The New York chapter of Les Dames d’Escoffier, comprised of leading women in the food and fine beverage industries, inducted eight new members at a ceremony Logoand reception on September 27th held at the Mandarin Oriental in New York City.

Membership in Les Dames d’Escoffier is by invitation. Each candidate must have achieved distinction and stature in her industry for a minimum of five years and be nominated by two Les Dames d’Escoffier New York members. Inductees are announced each September.

Inductees for 2010 include:

Emile Baltz, founder and creative director of Fork and Design, a boutique design agency; Shari Lyn Bayer, owner and founder of Bayer Public Relations, specialist in the hospitality industry; Veronica Campbell, president of the Burrell Group, specializing in fine food and beverage marketing and public relations; Karen Goodlad, professor at New York City Technical College, where she teaches food, beverage and hospitality courses; Diane Gordon, owner of Diane Gordon Catering; Judith Prince, president of J.B. Prince and Company, a food service specialty food and product importer and distributor; Amy Thompson, executive sous chef at the Mandarin Oriental, New York City; and Bay Wellington, founder of Nourishing Futures, a holistic health and nutrition practice based in Manhattan and owner of bittersweet, ltd., a chocolate boutique in the Hudson Valley.

Les Dames d’Escoffier New York, currently 136 members, is the founding and largest chapter of the unique professional culinary society that became Les Dames d’Escoffier International, currently representing 27 chapters with over 1,500 members in the U.S. and Canada. It was founded in 1976 by prominent food journalist Carol Brock. The society’s mission is advocacy, education and philanthropy. It strives to achieve these goals through programs and activities, conceived and implemented by a fully-engaged membership. Les Dames d’Escoffier awarded over $90,000 in scholarships in 2010.