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Reality culinary competition series Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars season 1 aired a brand new episode on Wednesday, June 1, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Fox. It saw the remaining contestants participating in a team challenge while also raising money for St. Jude's Children's Hospital and making a sizeable donation to help doctors treat childhood cancer. Viewers witnessed a variety of dishes in the episode.
On this week's episode of Food Stars, Elisa Strauss failed to impress the legendary chef Gordon Ramsay and became the second contestant to be eliminated from the competition. The chef resides in Larchmont, New York, and is the Cake Designer and Owner of Confetti Cakes. She also failed to receive the grand $250,000 from the host and become the next culinary entrepreneur.
Food Stars contestant Elisa Strauss is the owner of the popular Confetti Cakes
Elisa persued her graduate degree in Pastry and Baking Arts from The Institute of Culinary Education and went on to also study at the Vassar College. According to her LinkedIn bio, the Food Stars contestant also studied at the Art Institute of Chicago. However, she didn't start off her career in the culinary industry straight after her education - an interesting incident led towards fueling her passion for cooking.
Before joining culinary school, Elisa worked as a designer for Ralph Lauren. It was there that she made a cake for the founder in the shape of the Bugatti sports car, and received immense compliments from her fellow employees and appreciation from the fashion industry. She then decided to pursue her baking skills and make it into a full-fledged culinary career.
Food Stars isn't her first reality cooking competition. As per her LinkedIn bio, Elisa has appeared on Food Network over ten times. She also participated in the network's show, called Extreme Cake Challenge, and won the grand prize.
Since 2006, the contestant has been a private instructor at her alma mater, The Institute for Culinary Education, where she has been holding individual and group lessons for students in the Art of Cake Decorating, as part of her Professional Baking Program.
Elisa is also an instructor on Craftsy, where she constantly posts baking videos. Her LinkedIn bio gives a detailed list of some of her appearances:
"Her cake creations have appeared on the Today show (one of her cakes was selected as the winner of the “Today Throws a Wedding” series), S*x and the City (she made Charlotte and Harry’s wedding cake during Season Six), The View, and Martha. Elisa has also been featured on The View."
The Food Stars contestant's business, Confetti Cakes, has appeared on several renowned magazines, including InStyle, Martha Stewart Weddings, Marie Claire, Seventeen, Elle, and Vogue, among several others. In 2008, Elisa was selected by Pastry Art & Design as one of America’s Top Ten Pastry Chefs.
Elisa is also the author of two cookbooks, including The Confetti Cakes Cookbook: Spectacular Cookies, Cakes and Cupcakes from New York City’s Famed Bakery, and Confetti Cakes for Kids. From 2010 onwards, she stopped making cakes for clients and now focuses on teaching and inspiring people.
On this week's episode of Food Stars, Elisa was the leader of the Blue Team. However, Gordon Ramsay wasn't impressed with her leadership as the team fell into many issues throughout the cook, raising only $20,000 for the hospital. By the end of the episode, he eliminated her and said:
"I wish you the very best of luck. You have an amazing business...but, if you gotta take those reigns as a leader, you need to lead."
After her elimination, the host said in a confessional:
"Elisa is a smart businesswoman, but unfortunately her leadership qualities across that Gala dinner were not apparent."
Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars is unlike many of its sister competitions on the network. It brings established entrepreneurial chefs in the culinary industry with their own brands to compete against each other and receive a grand investment from Gordon Ramsay.
Don't forget to tune in to a brand-new episode next Wednesday, June 7, 2023, at 9 pm ET on Fox.
