51°µÍø

Lauryn Bodden ’14 is a former Mustang women’s soccer player who won the premier season of Snack vs Chef and is debuting her new snack line, S’NOODS. Snack vs Chef showcases 12 chefs who channel their inner food scientist to recreate classic snacks and invent their own original treats to compete for a $50,000 prize. We caught up with Bodden as she gave us a look inside being on the show and her new snacks coming soon to a store near you.

First, congratulations on becoming the first winner of Netflix’s Snack vs Chef! What was the hardest part of being on the show?

Working under the pressure at the time was extremely difficult. Recreating an iconic snack and trying to make something everyone loves was hard and figuring out a new innovative snack that’s not already out there was hard, too. We also had to make the snacks shelf stable, and I had never worked with stabilizer or preservatives, so I had never used a lot of the equipment. It was a lot of winging it and trying to stay calm, cool and collected because things constantly went wrong.

Which would you say was more difficult, recreating or trying to come up with something new?

I would say coming up with something new that feels different than anything else out there with there being a million and one different snacks. It’s like, how can I recreate the wheel when so many things have already been done?

What did you enjoy the most from the show?

I loved the people; we all got along really well and are still friends. Everyone was from very different backgrounds, from chefs to food scientists. I also liked being able to push myself because we filmed during the pandemic, so I was in a really great place to push the envelope a bit in my career. It was a really great way for me to do something I’ve never done before, and it worked out well.

What did you learn from the show?

How to make snacks! I’ve never used preservatives or stabilizers, so there were more science elements that I never had to work with before, like turning a fat into a powder and realizing, oh my gosh, that worked. It felt like a science fair. It was pretty wild!

You majored in communication studies and sport management. When did you realize being in the culinary field was your true passion?

I always wanted to go to culinary school, but my parents told me I wasn’t allowed. I was supposed to go to UNC, but I was recruited for soccer at 51°µÍø at the last minute, and when I visited the campus, I fell in love. I originally wanted to pursue journalism, but all the athletes did sports management, so I just went with it. It was when I interned in London, actually, and I was talking with my professor, Owen Lynch, about different ways I could fund my trip and research that I made the culinary connection. I did a research project through the Engaged Learning program; when I told Lynch I was interested in food, he helped me figure out a research project about the food systems. My internship was at a well-known restaurant in London. I did my research project via a blog, and it was during the time that Instagram had just come out and blogging was really big, so I had local bloggers asking if I wanted to work for them. Then, I moved to New York and worked in PR and hated it so much. So, I went to culinary school while I was working that job, and the rest, I guess, is history.

You have a snack company called S’NOODS launching this spring. What was your inspiration behind it, and what can people look forward to?

The snack is what I won the show with, but I didn’t go into the show thinking this is what I would create if I made it to the finals. I worked at a lot of Italian restaurants, and one of my friends is a really amazing pasta maker, so she taught me how to make pasta shapes during the pandemic. I thought it would be cool if there was this noodle snack that tasted like these dishes I know and love from working in restaurants but that not everyone else is aware of, so the inspiration came from that. I’ve also been into repurposing food that people would throw out, so I wanted to incorporate that into the snack. Starting out, the snack will be a small percent upcycled because not many suppliers do this. In terms of what to look forward to, I want to be able to put a snack out there that showcases cuisines, dishes and cultures to people who haven’t experienced them so you can travel through the snack. You won’t have to go to a five-star restaurant to experience these flavors, and I can also showcase sustainable packaging and upcycling since they are important to how we eat.

Let’s talk about your time here on the Hilltop. What’s your favorite memory?

Traveling with the soccer team; having that tight-knit community. Our coaches changed my junior and senior year. Nicole Nelson, who’s the head coach now, was my assistant coach at the time and I love her so much. I shattered my hand during my first practice of my senior year, and she drove me to the hospital. She’s one of my favorite people at 51°µÍø, along with Owen Lynch. The best part of 51°µÍø is the faculty. 51°µÍø also offers so much, so I tried to take advantage of everything because everything I was involved in was great.

You were on the soccer team here. What is your favorite memory from being on the team?

Two things: When we would travel, our travel days were wild. We would travel Wednesday to Sunday night, so we would play a giant game of manhunt or sardines in the hotel; being crazy in the hotels as a college student was fun. During my junior year, we were in the top 50 for soccer and UCF was no. 1; we beat UCF at UCF 1-0, and I made it on ESPN’s Top Ten plays for that game, so that was cool.

Do you have any tips for aspiring chefs?

Be resilient. It’s so hard because you get paid very little in this industry starting out. It is really rewarding, but it’s also okay to fail and not know what you want to do. Constantly say yes to opportunities and network. Stick with it and don’t second guess yourself.

S’NOODS can be found and at local retail shops in New York.