LDEI Legacy Awards

 Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI) and The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and Culinary Arts announced the 2024 LDEI Legacy Award experiences. The LDEI Legacy Awards are curated industry experiences designed specifically to enhance the careers of women in food, beverage, and hospitality. Applications for the 2024 LDEI Legacy Awards open January 10, 2024, and close March 15, 2024. Women with a minimum of four years of culinary industry experience are eligible to apply.

The 2024 LDEI Legacy Award experience categories, hosts, and host cities are:

The Fine Beverages Legacy Award: Wine, Beer, and Cider in the Texas Hill Country

Hosted by the Dames of the Austin Chapter 

The Culinary Education Legacy Award: Teaching Your Way Through Dallas

Hosted by the Dames of the Dallas Chapter

The Food Entrepreneurship Award: Tracing the New England Food System

Hosted by the Dames of the New England Chapter

The Hospitality, Catering, and Event Planning Legacy Award 

Hosted by the Dames of the New Orleans Chapter

The Food Policy and Advocacy Legacy Award: “Turning the Tables: Making Change through Policy and Advocacy”

Hosted by the Dames of the Washington, D.C. Chapter

The LDEI Legacy Awards are open to professional women from the U.S., Mexico, the U.K., Canada, France, and Italy who are not current or past members of LDEI but have a minimum of four years’ experience working in their industry. Candidates will be notified on April 1, 2024. 

Each LDEI Legacy Award winner earns a five-day experience working alongside accomplished LDEI members. Experiences take place between May 15 and September 15, 2024. For complete details and itineraries of each experience, visit ldei.org.

“It exceeded everything I thought it would be,” said Austin chef Grace Aguilar, a 2023 LDEI Legacy Award winner whose experience put her in the Gulf Coast seafood supply chain. She added that she’ll remember “the amazing support and connection with women in the industry.”  Emma Cromedy of Charlotte, North Carolina sought help expanding her catering business and was awarded the 2023 Catering and Event Planning experience which took her to Pier 60 in New York where she was embedded with one of the city’s busiest and most successful catering companies. “If you have the opportunity to apply, you should,” she said, “It’s an awesome experience.” 

"Year after year LDEI's Legacy Awards offer valuable professional development opportunities for women by women in the professional food world.” said Todd Schulkin, Executive Director of The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. “Julia would have relished such an opportunity in her day and as an LDEI Grand Dame would be very proud of its enduring mentoring program.”

Application forms are online here. Legacy Award Committee Co-Chairs are Dame Julie Chernoff of Chicago and Dame Beth Pav of Austin. The awards are supported by Les Dames D’Escoffier International, LDEI chapters, individual members, their companies, and The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and Culinary Arts. For more information on the LDEI Legacy Awards and to meet last year’s winners, click here.