Karla Gómez-Duran - Founder & Creative Director
Karla is the mind behind every detail at every Elô event. She sees potential and opportunity in each new project, and is driven by her creativity, curiosity and determination.
Dominican-born and with a highly decorated passport, Karla is an accomplished, multifaceted hospitality industry professional, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management and Le Grand Diplômé of Pâtisserie et Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu.
Karla began her career as an event coordinator, running the interior venues at the Renaissance Jaragua Hotel by Marriott, in the Dominican Republic. There she executed and presided over events of varying degrees of formality and magnitude. After several years in the hotel industry, Karla moved to France, pursuing a desire to explore the world and particularly dedicated to experiencing the best culinary and gastronomic experiences the world had to offer. After several months in the beautiful city of Amboise, in the Loire Valley, where she worked in a small Patisserie, Karla realized that her culinary curiosity had developed into a passion, and her future career was born.
After completing her studies at Le Cordon Bleu and armed with the knowledge, skills and discipline she needed to enter the industry, Karla traveled across the Atlantic, to the heart of Terroni Restaurants Group in Toronto, Canada, where she worked in back-of-house and front-of-house positions.
With an entrepreneurial spirit, numerous established relationships in the industry, and a unique brand of creativity and vision, Karla harnessed her skills and experience to found Elô, a place to celebrate love.
“It is my collective experience with food, travel and culture that has inspired my passion to celebrate love", Karla says.
Karla believes it is essential to have someone that offers solutions in the process of planning and executing any event, but most importantly, you need someone who understands your story.