The Season 2 winner of Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars has been crowned! Food and beverage industry legends Gordon Ramsay and Lisa Vanderpump each mentored a team. The contestants were put through rigorous challenges designed to test their business acumen. The three remaining contestants, Roman Desmond, Jess Druey, and Ali Schlichter faced a daunting final challenge. Each gave a live pitch about their business to an audience of experts in the beverage and food space.
In the end, Gordon and Lisa selected Jess as the winner. She received a cool $250,000 grand prize. Hopefully, this will help to catapult her wine company, Whiny Baby, to the next level.
Reality Tea spoke with Jess about being named America’s Next Food Star and how she felt about this season.
How Jess Druey felt about being named America’s Next Food Star
Just before speaking with us, Jess watched some clips of the show’s finale. Having her mom there to share this momentous occasion was emotional for Jess.
“I always joke, that it feels like these big life moments as young people often is like getting married or having your first baby, right?” Jess explained. “And I’m gearing up for the finale party and all my grandparents are there and I’m like, ‘This beats them being at my wedding.’ If I ever even have one, you know?”
She continued, “And honestly, I’m so grateful to the show because very few times as an entrepreneur do you get to thank the people around you. I’m spoiled and I get a lot of the notoriety and you know the exciting parts of it. But to share that with, especially my mom, and for her to get the excitement of being there. I mean, it just means the world.”
Why Jess enjoyed the semi-final challenge the most
For the semi-final pitch presentation, the contestants were tasked with creating a new product, within certain categories, and developing a social media campaign. Jess created an alcoholic beverage in a resealable sleeve like a popsicle.
“You know, it’s interesting. I’m really proud of that product and actually would love to bring Sip Strips to market one day,” Jess told us. “But as Gordon and Lisa said, it needed quite a bit of development. But I think that’s part of the risk I took in creating a product with completely new packaging that’s never been done. So, thankfully, I think Gordon and Lisa got the concept and saw that there was potential there.”
Still, Jess felt that this challenge was tough. “In a 24-48 hour period, we’re quite literally doing what we do. Like what we’ve done in years creating a business, we were doing overnight. You know, there were parameters, but it really was the world’s our oyster,” the Food Star winner stated. “And I think sometimes when you have so much possibility, that can consume you. That was my favorite challenge yet … I mean it’s what we do. It’s what we live for, creating new businesses and ideas. But it was definitely the most pressure and hardest,” she added.
After all, Gordon and Lisa weren’t kidding when they called the show a “business boot camp.” Jess said, “It tested all your different business skills and I think everyone who was on the show would say the same thing – that they’re walking away a better entrepreneur, and even, person.”
Jess Druey shares what made her feel vulnerable during Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars
“I hated, obviously, because I sliced my finger, but I was just not in my groove, the live presentation challenge. I mean, no matter what product or tool you picked, you were demonstrating something to do with cooking. And I think it did put on blast that I am just not that comfortable in the food space,” the wine entrepreneur said.
“One thing I really want to stress is I think my biggest fear in the competition, if I’m being honest and vulnerable, even after the competition, it’s as someone who has said the entire time, ‘I don’t cook. How can I be America’s Food Star?’” Jess said. “But I’m so passionate about the fact that I’m in the wine industry, but I came into it not knowing anything about wine. And I think that the reason why, wine especially, but in food and beverage, we don’t see a ton of innovation all the time, is because it’s intimidating. And it’s not the most welcoming and easiest place to navigate.”
She continued, “I’m not a winemaker. I’m not a sommelier. But I partner with brilliant winemakers because I understand the consumer and that’s what makes me a good entrepreneur. So, that’s what I’m passionate about on the show is proving to anyone that you can walk into a space and sometimes, what you don’t know is your greatest asset,” the Whiny Baby creator said, “because you’re able to reimagine how things could be because you don’t know how things are supposed to be.”
The unusual way that Jess was cast on Food Stars
“Whiny Baby has a phone number on our bottles and our Instagram page, and one of our many marketing slogans based on my own real life is, you know, ‘Call us, not your ex.’ I think we’ve all had a couple of glasses of wine and started calling some people we shouldn’t,” Jess admitted.
“So, we’ve used that as a way for people to send photos of them drinking. Seriously, every morning my favorite thing is to listen to the voicemails of people who got a little tipsy the night before and leave us a voicemail. And one of the voicemails left was from a casting producer. So, they reached out via that phone number which I think just makes it even more magical and fun,” she told us.
