excited! I've been a huge fan of Lisa's for years.”
What is the format of Gordon Ramsay's “Food Stars”?
Each time, contestants take on a food or drink-related challenge and are judged on certain criteria. Members of the winning team are automatically spared elimination. The losing team is grilled by Ramsay and Vanderpump, who send home who they feel is the weakest. In later episodes, there may be two eliminations in one episode.
“This is a full-blown business proposition. They weren't just looking for a chef or a bartender or someone with a consumer goods brand. They were looking for someone with experience and capabilities across the food and beverage business,” Levin said.
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Previous aired challenges have included coming up with a profitable food truck concept, creating an immersive concept bar that is judged on customer experience, and developing an easy-to-follow Fourth of July-inspired recipe that was streamed live during a cooking demonstration on Delish.
Team Vanderpump won the food truck challenge with a profit of $1,399, nearly double what Team Ramsay made, but Team Vanderpump lost the next two challenges, resulting in the elimination of two of Levin's teammates.
Each team divided roles among its members and assigned tasks based on each individual's strengths, such as cooking, marketing or organization. In the first few rounds, contestants compete only against opposing teams, but as the show progresses and the field is narrowed down, contestants will also compete against their teammates for the $250,000 first place prize. “Gordon always said, 'Shine individually, but compete as a team,'” Levin said.
Wellington woman says Foodstars has taught her how to work more efficiently
A self-described control freak, Levin’s experience with Food Stars taught him to go with the flow, be self-motivated, and work efficiently to accomplish goals and tasks under strict time constraints.
“It was emotionally, mentally, physically and intellectually pressuring and it definitely made me a better founder and honestly a better person and a better mother,” she said. “It taught me how fast I can get things done and that I should never underestimate that.” [There were] The deadlines are very short, but because you're working in a team, you have people who bring different kinds of resources, different talents, different strengths to the table, so that certainly helps.”
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Business is definitely a team sport, and if Levin returns home victorious, she plans to use the $250,000 to help with operations, production, marketing and maybe even hiring one more key employee.
“Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars” airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. on FOX and is available to stream the next day on Hulu. In the Wednesday, June 19 episode, contestants are tasked with launching a wine brand and filming a commercial for it.
The Wellington woman founded baby food brand Globowl three years ago.
When Levin started Globowl nearly three years ago, she was a mom on a mission. Like many parents, when she started feeding her first-born solid foods, the menu consisted of monotonous purees because she was hesitant to introduce textures, flavors, and spices. Now seven years old, he remains a picky eater. When her daughter started eating solid foods, Levin took an entirely different approach.
WATCH: Watch Wellington woman Erica Bette Levin's pitch to Food Stars here
“We eat food from all over the world, and we came up with this during the pandemic because we couldn't leave the house and we wanted our daughter to eat what we were eating,” Levin said. “The first thing she tried was coconut shrimp curry, and she still eats it a lot. It works.”
The Rhode Island-made organic baby food line currently has four recipes — Pad Thai for Tots, Veggie Tikka Masala, Yaya's Medi Bowl and Baby Spiced Bean Bowl — with plans to add Korean Baby Bippin' Bop and Italian Ministroni this summer. Ingredients include common allergens like nuts, sesame, soy, egg, shellfish and coconut, because research shows that introducing these foods early reduces the chances that children will develop allergies to them, Levin said.
“One of the reasons we've become such a food allergy-prone country is because we have so much baby food on the shelves,” she says. “All of that is not good for kids, and now we have generations of picky eaters and food allergy kids. We're basically following the example of the rest of the world and feeding our kids like everyone else and hoping that we can combat some of these problems that have developed over the past few generations.”
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During her presentation at Food Stars, Levin highlighted the story behind the brand and how her own children inspired it: by introducing kids to world cuisine, she hopes they will learn about other cultures through food, how to become global citizens, and how to connect with others through food.
Levin works with a chef advisory board that specializes in certain cuisines to verify the authenticity of recipes, and with a board of health experts made up of pediatricians, dentists, speech-language pathologists, and registered dietitians to advise on safety, portion sizes, and more. Globowl comes in a glass jar instead of a pouch, which helps prevent babies from ingesting microplastics. Sealed, it has a shelf life of two years, and can be refrigerated for several days after opening.
Each jar serves one or two meals, depending on the child's age and appetite. It's common for parents or guardians to start feeding their babies at 4 to 6 months of age, but Levin recommends everyone consult with their pediatrician for guidance. Preservative-free baby food is sold nationally by Thrive Market and Amazon, as well as at local grocery stores like Milam's Market in Sunny Isles Beach and Miami.
