Les Dames d'Escoffier International Names Nine Winners for M.F.K. Fisher Awards in Culinary Writing

LOUISVILLE, Ky., June 7, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Sandra Gutierrez, author of "A Voice from the Nuevo South," has been selected as the grand-prize winner and Internet Category winner of the Les Dames d'Escoffier International's (LDEI) M.F.K. Fisher Awards for Excellence in Culinary Writing. The winning article is about the Latino population's influence on Southern food and the Guatemalan author's personal insight into assimilation, discrimination and the birth of food trends. The prize earns Gutierrez a trip to the LDEI Conference where she will receive $1,000 during the awards presentation on October 27th. Her story was published at www.oxfordamerican.org/item/977-a-voice-from-the-nuevo-south.

Elaine Khosrova, Chatham, NY, won first prize and $500 in the Book Category for Butter, A Rich History (Algonquin Books, 2016).

Kathy Gunst, South Berwick, ME, won first prize and $500 in the Print Category for her article "The Epiphany That Turned Me into a Good Baker," published in the Washington Post.

Other prize winners:
Book Category
Second Prize ($100): Yasmin Khan, London, United Kingdom, author of The Saffron Tales (Bloomsbury USA). Excerpt entered: "RASHT. Tales of rice paddies and tea plantations"
Third Prize ($50): Cynthia Graubart, Atlanta, GA, author of Chicken: A Savor the South Cookbook (UNC Press). Entered excerpt: "Chicken and Me"

Internet Category
Second Prize ($100): Carolyn Phillips, Alameda, CA, for her story, "Good Graces" published at https://lifeandthyme.com/reflections/good-graces/
Third Prize ($50): Elaine Cicora, Macedonia, OH, for her story, "Why I Garden" published at http://growforthmag.com/why-i-garden/

Print Category
Second Prize ($100): Laura Reiley, Tampa, FL. Food Critic, Tampa Bay Times, for her article, "Farm to Fable" published in the Tampa Bay Times  www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/restaurants/
Third Prize ($50): Kim Ode, staff writer, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, for her article, "Ooh, Can I Have a Taste?" from her newspaper.

Named for culinary writer Mary Frances Kennedy Fisher, considered one of America's greatest food writers, the LDEI awards strive to highlight women writers whose work reflects creativity and insight; illuminates the pivotal roles of food, beverages and the arts of the table; and/or contributes to our knowledge of those who grow, produce or prepare nourishment. Ten prominent magazine food editors, newspaper food editors, and book publishers (not members of LDEI) judged the 2016 nonfiction entries.

LDEI is an international organization of women leaders in food, fine beverage, and hospitality. Over 2,200 members in 38 chapters provide leadership, educational opportunities and philanthropic events. Visit http://bit.ly/2rDvhfw.

SOURCE Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI)

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