Sartaj Singh
‘Snack vs. Chef’ is an innovative and entertaining cooking competition that pits talented chefs against each other in a unique culinary challenge. Each episode sees contestants tasked with recreating iconic snacks from around the world, as well as inventing new and exciting snacks themselves. Season one of the Netflix show saw chefs impress judges Ali Bouzari and Helen Park with their creativity, technical skills, and ability to capture the flavor and texture of beloved snacks.
With high stakes and intense time constraints, New York chef Lauryn Bodden prevailed time and time again, eventually making it through the final round to claim the number one spot. With the reality food competition having aired in November and December 2022, those who rooted for Lauryn’s victory may be looking forward to discovering her current whereabouts and endeavors.
From Almost Turning Down Snack vs. Chef to Winning It
A food editor at the time, Lauryn had initially applied for the position of judge on ‘Snack vs. Chef.’ When she was instead offered the audition for contestants, she almost turned the opportunity down, feeling she was someone who worked better behind the scenes. However, she ventured outside her comfort zone and participated in the show. To her surprise, she found herself enjoying cooking in front of the camera. Despite not being a food scientist, Lauryn had plenty of all-round experience in the hospitality business, from the culinary side to PR and marketing.
Lauryn’s holistic approach to recreating iconic snacks was a great success with the judges, leading her to the memorable final challenge: creating an original treat. Having spent a lot of time in Italian restaurants, Lauryn thought back to pasta as a convenient comfort snack she enjoyed during the COVID-19 Pandemic and came up with the idea to make a noodle-like crunchy snack with the texture of chips. The invention struck the judges as both original and very flavorful, propelling her to secure the $50,000 cash prize.
Lauryn Turned Her Show-Winning Snack into a Brand: S’NOODS
The Manhattan resident had already been working on her original snack idea for S’NOODS for over a year, and her victory on ‘Snack vs. Chef’ fueled her to begin kickstarting the concept into a business. But first, there was much rejoicing to be done, and the newly crowned star chef cooked a private dinner and threw a wild party with friends and family in celebration. In December 2022, Lauryn went on a cruise to the British Virgin Islands as a private chef on the vessel, working under Sailing Collective Travel Co. She continues to cook for the Sailing Collective on a contract basis, fueling her passion for cooking and travel simultaneously.
March 2023 saw the star chef visit the Turks and Caicos Islands with friends who are healthcare and food professionals. Lauryn also works as a freelance food editor. In March 2023, she created and filmed four recipes with The Spruce Eats, a service and archive for food recipes. The dishes included a chicken cobbler, stuffed fried pickles, zesty pasta chips, and confectionary puppy chow. Lauryn has been working with the business since July 2022 and has contributed to a number of new recipes since. In April, she shifted gears and baked 11 wedding cakes for wedding business Brides along with pastry chef Alexandra Puglisi.
The ‘Snack vs. Chef’ winner turned 30 on June 15, 2023, and summarized a year of life-changing achievements in an Instagram post, writing, “Came into my 30s real hot. Quit my job, sailed around the world as a chef, solo traveled, made new friends, saw old friends, lost many fake friends, started a company, went to many shows, traveled to 10 new countries, saw myself on Netflix, made many noodle snacks, connected with very passionate snackers around the globe, became more independent, stood up for myself and what I wanted, and feeling every emotion going into this next year. Just wait for what’s next.”
At 30, Lauren is in a Loving Relationship and Aims to Take S’NOODS to the Next Level
Early 2024 saw a major revamping of S’NOODS, with Lauryn and advisor Joanne Shia launching new packaging and heading to Natural Products Expo West in Los Angeles, California, in March. Following the expo, she spoke on the ‘Make Life Rich Movement’ podcast with host Sara Ann Kelly about her entrepreneurial journey. April saw the cook show winner appearing on the ‘Startup to Storefront’ podcast with host Diego Torres-Palma and discussing the journey of her brand from a budding idea to an autonomous, nationally distributing business.
After much international travel and touring, Lauryn participated in HYROX America, a world series of fitness racing with endurance and strength events. The entrepreneur also happens to be an avid fitness enthusiast and cross-fitter, keeping herself in great physical shape since her days on the university soccer team. She seems to have a loving relationship with her family, especially her brother and travels most often with her partner, Mike Araujo, a Head Coach at The Movement Creative. As she continues making cooking recipes and sailing, Lauryn focuses most on building her business and making S’NOODS the best snack that it can possibly be.
Read More: Netflix’s Snack vs. Chef: Unveiling All Shooting Locations of the Show
