Stephenie Simmons is a non-traditional cook. She only shifted her focus to cooking during the pandemic, and the next year, she was invited to be on Hulu’s competitive series Secret Chef. Obviously, she joined the show. Why? “To prove it to myself,” she said.
Let’s get to know her better as this Stephenie Simmons Bio proceeds.
Stephenie Simmons On Hulu’s Secret Chef
Cooking shows are becoming a hit! No wonder, Hulu’s out with one, just with a little twist where the contestants are the judges as well. Their new show Secret Chef features ten participants with varying degrees of skill in the kitchen — preparing foods, tasting, and finally ranking them.
According to one of its participants, Stephenie Simmons, Secret Chef is a cross between Love Is Blind and Top Chef. “We all have different aliases and we’re cooking in secret,” she said. “We don’t really know anything about each other.”
As mentioned before, the chefs are isolated in kitchens so that anonymity can be maintained amongst the cast, and they all judge each other’s dishes blind, deciding whose is the best and who goes home based on the presentation and flavor of the dish alone. There are a total of three rounds for each dish. Afterward, the chefs then go back to their tasting rooms and fill out review cards. The chef with the lowest-rated dish is eliminated.
But this doesn’t mean it’s every person for themselves. In the premiere ep, we saw the participant working hand in hand with an anonymous partner in concert to create a dish — but only one person could be in the kitchen at a time. One person starts the dish then stops and exits the kitchen before their partner enters and picks up where the first chef left off.
“It was so hard,” Stephenie recalled. “You’ll see from the first episode that what happens is not really what you expect. It was a game.”
Also, she promoted the show on her IG, “Cook in secret. Taste in secret. Judge in secret. #SecretChef premieres June 29 on @hulu! This is a new, dope cooking show you won’t want to miss.”
Stephenie Simmons Career
Stephenie Simmons initially started her career in social work. Whilst pursuing her Biology, Pre-Medicine/Pre-Medical Studies degree at Seattle University from 2012 to 2016, she worked as a Prep Step Health Care Scholar at COPE Health Solutions and Night Hawk Dispatcher/Driver and Multicultural Representative of Student Government for the university.
After graduation, she then went on to become the team leader of a Community Health Worker group at UnitedHealth Group for 2 years before finally becoming a science teacher at Success Preparatory Academy in New Orleans.
So, when COVID shut down the world, Stephenie moved back to Washington and explored her interest in cannabis-infused cooking while also working as a private chef and caterer and providing community meals with a focus on farm-to-table cooking.
The next year, she was then recruited to Secret Chef in November 2021 via her Instagram account where she posted photos of the dishes she prepared.
After wrapping the filming, she then went on to work at Seattle’s Communion Restaurant & Bar. “That was such an important place for me to go to afterward,” she said. “I’d heard so much about it before I had moved away and I wanted to be a part of a really Black, rich experience here in Seattle.”
More recently, she’s worked for the Gold Coast Ghal Kitchen pop-up and ran catering for Seattle Public Schools’ John Stanford Center.
Now, Stephenie’s also sharpening her cooking skills at Seattle Central College.
Fun fact: For anyone willing to participate in Secret Chef, she’s got one piece of advice — make sure you’re stomach is taken care of in the show.
Is Stephenie Simmons On Instagram?
Find Stephenie on Instagram @highlyfavored_steph.
Also, here’s her Twitter @highchefsteph.
Stephenie Simmons Age
Stephenie Simmons was reportedly born in 1994. That made her 29 years of age in 2023.
Stephenie Simmons Family
Stephenie Simmons has a deep passion for food. It’s part of her family background. Her grandmother ran a small corner store in New Orleans that sold food items, while her grandfather worked as a cook on ships in the U.S. Navy.
“My ancestors have been paving the way and I’m more than joyful to continue walking in their path,” she said. “Representing my family and being authentic to myself is the greatest accomplishment ever.”
Sadly, we don’t know what her mother Desandra T Simmons did. But we do know that she raised Stephenie into the woman she is today. “[My mom was] the one who made me and continues to nurture my growth in every way she can,” the chef said. “I love her so much y’all don’t even know!”
Desandra turned 56 on March 27, 2023.
Stephenie Simmons Husband
Stephenie Simmons didn’t seem to have a husband in 2023. Infact, she was likely single when she participated in Secret Chef.
Related FAQs
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When Is Stephenie Simmons Birthday?
Stephenie receives her birthday wishes in June.
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Where Is Stephenie Simmons From?
Stephenie hails from Olympia, Washington. But she resided in Seattle, Washington in 2023.
So far, she has lived in over 3 different states.
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How Tall Is Stephenie Simmons?
Stephenie stands tall at a height of under 5 feet 3 inches (160 cm).
