Imagine working side-by-side with a top organic restaurateur, helping with the grape harvest for the oldest family-owned winery in California, or experiencing the tropical harvest at a farm in Hawaii.
These opportunities and others are available to women working in the food, beverage and hospitality industries through the 2015 Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI) Legacy Awards.
Established in 2009, each Legacy Award offers a one-week workplace experience to non-Dame women in the US, UK and Canada. Award recipients will work alongside some of the culinary industry's top women professionals, all member of Les Dames d'Escoffier, an international organization of women leaders in food, beverage and hospitality whose mission is education and philanthropy.
Six awards will be offered in four categories: culinary, food/wine journalism, wine and farm-to-table.
The professional experience programs include:
Restaurant/Organic--Restaurant Nora, Washington, D.C., owner, Dame Nora Pouillon
Food/Wine Journalism--"Good Housekeeping" magazine, New York City, Dames Susan Westmoreland and Sharon Franke
Wine--Wente Family Estates in Livermore, CA, Dames Carolyn Wente and Amy Hoopes
Wine--Ste. Michelle Wine Estates in Woodinville, WA, Dame Kari Leitch
Farm-to-Table--Melissa's World Variety Produce Inc., Los Angeles, CA, Dame Nancy Eisman
Farm-to-Table--Wailea Agricultural Group, Big Island of Hawaii, Dame Lesley Hill
Award winners will be reimbursed for airfare and hotel accommodations for six nights for up to $2,000. Winners will be announced in early June and experiences must be completed by Oct. 20, 2015. In addition to the week-long experience, each winner is invited to attend the 2015 LDEI Annual Conference, Oct. 29-Nov. 1, in Charleston, SC, where a luncheon in the winners' honor will be held. Travel, hotel and conference attendance fee will be reimbursed.
Visit ldei.org and click on 2015 Legacy Awards for an application.