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Les Dames d' Escoffier International

Education

Chapters offer programs of interest to their communities that enlighten and stimulate, as well as opportunities to mentor promising women who want careers in the food, beverage and hospitality industries.
Advocacy

Promote women in our industries through networking and providing opportunities for education and career advancement. Work to advance the significance of foods and beverages in bridging cultural barriers.
Philanthropy

Create and support ways to give back to local chapter communities.
 
 
Welcome to Les Dames d'Escoffier

Les Dames d’Escoffier is the only organization of its kind: a world wide philanthropic society of professional women leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality. The invitation-only membership, composed of 27 individual chapters across the United States and Canada, is highly diversified and reflects the multifaceted fields of contemporary gastronomy and hospitality.  

 
Headlines
  • Web Forum on Child Nutrition Now Available
    GreenTables/LDEI in collaboration with Dialogue4Health brought together close to 400 participants from around the country for the February 1 Web Forum Reauthorizing the Child Nutrition Act: What’ll It take To Fix School Lunch?  Click here for...

  • School Lunch Reform
    Here is a link to an article in a recent Huffington Post concerning the movement to reform the country's school lunch program. School Lunches: We Can Do Better than $1 Per Meal

  • Green Tables Web Forum Feb. 1!
    “What’ll It Take to Fix School Lunch? Putting Children’s Health on the Table” is a collaboration between the Green Tables Steering Committee and Dialogue4Health, a project of the Public Health Institute. Designed as an...

  • Mark Your Calendar for 2010 Conference
    Mark your calendar for the 2010 LDEI Annual Conference, being held in Palm Springs, CA. The event is scheduled for October 21-24 at the Hyatt Grand Champions. Details about the conference and educational programming will be available in early 2010...

  • French Potluck Picnic
    A Taste of LDEI’s First Regional Gathering - On Sunday, July 19th, Los Angeles/Orange County, San Diego and Palm Springs Dames gathered at Peg Rahn’s beautiful San Clemente home for the First LDEI Regional Gathering.   As you can...

  • Who are the Top Women Chefs?
    Author Beverly Wettenstein has written a piece for the Huffington Post and Les Dames is featured. She wants to know who the top women chefs are and who are the best new women chefs. Check out the posting and add your comments.    Food for Thought...

  • A Chocolate Class in St. Louis, by Lori Willis
    On Monday, March 16, the St. Louis Dames and invited guests were treated to a lesson in cooking with chocolate hosted by Master Chocolatier Patrice Bruchec, Executive Pastry Chef of The Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis.    Bruchec, who was once told by...

  • LDEI Online Auction
    Starting October 1 and continuing through October 31, 2009, Les Dames d’Escoffier is hosting our third online auction, Cornucopia 2009. We kicked off the auction during our national conference in Philadelphia and are delighted to report that...

  • LDEI Charters 27th Chapter
    At its annual meeting in Philadelphia earlier this month, the LDEI Council of Delegates granted a charter for the organization’s 27th chapter – Les Dames d’Escoffier Northeast. The chapter will serve portions of New England and...

  • Food Network Seeking Chefs for Cooking Competition
    Can YOU make the cut, or will you be chopped? Food Network is seeking the next round of skilled chefs to compete on one of the hottest cooking competition shows. Can you create a $10,000 meal out of our mystery baskets? Seeking dynamic...

  • LDEI Celebrates Chapter Anniversaries
    At the 2009 LDEI Annual Conference in Philadelphia, the organization celebrated a number of chapter milestones with a celebratory cake at the “Philly PHUN” evening at the Sofitel. The cake was created by two students from the Restaurant...

  • LDEI LEGACY AWARD WINNERS CHOSEN IN CULINARY AND WINE
    A caterer from suburban Vancouver BC and culinary career counselor from Austin TX have won the 2009 LDEI Legacy Awards in Culinary and Wine. These one-week internships were created to give young women, who are not Dames, a firsthand opportunity to...

  • LDEI Conference Showcases Philadelphia
    The LDEI 2009 Annual Conference is being hosted by the Philadelphia chapter and is scheduled for October 1-4 at the Sofitel Hotel. The program features a number of speakers and sessions that address issues that are pertinent in today's culinary...

