‘I Felt Like a Fiend’

Note: This story contains spoilers from the Season 2 finale of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.”

“Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” Season 2 didn’t just showcase Lisa Vanderpump coaching a team of entrepreneurs to victory. The Fox show unveiled a new side of the Bravo star and restaurateur.

“I loved the chance to kick [Ramsay] in the ass. I really did. I never thought I was competitive, but I realized that when it comes to beating Gordon Ramsay, I was like a fiend,” Vanderpump told The Wrap.

Vanderpump earned that honor thanks to the Season 2 finale of “Food Stars.” This season divided contestants into two teams, with one overseen by Ramsay and the other by Vanderpump. Ultimately, it was Team Vanderpump’s Jess Druey, the founder of Whiny Baby, who clinched the title of “Food Stars” winner along with the $250,000 grand prize.

Whiny Baby stemmed from Druey’s own experience with the wine industry. Fresh out of college, Druey went on a first date where she was asked to bring a bottle of wine. Overwhelmed by the variety, she turned her wine anxiety into a business. Whiny Baby specifically targets Gen Z wine newbies, offering only three types of wine: an Obsessed Red Blend, an Unwind White Blend, and an OMG!?! Fizzy Rosé Blend.

Before joining the show, Whiny Baby was available on shelves in four states and nationwide via its website. The $250,000 prize significantly expands the company’s reach.

“Since the show started airing, I’m super happy to share that we are on about an additional 20 new state store shelves,” Druey shared. “My mission is to get Whiny Baby available on every major store shelf and in every single state. That $250,000 is going to open up so many opportunities for us to do exactly that.”

The finale challenged the three finalists—Whiny Baby owner Druey, Hot Box Pretzels owner Roman Desmond, and Chin Dribblin owner Ali Schlichter—with personalized tasks targeting their weak areas. For Druey, this meant creating a new food product and showing more vulnerability.

“I was really excited in the presentation to get uncomfortable and show some vulnerability and some of the struggle behind how I got here,” Druey said. “I definitely am, naturally, optimistic and peppy, but I forget sometimes that people want to see the struggle and the relatability and the deeper parts of my story.”

Vanderpump emphasized the extraordinary growth of all three contestants but praised Druey’s consistently impressive performance, making her the season’s winner.

“Throughout the whole competition, you saw her rise to the challenge. She only floundered really once when they were selling to all the professionals at the food exhibition where she cut her finger,” Vanderpump noted. “It could have been any of those three, but she just pipped them at the post and delivered a flawless execution of her belief in her product… She very rarely ever wavered on anything.”

The finale was an emotional event for both Vanderpump and Ramsay.

“You see these young people, and they came to us with a presentation, and we thought, ‘Oh, my goodness, no, no, that’s not going to work.’ We really gave them a lot of notes. Then to see them all come back, rise to the occasion, take the directive and really flourish,” Vanderpump said. “Anybody that says Gordon Ramsay doesn’t have a heart hasn’t seen this show.”

Throughout her career and even on “Vanderpump Rules,” Vanderpump has mentored younger talents. “I’ve been very much supporting them and hoping that they’re making the right choices, and then disappointed when some of them don’t,” she said. That’s part of why her role on “Food Stars” was challenging; the competition format prevented her from directly guiding the entrepreneurs on her team.

“It’s been very different, for sure, but I’ve seen a couple of my young people on the show grow up and become successful in their own right,” Vanderpump said.

Though required to be somewhat hands-off, Druey praised Vanderpump as an exceptional mentor.

“Lisa is a self-proclaimed maximalist, as am I. And as I look to the future for Whiny Baby, I hope to enter into a lot of hospitality, in real life locations and more food and beverage [spaces],” Druey said. “What Lisa Vanderpump says is ‘You walk into any one of our restaurants or bars, and it is a completely transformed experience.’ Learning how she does that is something that I’m going to carry with me the rest of my career.”

Overall, Vanderpump enjoyed “every minute” of being on the Fox show. If a third season of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” happens, Vanderpump would be open to returning, though with one condition.

“If we were going to do it again, I’d like to kick him in the ass twice. I think that would hurt more than twice as much for him, just to really seal the deal,” Vanderpump quipped. “We’re both busy people. We’ll see what’s happening. But it was a great experience.”

As for what’s next, Vanderpump revealed she’s busy until October, delaying production on Season 12 of “Vanderpump Rules” until “around then.”

“The only thing I can tell you — the thing I have control over — is that I’m opening Pinky’s in October in Las Vegas,” Vanderpump added.

All episodes of “Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars” Season 2 are streaming on Hulu.

Source: TheWrap