Applications for the 2026 LDEI Legacy Awards are closed. The deadline was March 31, 2026. The information below is retained as a record of the 2026 program. For current announcements and future opportunities, visit the official LDEI Legacy Awards page linked below.

The Legacy Awards, supported by The Julia Child Foundation for  Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, were established in 2009 by Les Dames d’Escoffier International with one goal in mind: to provide targeted career-accelerator opportunities for professional women in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries. The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts generously supports our Legacy Awards program.

A Week with a Dame
The 2026 program offered each Legacy Award winner a career-accelerator experience of approximately one week working alongside accomplished LDEI members. The 2026 competition was open to professional women from the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy who are not current or past members of LDEI but have a minimum of four years’ experience working in their industry.

The 2026 awards included roundtrip transportation from the Awardees’ closest major airport to the chapter destination, lodging (moderate hotel, guest house, or in a Dame’s home), and a stipend for meals. The program also provided for the local chapter to cover the cost of local transportation, tours and fees, and chapter dinners.

The six experiences announced for the 2026 program included Vertically Integrated Farming: From Pasture to Plate Experience, Restaurant Ownership/Hospitality Experience; Roots & Revenue: The Big Island Agriculture Experience; Kentucky Spirits: From Grain to Glass Experience; Harvesting Knowledge: A Sustainable Food Experience and Food Product Innovation: From Concept-to-Shelf Experience.

2026 Legacy Award Recipients

  • Amanda Severson: Atlanta, farming from pasture to plate.
  • Andrea Fujarczuk: Kentucky, spirits production. Andrea is based in Ontario and coordinates Niagara College’s Artisan Distilling program.
  • Carla Briggs: Portland, developing food products for market.
  • Hailey Zhou: Hawai‘i, agriculture and business.
  • Melinda Carbajal: Boston, restaurant ownership and hospitality.
  • Sasha Chetyrkina-Miller: London, sustainable food systems.

Read LDEI’s 2026 recipient profiles.

Recipients from Previous Years

2025

  • Kisha Washington: journalism, St. Louis.
  • Carley Kammerer: culinary entrepreneurship, New England.
  • Samantha Bonfiglio: culinary hospitality, Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor.
  • Monique Karabach: culinary education, nutrition and culinary medicine, Dallas.
  • Liu Fang: restaurants and agriculture, Hawai‘i.
  • Adeola Sokunbi: food policy and advocacy, Washington, D.C.

2024

  • Heather Carpenter: hospitality, catering and event planning, New Orleans.
  • Tara McDonough: beverages, Austin.
  • Sami Maldonado: food policy and advocacy, Washington, D.C.
  • Melissa Maness: culinary education, Dallas.
  • Anamaria Morales: food entrepreneurship, New England.

British Columbia Hosting Highlights

B.C. has also welcomed Legacy Award recipients:

  • 2019: Stephanie Schrankel’s wine experience was hosted by Okanagan Valley wineries.
  • 2016: Jovan Sage’s farm-to-table experience was hosted by Lee Murphy in Vancouver.
  • 2012 and 2011: Margaret Chisholm at Culinary Capers Catering hosted culinary recipients Kubee Kassaye and Emily Teel, respectively.

View LDEI’s complete Legacy Awards history, 2009–2026 (PDF).