Applications are available for the 2014 Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LEDI) Legacy Awards, offering non-Dame women in the U.S, U.K., and Canada the opportunity to work alongside some of culinary and hospitality industry’s top women professionals. The award recipients are paired with members of LEDI, an international organization of women leaders in food, beverage, and hospitality whose mission is education and philanthropy.
Six awards are offered in five categories, one each in Culinary, Pastry, Wine, and Food/Wine Journalism, and two experiences in Farm-to-Table. The professional experience programs include:
- Culinary-Catering with Lisa Dupar, Lisa Dupar Catering in Seattle.
- Entrepreneurship-Pastry for Production with Shari Carlson of Dessert Dreams, Dallas.
- Wine with Carolyn Wente, Wente Family Estates in Livermore, California
- Food/Wine Journalism at Good Housekeeping magazine with Susan Westmoreland and Sharon Franke, New York City.
- Two Farm-to-Table experiences, with Judith Winfrey, Love is Love Farm, and Charlotte Swancy, Riverview Farms, in Atlanta. The second is with Lesley Hill and Wailea Agricultural Group, Big Island of Hawaii
Award winners are reimbursed for airfare and hotel accommodations for six nights for up to $2,000. Winners are announced in early June and experiences must be completed by October 20, 2014.
“This is a unique opportunity for Legacy Award winners to work side-by-side with outstanding culinary professionals,” says LDEI president Beth Allen. “During the week, they may help with the harvest at one of California’s oldest family wineries, experience in-depth learning of tropical fruit on the Big Island of Hawaii, or assist in a food photo shoot for Good Housekeeping magazine. Or they could brush up their cake-decorating techniques in Dallas, further their catering expertise in Seattle, or get their hands dirty on two farms in the Atlanta area.”
The Legacy Award program doubled in size in 2012, thanks to a generous donation from the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, juliachildfoundation.org, created by Child in 1995.
“Our Foundation is very pleased to support Les Dames d’Escoffier International’s Legacy Awards,” says Todd Schulkin, executive director of the foundation. “Teaching and sharing knowledge was of paramount importance to Julia, and it is immensely satisfying that the Foundation is able to continue to further Julia’s legacy and relationship with LDEI in this way.”
Applications are available online at ldei.org. The deadline to apply is April 21, 2014.
