the feast - Les Dames d'Escoffier - Vol. 2 Iss. 4

2024 Legacy Award Winners

What’s Ahead in 2025

Julie Chernoff, 2024 Chair

Beth Pav, 2025 Chair

Bonnie Tandy Leblang, 2025 Co-Chair

By Julie Chernoff (Chicago)

LDEI has always placed its Legacy Awards program—and the promotion of future industry leaders— firmly at the center of its mission, ensuring that more emerging, creative women will experience success. The Legacy Awards affords LDEI and its members the opportunity to share our collective love and knowledge of all things culinary with upcoming industry professionals from across North America and beyond. We are mentors to our cores, freely sharing our knowledge and expertise so that more women can thrive in the industry we love. This was in abundant evidence when the 2024 Legacy Award winners joined us at the Arizona Conference in Phoenix this past October. We were reminded anew of our commitment to mentoring and showcasing these nascent stars. Along with Co-Chair Beth Pav (Austin), we welcomed five accomplished women to the stage to share their experiences with Conference goers at the Legacy Luncheon.

• Heather Carpenter (South Carolina), Hospitality, Catering, and Event Planning Award winner, sponsored by the NOLA Chapter and the Four Seasons Hotel;

• Sami Maldonado (Minnesota), Food Policy and Advocacy Award winner, sponsored by the Washington, D.C. Chapter;

• Melissa Maness (Missouri), Culinary Education Award winner, sponsored by the Dallas Chapter;

• Tara McDonough (Texas), Fine Beverages Award winner, sponsored by the Austin Chapter; and

• Anamaría Morales (California), Food Entrepreneurship Award winner, sponsored by the New England Chapter.

Many thanks to the stalwart members of the 2024 Legacy Awards Committee for their thoughtful advice and service.

By the time you read this, the 2025 Legacy Award winners will be starting their Legacy experiences, to be celebrated at the April 2026 Las Vegas Conference. Beth Pav and her cochair, Bonnie Tandy (New York), are thrilled to announce the six 2025 winners:

• Samantha Bonfiglio (New Jersey), Culinary & Hospitality Award winner, sponsored by Zingerman’s, Ann Arbor, Michigan;

• Carley Kammerer (Minnesota), Culinary Entrepreneurship Award winner, sponsored by the New England Chapter;

• Monique Karabach (Texas), Culinary Education: Nutrition & Culinary Medicine Award winner, sponsored by the Dallas Chapter;

• Liu Fang (Hawaii), Restaurant & Agriculture Award winner, sponsored by the New England Chapter;

• Adeola Sokunbi (Georgia), Food Policy & Advocacy Award, sponsored by the Washington, D.C. Chapter; and

• Kisha Washington (Virginia), Journalism Award, sponsored by the St. Louis Chapter.

The Legacy Awards, established in 2009 by Les Dames d’Escoffier International, are supported by The Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts.