AMONG the numerous enterprises of Coleraine couple, Julie and Paul Kos who have successfully patented smoked eggs, one half of the team, can now add television star to their résumé.

Recently, their smoked eggs that stay fresh for up to six months caught the eye of Channel Nine producers for their new show ‘Food Stars’, and Ms Kos was selected to appear as a participant on the Australian series.

The show stars culinary royalty chef Gordon ‘take no prisoners’ Ramsay, and of Boost Juice fame with 800 stores around the world, Janine Allis.

Like many competitive reality television shows, Food Stars likewise pits the show’s contestants against one another, in this case chefs and hospitality business owners into two teams personally selected by judges, Mr Ramsay or Ms Allis.

Ms Kos is an Australian cook, egg producer and food manufacturer; she is the founder and chief executive of The Smoked Egg Company and Kossies Free Range Egg Farm.

She joined the other competitors who hoped not to fall foul of the selectors and join either team Ramsay or team Aliss.

When it came to Ms Kos’ turn to pitch her product and why she should be chosen, both judges were equally impressed.

“You’ve got our attention,” Mr Ramsay said.

“A six-month-old egg on the shelf - do you have any idea what that could mean to chefs?

“This could be revolutionary.

“That is a food star in the making”.

During the initial presentation Ms Kos said she had faced challenges in marketing her product.

Ms Allis empathised with Ms Kos marketing challenge and thus petitioned that they should work together.

“I think I can help you - I’d like you to join my team,” she said.

Subsequently, Ms Kos was successful in being chosen by Mr Ramsay as well, which meant she then got to choose which team she wanted to join, leaving it up to them to see who could poach Ms Kos.

Choosing which team she should be on was truly a dilemma for Ms Kos but equally quite the honour - a feather in her cap.

Ms Kos said that although she felt a connection with Ms Allis in her marketing endeavour, she chose to be on Gordon Ramsay’s team.

In letting Ms Allis down, Ms Kos exclaimed what an idol she had been for her.

“You are an absolute idol,” Ms Kos said.

“I really respect what you’ve done, but (turning to Mr Ramsay whose team she selected) Gordon, I need this (the smoked eggs) in the hands of chefs.”

Only a few years ago, Mr and Mrs Kos were scrambling to make use of the smoke machine Ms Kos had bought for her husband as a hobby.

Together they then invented chilled smoking technology that allowed eggs to be smoked raw in their shells, flour to be smoked both before and after it becomes bread, and for individual cuts of meat to be smoked.

The Smoked Egg Company now has the world patent on an advanced smoking technique that increases the eggs’ shelf life to 35 weeks and infuses it with a delicate smoky flavour.

Although filming was completed in 2023, it is currently being aired on Channel 9. Catch-up episodes can viewed on 9Now.

Ms Kos said her culinary prowess along with other random challenges was certainly tested throughout the show.

She said the most challenging part of the series was the strong personalities.

“I think because I was older, they just saw me as dumb and stupid,” she said.

Each week, as the episodes are aired, the two teams were set competitive challenges and their performance determined whether the individuals were eliminated or not.

By the end of the series, the best of the best remained (yet to be screened) to take home the prize money and twelve months mentoring by either Ms Allis or Mr Ramsay.

Speaking from the National Hotel in Coleraine, the renovation of which is yet another of her projects with her partner, Ms Kos said being on the show was, overall, a great experience.

“It was lovely to meet people with innovations and talk to new people about how they would get a product moving,” she said.

“It was interesting to talk and to be able to share how to get contacts … in Australia nobody really listens to people with new products.

“You have to go overseas to get noticed and so to get this platform (Food Stars) was really important - important to support people.”

Ms Kos said she was grateful for the opportunity to be on Gordon Ramsay’s team.

“Gordon Ramsay was absolutely amazing - he is what I would call a gentle giant,” she said.

“He was very different (in person) to the person I thought he was on TV.”

As for future endeavours, the Kos family are continuing with their egg venture which is beginning to go global and being sold to Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, and United States.

Ms Kos said she was also pleased to have opened the National Hotel four weeks ago for meals and said everything was going really well.

“We are still doing up our rooms - it’s been really supported by the community, which is great,” she said.