Legacy Awards
The Legacy Awards program, supported by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, was established in 2009 by Les Dames d’Escoffier International with one goal in mind: to provide targeted mentorship opportunities for professional women in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries.
Now accepting applications for the 2025 Legacy Award program.
A Week With a Dame: Each Legacy Award winner earns an experience of approximately one week working alongside accomplished LDEI members. The competition is 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. Winners must have a minimum of four years of experience in their industries.
The Dames of the D.C. Regional Chapter created a one-of-a-kind opportunity for a candidate interested in exploring a career in food policy, justice, or advocacy. This week-long experience, mentored by the DC Dames, exposes awardees to major players who are shifting the landscape through culinary activism, creative programming, new laws, education, and sustainable practices. Our first Legacy Award winner, Sami Maldonado, a graduate student at University of Michigan studying food systems, spent a week in the summer of 2024 visiting local community farms, NGOs, The White House, and DC Central Kitchen.