Lauren DeSteno

Since she was a little girl, Lauren DeSteno wanted to be a chef. Growing up in an Italian-Spanish family gave her a window to two powerful culinary heritages where food was both central to gathering and encouraged as an adolescent hobby. She attended the Culinary Institute of America after completing her bachelor’s degree in finance and Spanish, and immediately jumped into a hospitality career that began at the Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park under Chef Danile Humm and led to her current role as Corporate Executive Chef for the revered AltaMarea Group in New York City. In between, she styled food for TV shows and did recipe testing for cookbooks, making connections along the way. 

"Lauren has broken every glass ceiling along the way - rising to the very top of the culinary scene in NYC - she put in hours and years working late nights in the kitchen, creating a real career path for women in food service,” says Liz DiTrapano, who nominated her for Hall of Femme. “She always knew this was her path and has grinded it out in a man's world, paving a road behind her that makes it possible for all the women who want to stay in this industry to do so on their own terms.”

Lauren is also the US Correspondent for Parabere Forum, an annual global summit empowering women in hospitality. She is based in New York City. 

Follow her on Instagram | LinkedIn