Carol Smith, the Elle branding guru who struck TV tie-ins with “Project Runway” and other shows to revive the fashion magazine, is jumping to Condé Nast.

At Condé, she will be publishing director of a food group that consists of Bon Appétit magazine and the leftovers from the Gourmet brand. Condé shuttered Gourmet, the oldest food magazine, last year but said it would continue as a presence on TV, the Web and in books.

She will be reporting directly to Tom Florio, Condé’s senior vice president and publishing director. He had been talking to her for months about leaving Elle and joining the home of Vogue, according to sources close to the situation.

At Hachette Filipacchi, Smith was senior vice-president and chief brand officer for Elle Group, overseeing ad sales, editorial, digital development and brand extensions for the magazine and Web site.

Last year marked the first time Elle finished ahead of Vogue in total ad pages.