Applications
Since our scholarship and grant program began eight years ago, we have awarded more than $160,000 to women across the state pursuing a wide variety of food- and culinary-related careers.
Scholarships
We offer annual scholarships for education and continuing education awards to female applicants pursuing culinary or pastry arts, farming, beverage management, hospitality, nutrition and dietetics, or agriculture coursework at four-year universities and community colleges.
Application Details 2024
Community College Student Applicant Eligibility
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Female completing first year of coursework
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Culinary Arts/Hospitality Management or other food-related major (All scholarships are administered by the recipient’s school; money is to be used only for tuition.)
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Willing to volunteer at one or more LDEI events during the upcoming year
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Completed application
Four-Year University Student Applicant Eligibility
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Female junior
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Must be majoring in a food-related field ( (ie: Nutrition/Dietetics, Hospitality, Culinary Arts, Baking & Pastry, Agricultural Sciences, etc.) (All scholarships are administered by the recipient’s school; money is to be used only for tuition.)
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Willing to volunteer at one or more LDEI events during the upcoming year
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Completed application
Individual Educational Scholarships:
Each scholarship is a minimum of $1,000, and the recipient(s) must submit a complete application.
Deadline: March 29, 2024
Click below to complete the Individual Scholarship Application
Monique Williams, Owner of the Cheesecake Empori-Yum, 2021 Entrepreneur Grant Winner
Entrepreneur Grants
The mission of LDEI Birmingham is to mentor and support women working in the food, culinary and hospitality industry. Our chapter assists female-owned businesses in the industry with cash awards up to $5,000 to help them expand and enhance their business.
Application Details 2024
Entrepreneur Award Applicant Eligibility
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Female business owner in the food, culinary, or hospitality industry
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Willing to support and participate in Les Dames d’Escoffier events
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Completed application
Entrepreneur Grant: Up to $5,000
The candidate must define and validate how her business plans to meet its mission and goals. Only complete applications with all required information and forms will be considered for this award.
Deadline: March 29, 2024
Click below to complete the Entrepreneur Award Application
Women helping women, we are all about that.
Past Entrepreneur
Grant Recipients
Nancey Legg is the owner of Better Kombucha, a Birmingham-based company producing the fermented flavored tea. “Winning the award has been a catalyst for many great things at Better Kombucha,” said Nancey. “It helped us to expand production with the purchase of an additional 55-gallon fermenter as well as an additional commercial cooler. These purchases led to substantial growth, ... and to acquire a local distributor that has placed our product in 80+ locations statewide.”
Monique Y. Williams started her Montgomery-based dessert bar and bakery, The Cheesecake Empori-Yum, four years ago, and she hasn’t looked back since. She plans to expand her current grab-and-go location to include a sit-down space called The Bakery Bar. Her new brick-and-mortar space will offer desserts, small plates, wine, beer, and cocktail pairings. She plans to use our award money toward opening the space this summer.
Dr. Rylie M. Hightower opened The Lumbar, one of downtown Birmingham’s most popular and unusual bars, at the end of 2018 while studying for her doctorate in biomedical neuroscience at UAB. Her dream: to open a space where creative thought takes place over good food and drinks. Rylie’s business hosts and celebrates events like Apollo Week and Women’s History Month and has hosted over 40 scientific presentations and science-themed happy hours. She used the grant to expand her outdoor seating.
Nancey Legg is the owner of Better Kombucha, a Birmingham-based company producing the fermented flavored tea. “Winning the award has been a catalyst for many great things at Better Kombucha,” said Nancey. “It helped us to expand production with the purchase of an additional 55-gallon fermenter as well as an additional commercial cooler. These purchases led to substantial growth, ... and to acquire a local distributor that has placed our product in 80+ locations statewide.”