  • "These 'Dames' Know Cooking" - review from the Desert Sun
    It can be argued that women have been the driving force behind America's food revolution. Without Julia Child or Alice Waters we'd all still be eating the way we did in the '50s, and the male stars of the current food firmament would probably...

  • Cornucopia 2009: LDEI Online Auction Call for Donations
    Beginning October 1 and continuing through the 31, 2009, Les Dames d’Escoffier will host its third online auction, Cornucopia 2009.  We will kick off our auction during our annual national conference, to be held this year in Philadelphia...

  • Les Dames Cookbook Review from Contra Costa Times
    The myth that cooking equals complicated permeates too many American households today. "Cooking with Les Dames d'Escoffier" quickly dispels that notion.    Cookbook review: "Cooking with Les Dames d'Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape...

  • Najmieh’s Persian Kebabs
    Najmieh Batmanglij (Washington D.C.) created a fabulous Persian meal at a special D.C. dinner that the LDEI board attended in February.   The delicious kebabs she served (Jujeh Kebab) are mentioned in the Spring issue of the Quarterly on page 9...

  • LEGACY AWARDS APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JUNE 15, 2009
    It is with pleasure that Les Dames d’Escoffier International announces the deadline for application for these exciting professional development opportunities has been extended by one month to June 15, 2009. Awards In three categories serve...

  • 'Dames' of Seattle's food scene honor moms in an array of dishes
    When Seattle's chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier, an organization dedicated to food education and philanthropy, decided to have a potluck in honor of the cooking of their mothers, the array of dishes was wide: from Danish Meatballs to Chicken...

  • LDEI Announces List of Nominees for Grande Dame Award
    Every two years, LDEI bestows the Grande Dame award on a woman, late in her career, with outstanding professional achievement, excellence and charitable/community contributions. The award is presented at a ceremony at the LDEI annual conference on...

  • Teleforum Schedule
    LDEI produces teleforums throughout the year on topics of interest to our members. These conference-call seminars are free to members. To register, log into the Members Only portion of the web site (details are in the front of your membership...

  • Les Dames Cookbook Finalist for IACP Cookbook Award
    This year the Les Dames cookbook, Cooking with Les Dames d’Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape the Way We Eat and Drink, was nominated as a finalist in the Compilations category of the 2009 IACP Cookbook Awards. We are proud to have...

  • LDEI Board - Call for Nominations
    LDEI is seeking volunteers who are interested in serving on the international Board of Directors for the 2009-2010 term. The LDEI Nominating Committee will collect nominations and produce a single slate that will be ratified by the seated...

  • Social Networking
    Social networking is all the rage these days and LDEI is on the bandwagon. Thanks to the efforts of a couple of our members, LDEI has a presence on both LinkedIn and Facebook.   Holly Hadsell El-Hajji (Hawaii) is the administrator for the Facebook...

  • Shangri La
    The name makes one imagine a paradise on earth. Doris Duke spent some 60 years developing this estate into a mythical place of perfect living, accessible to only the invited during her lifetime. Although she had many homes, this is the one that...

  • Dames Gather for a Festive Luau at The Bishop Museum in Oahu
    The Winter issue of the LDEI Quarterly was mailed to all members on February 24th. The issue is packed with information and photos of the annual conference in Hawaii. Here are some photos and information that didn’t make the issue. A...

  • "A Great Cookbook and a Great Read"
    KitchenGadgetGals.com takes a look at the LDEI Cookbook: Cooking with Les Dames d'Escoffier. You can read the review here. Their bottom line: "A great cookbook and a great read."

  • Praise for Cooking with Les Dames d'Escoffier
    Five-Star Cookbook Seasoned By Laguna Ties Featured in Laguna Beach Independent, Nov 14, 2008 Marcella Rosene, part time Laguna Beach resident for 35 years, is the editor of Cooking with Les Dames d'Escoffier: At Home with the Women Who Shape...

  • M.F.K. Fisher Awards for Excellence in Culinary Writing
    The LDEI 2008 M.F.K. Fisher Awards for Excellence in Culinary Writing have been announced. A panel of judges reviewed almost 70 entries for this biannual writing competition and selected the following winning entries:   First Prize: Whole Foods...
 

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