Another plus from being cast on the show was meeting her fellow contestants. “That is the other like, win of it all. We are all so close and I can’t say enough. It has united entrepreneurs in all these different fields from all over the U.S. and we really have each other as resources,” Jess said.
“I’m super close with Andrew [Whiting]. We both live in California, and he’s in wine country. So, when I go and visit my partners, we’re able to touch base. But I can’t stress enough, you know every single one of these entrepreneurs is so inspiring and I’m just so grateful for the friendship and camaraderie that we’re walking away with,” she stated.
Who would be on Jess’ Food Stars Dream Team?
As for her Food Stars Dream Team? Jess has put together a spectacular crew. “I think number one would be Andrew. I say it on the show – Andrew and I are literally the same human being. If he had been in the finale, which I think he should have been in the finale … I feel that he, you know, equally could have taken that [home]. And I love his brand [Hot Drops] so much. He’s like the cook to my cocktail, I like to say.”
Jess continued, “And then the second would have to be Erica [Levin]. I think you see it on the show – we work so well together. I adore her. She’s like a big sister. And her company [Globowl] is just like … ‘Food for future foodies.’ I mean it’s brilliant.”
So, who would take the final spot? “And then lastly would be Roman. I don’t think he loves the camera as much as the rest of us. So unfortunately, I don’t think you get to see all of his full brilliance,” Jess said. “But Roman embodies just that hungry entrepreneur who will do anything. He is like a hustler. So, I think the four of us would be an unstoppable team, for sure.”
What did Jess Druey learn from Lisa Vanderpump?
So, how did Lisa inspire Jess? “I mean, I could just talk forever about her. I love her so much. Obviously, I’ve been a long-time admirer of Gordon, but to have Lisa, who is also a self-proclaimed maximalist as am I, but someone who … heavily sways wet-led businesses, beverage-led businesses, it just was so cool,” Jess said.
“I’ve long admired her but to have her mentor me, it just reinforced everything that I kind of thought and felt. And now walking away from the show, I can walk confidently [in], which is ‘Be true to yourself.’ She walks into every room authentically herself, and you know, commands the room, commands attention while still being loving and joyful. And I think that those are things that I pride myself on, as well,” she stated.
“You know, I don’t have to take myself so seriously to be a seriously amazing entrepreneur and she just instilled in me staying true to myself and you can see it in the finale episode. It was refreshing to have both Lisa and Gordon say to me, ‘Hey. You don’t need to prove that anymore. Actually what people want to see is the heart and the story and the hustle and the journey behind it all.’ To have them say, ‘Hey. It’s okay to let the raw show and not be perfect all the time.’ I mean, what a blessing to take that for the rest of my career,” Jess said.
Naturally, Lisa and Jess bonded during the show. “I’m so thankful I was with Team Lisa. Just because I feel such a connection with her. I mean, I say it in the finale. I’m like, ‘Mentor for life.’ She has been a long-time idol of mine and it’s just been a dream come true,” the Food Stars winner said.
“Both [Gordon and Lisa] surpassed anything I imagined that they would be. But beyond that, being on Team Lisa just set a fire in me all season to prove Gordon wrong, so I’m very, very thankful. And I think I did by the end.”
How is Jess Druey’s company, Whiny Baby, doing now?
Jess also gave us an update on how her wine brand, Whiny Baby, which targets Gen Z, is doing now. “The best part of this obviously has been introducing the world to Whiny Baby and hopefully, people falling in love with it. Going into the show, Whiny Baby was available on our website [with] nationwide shipping. But you know, alcohol is so difficult … there’s a distributor system and it’s extraordinarily complex. And so I’ve been fortunate that going into the show I’ve been on Target, BevMo!, Gopuff, and Total Wine, but only in four states,” Jess explained to us.
“And I’m so excited to share that since the show has aired, we’ve added 20 states, which is insane. So, hopefully, just more states will get added and Whiny Baby … will become a household name. Jess would like Whiny Baby to “become one of the go-to brands that people trust as they start on their wine journey and want to have a special wine-drinking experience.”
America’s Next Food Star also shared her hopes for the future. “I’m hoping this leads to more television opportunities for me and Whiny Baby. I think there’s a need for Gen Z for more media voices in the food and beverage space, specifically beverage,” Jess explained. “And I’m all about hosting and hospitality, so I’m hoping that what is next for Whiny Baby may be involving Lisa Vanderpump. That would be a dream. So, fingers crossed, we will see, but that is the hope.”
This interview was edited for conciseness and clarity.
Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars is streaming now on Hulu.
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