Les Dames d’Escoffier New York (LDNY), the nonprofit educational and scholarship organization serving women in the culinary, beverage, and hospitality industries, has announced its 50th anniversary, a milestone the chapter will celebrate in grand style this fall. Five decades of education and philanthropy will culminate in a star-studded gala on Nov. 9, 2026, at The Lighthouse at Pier Sixty in New York City, honoring Grande Dame Lidia Bastianich.
A Gala Honoring Lidia Bastianich
Bastianich, a long-standing Dame who embodies LDNY’s ideals, is a towering figure in American culinary arts: a multiple James Beard Award winner, the author of 17 books, and the Emmy Award-winning host of PBS’ Lidia’s Kitchen and Lidia Celebrates America. As a restaurateur, TV personality, and author, her deep-rooted passion for Italian cuisine has influenced generations of home cooks.
The featured talent includes Daniel Boulud, Eric Ripert, Marcus Samuelsson, Jacques Torres, Maria Loi, Pascaline Lepeltier, Melissa Rodriguez, Adrienne Cheatham, Fariyal Abdullahi, Hasty Torres, Dara Davenport, and Stephanie Cho. In addition, Jacques Pépin will create an ornate decorative border for the gala’s menu, demonstrating, in the release’s words, that he is as skilled with a paintbrush as he is with a sauté pan. Tickets are available at ldny.org.
Mentors and Mentees on One Stage
The gala shines a light on the accomplishments of women who have changed the world of food, beverage, and hospitality, including industry stars, their mentors, and the next generation of leaders, many of whom have received scholarships from LDNY. A centerpiece of the evening is a series of chef mentor and mentee pairings, with each mentee a Dame who has worked for or is currently working for her chef mentor.
The pairings bring Boulud together with Rodriguez, Ripert with Cheatham, Samuelsson with Abdullahi, Jacques Torres with Hasty Torres, Loi with Davenport, and Lepeltier with Cho. As LDNY puts it, these relationships are as critical to the success of restaurants, wine, and hospitality today as they were in 1976, and as they will be 50 years from now.
“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Les Dames d’Escoffier New York, I am reminded that our organization was built on a simple belief: when women support one another, we change lives,” says Jill Kreutzer Orent, President, LDNY. “For five decades, our members have strengthened the food, beverage, and hospitality community through mentorship, education, scholarships, and leadership. This anniversary celebrates our legacy while reaffirming our commitment to the women who will lead us into the future. In addition, our chapter’s Dames represent a definitive resource for media seeking expertise in gastronomy, wine and hospitality.”
Fifty Years of Scholarships and Service
Founded in 1976, LDNY is the founding and largest chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), a global organization of more than 2,600 women leaders across 40-plus chapters in North America and Europe. Since 1977, the New York chapter has awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to over 1,000 recipients and supports nine culinary, food, and wine institutions every year. Beyond funding, the chapter facilitates mentorship among members, pairs scholarship recipients with mentors, provides community service support, and raises awareness of women across the culinary, beverage, and hospitality industries.
The chapter’s membership spans restaurateurs, farmers, chefs, sommeliers, nutritionists, journalists, cookbook authors, TV personalities, marketers, recipe developers, and educators. For its golden anniversary, LDNY is also positioning its members as a resource for journalists: media can access Dames through the chapter’s LDNY Golden Anniversary Database to obtain quotes, interviews, and professional opinions on everything from cocktail trends, wine education, and farm-to-glass cocktails to restaurant operations, food policy, and culinary sustainability.
Becoming a Dame
A Dame is a woman who stands out as a leader in her field. To become a member, a potential Dame is generally invited to apply by one or more current members, and must meet a minimum of five years of professional experience in food, wine, beverage, nutrition, hospitality, the arts of the table, or related fields. Candidates must commit to mentoring one another and supporting the organization’s mission. The vetting process is rigorous, but as the chapter says, “once a Dame, always a Dame.”
Breaking the Pyrex Ceiling
The organization is named after Auguste Escoffier, the innovative late-19th-century French chef who simplified cooking methods, championed fresh ingredients over heavy sauces, prioritized the nutritional value of farm-to-table ingredients, and elevated the status of chefs from laborers to a respected profession.
LDNY’s own origin story is one of defiance. Carol Brock, a leading journalist, received a charter from the New York Chapter of Les Amis d’Escoffier to create a parallel women’s organization, in spite of skepticism from male epicureans and journalists who believed there was not one “leading” New York woman who would qualify as a member. Against all odds, Brock succeeded in forming a women-only chapter focused on showcasing women’s achievements and breaking the “Pyrex ceiling.” Fifty years on, with more than 1,000 scholarships awarded and a membership that spans every corner of the food and beverage world, LDNY’s anniversary stands as a benchmark for what organized mentorship can build across an industry.
