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We are Les Dames!

The San Antonio Chapter, with more than 65 members, just celebrated two decades of community philanthropy. Our organization is focused on scholarships for women, community garden funding, nutrition education for children & families and culinary excellence.
Holiday Event
New Members 2016

Welcome to our new members - Jo Ann Boone, Angela Covo and Julie Vrana.

Our Mission

We are a proud chapter of Les Dames d'Escoffier International (LDEI) www.ldei.org.

LDEISA is an invitational organization of women leaders in food, beverage, agriculture and hospitality whose mission is education, advocacy and philanthropy.

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Education

The San Antonio chapter offers a wide variety of educational programs that are of interest to their community. These programs are designed to enlighten attendees and to stimulate discussion about selected subjects. In addition, the Les Dames members offer opportunities to mentor promising women who want careers in the food, beverage, hospitality and agricultural industries.

Advocacy

The members of Les Dames d’ Escoffier work tirelessly to promote women in the various food industries through networking and providing opportunities for education and career advancement. This amazing and talented group of women has worked very hard and continues to advance the significance of the entire food Industry.

Philanthropy

The San Antonio Chapter has helped to create and support ways to give back to our local community by providing educational programs and by offering annual scholarships to women entering culinary, hospitality and agricultural institutions. We also provide grants to local gardening associations to help with costs associated with these community garden projects.

Our Programs

A message from our Chapter President

Welcome to our web site!

We are happy to announce that our annual 2018 Scholarship Applications are now available! Please visit our Scholarships tab for details and Application.

We recently visited Rockport and Port Aransas, Texas, to interview prospective recipients of our Hurricane Harvey Aspirations Grant. Although the recovery effort has made tremendous progress over the last seven months, their is much more work and relief needed to this devistated area. Visiting the physical site, of these women owned restaurants, brought a personal connection to the damage that was done to their physical property and also to their resilient spirit and drive to help their community recover first to their own recovery efforts. Truely amazing and heartwarming!

Mark your Calendar for our next Plate Changer Luncheon to be held on September 21, 2018 at 11:30am at the Marriott Riverwalk. This is one of our major fundraisers where your attendance is needed to help fund our Aspirations Grant. You must see our video from our last Plate Changer Luncheon in the Fall of 2016.

Please visit again soon for information on this wonderful event for this Fall of 2018! We will have a link to a special web site dedicated to this event.

Lone Star Afternoon with Aaron Franklin

Aspirations Grant

The purpose of the Aspirations Grant Program is to award a grant each year to empower and further business enhancement or culinary innovation to a non LDEISA member in the San Antonio, Texas Hill Country or South Texas community. Please visit Aspirations Grant for more information under Programs Tab. Save the Date - Our next Plate Changer luncheon is set for September 21, 2018, 11:30am at the Marriot Riverwalk. Stay tuned for details. CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO of the first recipients of our Aspirations Grant IN THE FALL OF 2016.
Scholarships

Annual scholarships are awarded to eligible women pursuing an education in food, nutrition, culinary arts, wine, hospitality or agricultural industries. $25,000 total dollars are available for scholarships for the upcoming 2018-2019 school year. Click on >2018 Scholarship Application to download an application.
Visit Scholarships under the Programs tab for more information.
Green Tables

Les Dames d'Escoffier International has designed a philanthropic program to help communities better understand the link between rural and urban farms and their tables. Many of our members are at the forefront of this global movement to transform how we eat.

LDEISA Officers

Upcoming Events

Click on the Event Title for more details.

FOR MEMBERS ONLY - LDEI Legacy Nominees Needed

The Legacy Awards offer career and life enhancing mentorship opportunities for women in the food, beverage, and hospitality industries to spend a week on-site learning from the best of the best. We are empowering and investing in tomorrow's leaders. WE ASK THAT YOU REACH OUT NOW to those who you think should apply and to others whose networks will bring us stellar applicants; your employees, colleagues, associations, friends and family. The application deadline is coming up quickly, APRIL 1, 2018. Successful applicants are those who are passionate, skilled and want to grow and develop in their careers. Please pass this information along so you can join us in making a difference in someone's life! These Awards are for non-Dame women with 4+ years of experience from the US, Britain, Canada and Mexico. The six awards include the chance to: work with the chef at Coquette in New Orleans, assist at the historic James Beard House in New York City, explore winemaking at Wente Family Estates in California, learn all the facets of Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery in Seattle, work with the award-winning Cake Works in Honolulu, and partake in a farm-to-sea-to-table tour in New England. Thanks again to the generosity of The Julia Child Foundation, this year's Dame Mentor-Hosts and their Chapters, we have SIX fabulous weeklong Legacy experiences to give away to deserving women. These awards are high-energy, labor-intensive and career-expanding opportunities for early to mid-career women. The award winners will also be our guests at the 2018 LDEI Annual Conference in Seattle, Washington Oct. 11-14, 2018 where their educational and networking opportunities will continue! For full details of the award descriptions, overview and application, send your contacts to LDEI LEGACY AWARDS or have them visit: http://www.ldei.org/ click on Awards, then Legacy Awards. Please share on all your social media platforms. Visit our pages and share posts to your networks: https://twitter.com/DamesdEscoffier https://www.facebook.com/LDEIdamesdescoffier please post to your email signatures and social media! We sincerely thank you! Legacy Awards Co-Chairs Dame Judy Bellos This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Dame Barbara Hanley This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Please reach out to either of us with any questions or comments. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Latest News

LDEI San Antonio Now Accepting Scholarship Applications

Written on 21 March 2018.

The San Antonio chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI) is now accepting scholarship applications from San Antonio area women who are currently pursuing a post-high school education in the food/culinary arts, wine, hospitality or agriculture industries. The women’s professional organization will award up to $25,000 in scholarships for the 2018-2019 school year.

Applicants must demonstrate financial need, attend an accredited institution, and currently maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade point grade average. Scholarships are limited to women who are current residents of San Antonio, Bexar County and its contiguous counties.

The scholarship application is available online at www.ldeisanantonio.org, and in the financial aid offices of many area schools.

Past scholarship recipients have included students attending the University of The Incarnate Word, St. Philip’s College, Johnson & Wales University, The Culinary Institute of America, and other higher education institutions.

Completed applications should be postmarked no later than April 15, 2018 and mailed to Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship, c/o Diana Barrios Treviño, P.O. Box 15302, San Antonio, TX 78212.

Successful scholarship recipients will be notified no later than May 31, 2018. Funds will be sent directly to the scholarship winners’ educational institutions no later than September 1, 2018.

For more information, contact Diana Barrios Treviño at (210) 771-7011 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

About Les Dames d’Escoffier San Antonio

Les Dames d’Escoffier San Antonio (LDEI-SA) is a chapter of LDEI International, a nonprofit association of professional women in the food, wine, hospitality and agriculture industries around the world. The organization is dedicated to assisting others through scholarships, education, advocacy and philanthropy.