‘Smoothie Bowl’ Girl Nicole Renard takes her TikTok creations to ‘Next Level Chef’
The Chapman alumna talks about her passion for baking, which has led to her cooking for Chapman students in Randall Dining Hall and appearing in chef Gordon Ramsay’s new season of ‘Next Level Chef,’ airing exclusively on Fox. Photos courtesy of Nicole Renard, photo collage by EMILY PARIS, Photo Editor
With a bag of frozen cherries, some carefully cut pineapple cubes and a generous sprinkle of crunchy chia seeds, anyone can make their own version of a smoothie bowl. But only one content creator has been dubbed the “Smoothie Bowl Girl.”
Television and broadcast journalist Nicole Renard, who graduated from Chapman in 2017, earned the moniker over the COVID-19 pandemic after surpassing over two million TikTok followers, thanks to her mastery of themed fruity designs and her ability to find the perfect smoothie base consistency.
“I think a lot of people got on TikTok and were trying to make food from home, and so it was (the) right place (and) right-time and my videos blew up,” Renard told The Panther. “Before I knew it, people were calling me the Smoothie Bowl Girl, and I'm like, ‘Oh my gosh, I just started doing this a couple weeks ago.’ I started making smoothie bowls every single day, and I love them. It's been so fun. I've done a Disney Princess series and a Taylor Swift album cover series. I feel like the possibilities are endless.”
Renard has always loved to cook, especially when it comes to baking. As a kid, Renard would spend afternoons baking brownies and cookies with her mother. After the rise of Pinterest, Renard scavenged the site for recipes, which opened her up to a whole new world of ovenly creations. Fast forward to Jan. 28, 2024, and Renard auditioned to be on Gordan Ramsey’s show, “New Level Chef.”
“I met with the casting producer, and I had an audition call and honestly did not think anything of it because I don't really consider myself a chef,” Renard said. “I don't have any formal training. I never went to culinary school. I really don't have any kitchen experience… and so I just felt very unqualified.”
To her surprise, Renard was informed months later that they wanted her on the show. She was “thrown straight into the deep end” and had to adjust very quickly to learning new skills and techniques.
But as an avid content creator on social media — which requires meticulous planning for every shot — the jump to fast-paced cooking challenges on “Next Level Chef” forced Renard to be quick on her feet.
“When I'm cooking at home, I'm just kind of taking my time and doing what I need to mostly for the shots,” Renard said. “Cooking for videos is so much different than cooking in general. So when I was competing, I wasn't focused on looking at the camera and explaining what I was doing. I was just laser-focused on getting these dishes done in sometimes under 20 minutes, which is a whole different ballgame. I was trying to be quick and efficient and figure out how I can (not only) simplify these dishes, but also take them to the next level so that they stand out.”
Renard may be showing off her culinary skills on TV today, but her first baking job was at none other than Chapman’s finest: Randall Dining Commons. After a conversation with the executive chef about her passion, he offered her a job. Even though Renard wasn’t looking for a position at the time, she seized the opportunity, and it ended up being, what she calls, the best thing to ever happen to her.
Although smoothie bowls don’t directly correlate to her television and broadcast journalism degree, Renard still learned valuable lessons that would come in handy for her social media stardom. Between TikTok and YouTube, Renard has to film, edit and post all of her own videos, so being technologically savvy has come in handy.
“The editing skills and the on-camera skills I learned, I use every single day,” Renard told The Panther. “Whether I'm filming a YouTube video, filming a Tiktok or even speaking at an event, those skills that I learned and sharpened through my time at Chapman have been so helpful because even if you just scroll back a couple of years to my videos when I first started, I have improved and changed so much with my presence on camera and learning how to produce my videos.”
Between being a television star, running social media pages and keeping up her blog titled “Nicole the Nomad,” Renard is looking toward the future. She shared with The Panther her ultimate dream: have her own traveling cooking show around the world.
When asked about advice she would give for aspiring chefs, Renard emphasized the importance of just being brave enough to start, as well as having the passion and courage to keep going, even when it seems impossible.