Lauren Braun Costello

Lauren Braun Costello is the chef owner of Gotham Caterers, a private caterer in New York City specializing in intimate gatherings. She holds a B.A. from Colgate University and earned a Grand Diploma in Culinary Arts with distinction from The French Culinary Institute (FCI). While studying at FCI, she worked at L'Ecole, the school's acclaimed restaurant, where she trained under some of the industry's most renowned chefs. In 2003 she was named a recipient of the Les Dames d'Escoffier scholarship.

In addition to catering, Lauren works as a food stylist and culinary producer for various national and local television broadcasts, including segments for The Tony Danza Show, The View, CBS This Morning, dLife, CNN, and Fox. Lauren has styled the satellite media tours for James Beard award-winning Chef Michel Nischan's Taste Pure and Simple, Food Network star Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Cooking 2, The Sonoma Diet, and Splenda, the no calorie sweetener made from sugar. Lauren freelances as a chef instructor for the JCC in Manhattan, as well as
Cooking by the Book. Prior to her culinary pursuits, she enjoyed a
successful career on Wall Street in corporate communications.

Lauren has gained both local and national media exposure. She has made several television appearances on WNBC's "Today in New York," doing live cooking demos. Her recipes and party-planning advice have appeared in Revlon's Revlon On The Red Carpet promotional website for the 2004 Oscars, as well as The Los Angeles Times.