Award-winning chef Sandy Dee Hall appeared on Netflix’s cooking competition entitled Snack vs. Chef. He was the runner-up on the finale of the show. Throughout the process, he had the opportunity to share ideas with and learn from the other contestants. He is currently collaborating with the show-winner, chef/recipe developer Lauryn Bodden, on a new innovative snack called “S’noods.”
Hall and Bodden launched a successful Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign, raising over $30,000 for the development of their new snack product. If you would like to contribute to the campaign, you can do so here.
S’noods was inspired by Bodden’s creation during the finale of the Netflix show. Their goal is to bring a snack to the marketplace that consumers will find delicious and has sustainably sourced upcycled ingredients and eco-friendly packaging.
S’noods is set to launch with three flavors: Rigatoni Basil Pomodoro, Spicy Miso Ramen, and Cavatappi Carbonara. The product is handmade, coated in spices and baked in the oven-bringing flavors from Italy, Japan and more to consumers.
The crunchy noodle will have more flavors in the future: Spicy Sesame Noodles, Cavatelli Amatriciana Puffs, Pad Thai Noodle Stix, Chili Garlic Noodles, and Farfalle Pesto.
Chef Hall has more than a decade of culinary experience. He opened his first restaurant, North Sea Tavern & Raw’R Bar, in 2013. He then became the co-owner of Black Tree, a farm-to-table restaurant. He then brought his talents to the Flatiron Room. He is currently the Executive Chef at SESAMO, an Italian-Asian fusion restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen.
“Our S’noods offer the perfect snacking experience for people on the go or looking for a more unique option with flavors that will transport you across the globe. We are excited to be entering into the snacking category to bring our customers a next-level snack that will incite all the senses,” said Chef Hall.
Chef Bodden started her culinary journey by practicing the art of cooking in her grandmother’s kitchen. She has more than 10 years of culinary experience. She attended the institute of Culinary Education for Culinary Arts. She worked with TV host, Gail Simmons, on recipe and menu development, brand partnerships and event management. She currently curates’ recipes and cooking guides for several food publications.
“My winning idea for ‘Snack vs. Chef’ and now the basis for the S’noods brand pays homage to the Italian kitchens I grew my career in as well as my hunger for all things noodles. I wanted to create an adventurous and upcycled snack that highlighted the traditional noodle dishes around the world that many might not know about, bringing in global profiles and giving people the opportunity to think about snack foods from a sustainable angle,” said Chef Bodden.
For more information on S’noods, visit the official website here or follow the product on Instagram.
Chef Sandy Dee Hall Interview:
Arts Tribune: At what point in your life did you decide on your career? What inspired you to become a chef and working with food?
Chef Hall: I used to work in banking and then I quit because I didn’t like it. Then I was like, you know what? I want to do something creative. So, I actually wanted to be a writer. I was writing for a very long time and was bartending on the side. Then I had an idea for a farm-to-table restaurant. A friend and I decided to do it together. He was like, “well, I don’t want to cook.” So I was like, “all right, well, I’ll learn to cook.” I taught myself to cook like four weeks before we opened up our pop up.
Arts Tribune: What was it like being a contestant on Netflix’s Snack vs. Chef?
Chef Hall: Chaotic. It’s probably one of the harder things I’ve ever had to do. It was long hours as all the COVID restrictions felt a lot like being in jail. It was definitely difficult. There were some rewarding parts, some of the people, things like that. But overall, it was a very difficult, difficult task.
Arts Tribune: When you were on the show, what snack inspired you and Chef Bodden to create S’noods?
Chef Hall: It was a mix of our finals. She did a pasta cracker chip at the end, and I did an upcycled seasoning. We decided to mix the two.
Arts Tribune: Can you describe the upcycled ingredients and eco-friendly packaging that S’noods offers?
Chef Hall: Right now we’re doing upcycled potato flour as part of our base recipe for the actual chip. It’s just for us to start with. It’s really actually hard to find upcycled seasonings these days, so we plan on producing the actual snack with upcycled, flour, potato flour, and then eventually we’re going to try to find more and more and also produce ourselves upcycled ingredients in different areas. And then the eco-friendly packaging is something anybody can find; it just requires a little bit more costs. But at the end of the day, we think it’s worth it.
Arts Tribune: You and Chef Bodden have a successful Kickstarter campaign for S’noods. You raised over $30,000. What will this new funding allow you to do?
Chef Hall: We have everything we have formulation in. We have a lot of things. Basically, we’re going to get all that stuff actually made and packaged so that we can sell it to the public.
Arts Tribune: What do you predict will be the future of S’noods? How will it sit in the marketplace for snacks?
Chef Hall: Well, we hope it sits on most shelves. That would be the goal. But our goal is to also branch out and do multiple different products to bring some of the creativity and upcycling to the forefront.
Arts Tribune: Is it also a goal to serve S’noods and other snacks internationally?
Chef Hall: It would be. That’s a very difficult proposition. We haven’t event looked into it yet. But we definitely would like to have it all over the world.
Arts Tribune: What was your favorite moment of being on Netflix’s Snack vs. Chef?
Chef Hall: Being done. That was definitely one of them. Favorite moment? I think it was maybe winning for the banana cream pie miniature thing I did because I was really like, I didn’t know after seeing what the other people were doing, they were doing such fancy stuff and mine as more for like something you would get for $0.50 in a bodega. So, I was a little worried about that. And so I think winning that one, especially because it had such meaning to me, was probably my favorite moment.
Arts Tribune: Just out of curiosity, what is your favorite dessert?
Chef Hall: Baked Alaskas. They’re old school, but they’re just fun. They’re like, on fire. They’re delicious. It has a bit of everything. Meringue kind of marshmallow cake, ice cream. Can’t really beat it.
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