Culinary strategist specializing in product innovation for food and beverage brands, driving market entry and operational excellence.
Laura Allen
US 
Your go-to expert if you need to...
Bio
Laura Allen is a culinary operations and innovation expert with over a decade of experience leading foodservice strategy, menu development, and brand experience across restaurants, hospitality groups, and wellness-focused ventures. Based in New York, she has managed multi-unit culinary operations, overseen large-scale event production, and advised brands through her consultancy, Pinekitch, on product development, food strategy, and customer experience.
Laura’s unique background blends high-level culinary execution with nutritional expertise, content creation, and strategic planning. From running flagship restaurant operations at THE WELL and overseeing 200+ events at Pinch Food Design, to directing multi-brand culinary operations for Shift Hospitality, she has consistently delivered elevated food experiences and operational excellence. Her deep knowledge of sourcing, food science, wellness, and branding allows her to bring a holistic and modern approach to every project.
Key Accomplishments
Developed brand culinary strategies and content driving 40% conversion rate at THE WELL
Managed culinary production for 500+ high-end events at Union Square Hospitality Group
Directed ops for 50 off-site pop-ups, markets, and festivals at Shift Hospitality Group
Oversaw 200+ food design & event production projects at Pinch Food Design with 100+ staff
How I Work
Experience
Pinekitch LLC
Strategic culinary consultancy supporting brands, chefs, and hospitality ventures.
Founder | Consultant
- Collaborate with restaurants, brands and fellow chefs to create culinary experiences and inform strategy
- Fuse nutritional expertise, design, food science, technology and event production to optimize for clients
- Engage directly with clients, customers, vendors and producers to understand and deliver projects
- Craft innovative culinary strategies tailored to precise needs of products and brands for B2B and D2C
THE WELL
Integrated wellness brand combining hospitality, nutrition, and lifestyle.
Director of Food & Beverage | General Manager
- Oversaw culinary and restaurant operations for brand, NYC flagship and hotel partnerships
- Developed brand food philosophy, sourcing standards, custom event menus, and seasonal menus/recipes
- Managed vibrant all day restaurant, budgeting, compliance and forecasting to ensure performance standards
- Assisted with content creation (i.e. articles, blog posts, social media ads) achieving a 40% conversion rate
Pinch Food Design
High-end food design and event production studio.
Chef de Cuisine
- Managed high-volume operations for food design/event production enterprise overseeing 200+ noteworthy events
- Directed culinary production and design often involving skillful collaboration between guest chefs, pop-up restaurants, new food products, brand launches, VIP events and 100+ commissary and event chefs
- Leveraged interdisciplinary skill set to perform a variety of complex functions including purchasing, sourcing, client tastings, menu/recipe R&D, budgeting, P&L, catering production and project management
Shift Hospitality Group
Multi-brand hospitality group with operations across NYC and beyond.
Director of Culinary Operations
- Oversaw culinary operations of 5 multi-outlet, NYC-based brands & commissaries, including the production and execution of 50 off-site musical festival pop-ups, seasonal food markets, food shows and private events
- Established and maintained high quality vendor, employee and customer relationships
- Designed and conducted training for brand SOPs and oversaw quality and performance standards
- Created custom recipes & menus, performing nutritional and SEO analysis
Union Square Hospitality Group
Renowned restaurant and event group in New York.
Production Sous Chef
- Oversaw large-scale event production, procurement, and custom client menu execution.
- Managed kitchen operations and compliance in HPP facility serving 500+ events annually.
Additional Culinary Roles
Managed culinary production of 500+ large-scale, high-end events to ensure efficient, top quality execution
Oversaw commissary kitchen culinary procurement, 30-50 staff, banquet P&L and compliance in HPP facility
Conferred with production personnel on client tastings, commercial customizations and bespoke experiences