Our Team

Ella Elman
Ella ElmanOwner, head chef and meal-planner in chief
Owner and personal chef, Ella Elman, founded The Secret Ingredient in 2011 after facing her own chronic health challenges.

A scientist by training, Ella holds a Master’s degree in Forest Ecology and worked as a forest ecologist in the Seattle area for 12 years, focusing on working with cities and community groups to restore their parks and forests to health. In 2011, she left her job to take a sabbatical and to focus on healing herself from a chronic health condition. After several months on a therapeutic diet, she found a new appreciation for the difficulty of sticking to a restrictive diet and still being able to eat delicious and varied meals.

Ella realized that there were a lot of people out there on restricted diets. However, they lacked the time, expertise and resources to completely change their diet to accommodate these new requirements. She decided to turn her passion for cooking into a small business helping people with therapeutic cooking. Through the journey of healing through diet, she found a whole new profession and community to serve.

Soon thereafter, Ella started working with a clinic specializing in helping people with digestive problems and The Secret Ingredient was born! As she worked with clients on a long-term basis, she was happy to see them improving over time as they were supported in their diets and able to heal.

Ella applies a scientific mindset and lifelong passion for cooking to her work, helping others with food restrictions enjoy delicious and varied meals while supporting their health. She works with each client to provide individual meal planning and ensure great customer service from our highly trained staff.

Bianca Gomez
Bianca GomezPersonal Chef, Meal Planner, Office Manager
Bianca’s passion for cooking was ignited after she found healing from a lifelong neurological ailment through the adoption of a strict whole-food based diet and lifestyle. From this pivotal revelation, she was inspired to completely revamp her life, which included leaving her stable job in the tech industry and return to school in pursuit of a new passion – nutrition and cooking.

Several years later, having graduated from Bastyr University with a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition and Culinary Arts, Bianca is now on a mission to help those who are on their own unique journey of healing and wellness. This desire to help others along with Bianca’s strong customer service background are what fuel and motivate her to assist the clients she works with every day. Bianca is most passionate about cooking with nutritious ingredients as well as cooking mindfully and incorporating love into every meal she prepares. Bianca’s hope is that all people can experience health and happiness through the amazing healing power of food.

When Bianca is not in the kitchen, you can find her exploring the gorgeous PNW and enjoying the natural wonders of the area. She is a lover of all things outdoors – hiking, camping, paddle boarding, and bouldering, just to name a few. Additionally, photography has been a lifelong passion of hers, with an emphasis on outdoor landscapes, macro nature photography, and a newly developing interest in food photography.