Lauren Braun Costello is a chef, author, and culinary personality.
Education
Lauren holds a Bachelor of Arts from Colgate University and earned a Grand Diploma in Culinary Arts with distinction from The French Culinary Institute (FCI). While studying at FCI, she was named a recipient of the Les Dames d"Escoffier scholarship in 2003.
Career
Lauren’s culinary career began in 2002 when she enrolled at The French Culinary Institute. She launched Gotham Caterers that same year as Executive Chef and owner. She simultaneously ventured into food styling and has styled for some of the biggest names in the culinary world.
Her creations have been featured on American Broadcasting Company’s The View, The Early Show on Columbia Broadcasting System, and Fox & Friends.
She was the author of a weekly cooking column called "The Competent Cook," on CDKitchen.com, and served as a recipe tester and developer for the 75th Anniversary edition of the Joy of Cooking cookbook. In 2010, Lauren was tapped to host 45 episodes of a new America Online cooking series called Pantry Challenge.
The series became one of the most popular on America Online’s cooking channel, KitchenDaily.com, logging more than 5 million views in its first three months. Lauren’s recipes and party-planning advice have appeared in The Los Angeles Times and the Chicago Tribune, and she has made numerous television appearances on W National Broadcasting Company’s Today in New New York
Lauren also appeared as a guest on American Broadcasting Company’s The View with Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, and Nora Ephron to showcase some of Julia Child’s favorite recipes for the release of the movie “Julie & Julia.”.