On the television show, the Lithuanian commented cheerfully on her dishes: “Today I served sex on a plate.”
Three Chopped judges tasted and analyzed the snacks, main dishes and desserts that the show participants had to make out of unexpected ingredients. Everything had to tempt not only the eyes and mouth, but also the imaginary lovers, because the theme of the show was “Sexy Feast”.
“Welcome to the extremely sexy contest. Make the judges lose their promise, “said the Chopped leaders.
Blonde S. Lauren was among the four participants of the Food Network TV show when the producers discovered her talent on social networks. A Lithuanian working as a private chef in Arizona often films her exceptional creations in the kitchen. She moved to the United States four years ago and had previously worked in restaurants in Lithuania and Norway.
“My experience is Scandinavian and my origin is Lithuanian. I like to cook fresh and light food. At the age of 23, I had my own restaurant and then worked with a lot of chefs: Italians, Spaniards, Michelin stars, and all sorts of others. I am ready to swim among the sharks and then chop them, ”S. Lauren introduced himself to the audience while playing with the show title“ Chopped ”in Lithuanian.
On the show, she proudly mentioned Lithuania several times and told about her childhood in the village with her grandparents, who raised food on the farm and kept bees. Photos from the summers in the farmstead in Martnoniai village by the Alaušai lake in Ukmergė district are on the screen.
“We ate together knowing where all the products came from. In the show, I fight for myself and my grandparents. They died recently. “Chopped would be very proud to see me,” said S. Lauren, shortening the name of her husband Giedrius Laurenčikas after the wedding in the USA.
Chopped’s first task is to make a snack in 30 minutes from fresh oysters, eggplant, gnudi (Italian balls of ricotta cheese with spinach) and a set of cheese and ham.
“Simona, do you feel sexy?” The Lithuanian judge asked as she pulled all the products out of the basket.
“I’m starting to feel it,” Lauren laughed. – If I agree with those who know how to cook, they look sexy to me. Fortunately, my husband is a great cook. ”
She prepared the first dish of curly chives salad with fried oysters and gnudi and fried eggplant: “When you have big oysters, you want something beautiful, creamy and fresh. Lemongrass gives freshness, I also added ginger, fish sauce and cream. ”
The judges marveled at how romantic and beautiful the plate prepared by Lauren looked, and she told how important not only taste but image was. This chef not only speaks for food, but also draws. Each dish is like an edible picture, impeccably decorated and presented.
Only three participants remained after the first stage. They continued to struggle to make a main course from the four ingredients given to them: wild boar loin, figs, heart-shaped pizza and concoc (shellfish).
Lauren easily overcame this stage and impressed the judges with an ideally baked wild boar, which she came up with to season with a sauce made of caramelized figs with red wine, and because of the sharpness, the chef added smoked “pepperoni” sausages. Next to it, a Lithuanian served mashed potatoes with hookahs.
In the final stage, Lauren fought with Kevin Ruiz, an experienced chef from North Carolina. The challenge is to create a sexy dessert and captivate the judges who have seen it all. In the basket, participants found four products: a rose petal cake, a jar of ginger, papaya and cheese.
“My idea is to create something light but beautiful and rich in taste. Then take two teaspoons and eat dessert together, Lauren said. “When I think of dating and sexuality, I see chocolate and caramel in my mind.”
She made a raspberry, mint, papaya and rose petal parfait with minced pistachios and chocolate and caramel sauce, cooked with ginger. Lithuania was able to discover such a mixture of flavors that it did not leave anyone indifferent. The judges “snapped” K. Ruiz and announced the winner of “Chopped” S. Lauren.
“Chef Simon has been a favorite since the first round,” the judge said.
“I am proud of my dessert, it is sexy, it can be shared, it is worth ten thousand dollars,” said the winner of “Chopped” from Kaunas.
In saying goodbye, she once again reminded America of her roots in Lithuania.
“It simply came to my notice then. They took care of me from above and gave me all the energy and support, ”Lauren said on the show.
It’s not enough and good work to be noticed in the United States. You need to stand out from thousands of competitors. Lithuania was helped not only by her talent in the kitchen, but also by social networks. In her Instagram account, bright blonde S. Lauren always shared photos of her kitchen masterpieces and inspiring notes about her passion for food.
“Food is my language,” Lauren wrote, not in a culinary school, but in the kitchens of experienced chefs.
When the President of Lithuania Gitanas Nausėda visited Chicago in the autumn, it was S. Lauren who was invited to prepare an elegant lunch for the delegation. In the Lithuanian restaurant “Grand Dukes”, she came up with an idea to highlight the Lithuanian food heritage, and after a few hours in the kitchen, a real culinary journey was created, which surprised the President of Lithuania.
She had the opportunity to meet another president at the beginning of her career, when Valdas Adamkus was still working in S.Daukantas Square. At that time, Simona, just twenty, had just started running the French restaurant Balzac in Vilnius. When it was announced that V. Adamkus would visit here soon, she had to ensure the service and food quality to the highest level within a few minutes, although she had not yet worked in the kitchen herself.
“In the beginning, I was the simplest waitress, but I was always nervous about all the chefs in the restaurants, because I was constantly bantering: why are you so separate from the meat fillets, why are you placing such herbs here and so on. Later, if there was a lack of a chef, I always offered to help. Someone once said that Simona has no competence. Then I lit up: you will see! I am stubborn and I strive for my goal with all my might, “S. Lauren told Stilius in an interview.
As a child, she said that she would have a restaurant when she grew dumplings in Kaunas with her grandmother. As a teenager, she began to seriously persuade her mother to open it, and her parents – a teacher and a doctor – just laughed. Simon was just 23 when she was entrusted with opening a new high-end restaurant, Fjola, in the Norwegian capital, Oslo. Then there was the opening of more than one restaurant. Together, she learned all the time from key kitchen executives.
Six years later in Norway, she moved to the United States because she married a friend in her class who lived there. In Arizona, she joined the newly opened Waldorf Astoria restaurant and later started working as a private chef, which means you are hired by affluent people for home events or special celebrations.
Palm trees and cacti grow in place of the Lithuanian pine forest near S. Lauren’s house in Arizona, and its exclusive dishes do not resemble the Lithuanian village, but S. Lauren admits that he adores pigeons and potatoes. She produces only the simplest Lithuanian dishes at home in a slightly different, creative way.
“I try not to forget my roots,” Lauren said.
