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Krischell's fascination for the Houston food culture began in her formative years. She and her younger sister would dress up to accompany her parents on their date nights. "Their favorites were Vargos, The Wyndham Warwick, and of course Brennan's. Although we were tagalongs, they exposed both of us to the local and global fine dining. I knew those "trail of breadcrumbs" would eventually lead me to a career in the industry, I just didn't know how..." Her parents' work ethic afforded their family to travel the world. Krischell's fascination with food validated her curiosity about how she would contribute to the food industry. She was exposed to how food was used as a symbol of status in both well-off regions especially where food insecurities were ever so present and to this day has a heart for bridging that gap. This exposure also became another trail of breadcrumbs that had a bigger purpose in her life.
After graduating from her beloved alma mater, Prairie View A&M University, with a BA in History, she attended The Art Institute of Houston and earned an AAS in Culinary Arts in 2008. While pursuing culinary school, her itch to learn about baking and pastry before taking those classes landed her an apprentice opportunity at Hotel ICON's BANK Restaurant before its demise. She continued to work closely with then pastry chef Charles Allen until he would eventually be her predecessor. Audrey's tenacity and talents created opportunities in being ICON's resident pastry chef thus carving a specific niche for her in the local food and beverage industry. At the time, Krischell collaborated closely with each of the hotel's executive chefs Michael Kramer, Shannen Tune, Greg Lowry, while operating as Chef Kiran's Verma's pastry chef at her French-infused Indian Restaurant, Kiran's, in 2010 consecutively.
Krischell's talents and contributions to Houston's hospitality and tourism industry landed her recognition as the 2010 Hotel & Lodging Association of Greater Houston's "Hospitality on Parade" award recipient. She also made several guest chef appearances on Fox 26's "Cooking with Cleverley" with the late Cleverley Stone, or as Krischell affectionately calls Stone, "her foodie godmother."
At the top of 2011, Krischell would become the first black chef and the first black woman chef of The Houstonian Hotel, Club, and Spa. She worked as the Pastry Chef's Catherine Rodriguez' pastry sous chef and executive chefs Jeffery Everts and Neal Cox.
In 2014, Krischell's desire to contribute to the food and beverage industry took a more meaningful approach as a culinary arts instructor at Dekaney High School in Spring Independent School District. Her dedication to the food and education industries have made her recognizable to her peers and was voted 2018 Dekaney High School's Teacher of the Year. She's also taken the same approach in leaving "trails of breadcrumbs" for her students just as her parents did for her by exposing her students to different cultures through traveling abroad and locally. The hands-on exposure to the food and coffee culture of Puerto Rico is significant. Her student's advancement of learning coffee bean origin connects their exposure to real-world application, as those same students run a full coffee shop inside the school. Before the pandemic, she and her students consistently volunteer at the Houston Food Bank multiple times a year.
In early 2021, as the country was slowly opening its doors to the "new-norm", she tip-toed her way out of industry retirement to assist re-opening Chef Mark Holley's Davis Street of Hermann Park as their pastry chef. This bucket-list opportunity gave her the confidence to finally break out on her own to begin The Pretty Bundt Co.
Audrey Krischell Sam-Hardgraves, (whew that's a lot of names lol) is considered a "unicorn" in the food community as one of the very few African-American/Black-woman pastry chef(s) to have taken the traditional approach on earning her ranks as a pastry chef to her hometown, Houston.
Now, Audrey presents to all her interpretation of "comfort desserts." Her collection of nostalgia and familiar desserts with her twist of sustainable ingredients made with integrity but most importantly, love! The Pretty Bundt Co., a seasonal body of work will highlight many southern favorites with a twist, of course, but also introduce many to an opportunity to explore other flavor profiles that they wouldn't normally indulge in.
Whether you've known her in the food and beverage industry as "Audrey", her actual primary and generational name-sake of her mother and maternal grandmother, "Kris or Krischell" her middle name and most often referred to by high school and college colleagues, she simply prefers what her family and dearest friends affectionately call her, "Kri" (cree). The many aliases she goes by reflects the many ways she loves giving back and selflessly doing for others.
Krischell is an active member of the Psi Mu Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, an active member of her beloved church New Home Family Worship Center HOU, a proud co-caregiver (along with her mother) to her father, and newlywed to her loving husband, Ryan Hardgraves, CMGS.
info@theprettybundtco.com IG: @ThePrettyBundtCo
Mon | By Appointment | |
Tue | 11:00 am – 07:00 pm | |
Wed | 11:00 am – 07:00 pm | |
Thu | 11:00 am – 07:00 pm | |
Fri | 11:00 am – 07:00 pm | |
Sat | 10:00 am – 03:00 pm | |
Sun | Closed |
The Pretty Bundt Co.
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