About

Lauren Gresham, better known as Chef Elle, was born and raised in Buffalo, NY. 

 

She founded her first business, Ravelle Culinary Creations, in September of 2011 at just 20 years old. Ravelle was initially founded as a gourmet baked goods company, but Chef Elle always had dreams to expand into every sector of the culinary world. 

 

After graduating from the French Culinary Institute in 2014, Chef Elle returned to Buffalo to officially expand her business and pour back into her community, adding catering, private chef work, and restaurant menu development to her list of offerings; operating with sliding scale pricing to support her mission of ensuring that people from all communities have access to her services. 

 

She founded her second business, Core Cuisine, under the Ravelle umbrella in 2016, which offers local meal prep services and nutrition education services. In 2021, she expanded yet again to offer nutrition coaching services and meal planning assistance upon completing her Nutritionist certification through the International Sports Sciences Association.

 

Since 2017, Chef Elle has focused her community engagement efforts on providing cooking classes and nutrition education classes for all ages and walks of life in conjunction with Buffalo Public Schools and Evergreen Health.  

 

In 2019, Chef Elle opened the first Black woman owned commissary kitchen in Buffalo, NY within the Chandler St Business Incubator. Since opening, she has helped 7 additional minority businesses elevate and increase their brand reach in the commercial sector and has expanded the Ravelle brand with her own line of kitchen ware and culinary supplies. 

 

Chef Elle continues to work in and serve her community daily with continued aspirations of growth and reaching new heights in the culinary and nutrition industries.