LDEI San Francisco

The San Francisco Chapter of Les Dames D’Escoffier Board voted unanimously in 2010 to create The Karola Saekel Craib Excellence In Food Journalism Fellowship, in recognition of Karola’s more than fifty-year career in journalism and immeasurable contributions. Her reporting and writing excellence helped to define the best of food journalism as we now know it. Karola, who sadly passed away the spring of 2011, was greatly honored by our creating the fellowship. She helped us formulate the criteria and reviewed last year's nominees.

This fellowship is given annually to a promising Bay Area woman food journalist (not a Les Dames member) and has no application process or strings attached. The monetary award is presented as an acknowledgement for good works, and as encouragement to keep writing, to stay in journalism.  It is a surprise award in the style of the MacArthur Genius Awards. Nominations are confidential submitted by members and previous recipients. 

Nominations are received throughout the year, reviewed in the summer and awarded in the fall. Nominees must meet the following criteria: 

• Bay Area women food journalists whose writings show talent and promise
• Demonstrates a commitment to a career in food journalism
• Excellence and range of writing (subject, genre in a variety of food subjects)
• Relevancy
• Not more than ten years in the field of food journalism and not a Les Dames Member

Previous recipients are:

2010 Recipient Novella Carpenter. Novella has a masters in journalism from UC Berkeley and in addition to her best selling memoir Farm City, her writings have appeared in the SF Chronicle, Mother Jones and has had recent assignments with Food+Wine and Vogue, as well as her blog.

2011 Recipient Sarah Henry Freelance food writer Sarah Henry is the voice behind the popular blog Lettuce Eat Kale. Henry writes a weekly food column for Berkeleyside and blogs regularly for KQED's Bay Area Bites. Her stories on good food matters have appeared in The Atlantic, Eating Well, AFAR, California, San Francisco, Edible East Bay, and other online and print outlets. Previously, Henry worked for almost a decade with the Center for Investigative Reporting. She is the author of the Chronicle Books guide Sydney: 50 Adventures on Foot and ghost wrote the memoir of the co-creator of Rice-A-Roni. Her current writings and various posts can be found on http://lettuceeatkale.com/

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The chapter membership funds the fellowship through both dues and additional donations. Plus contributions from other chapters, organizations, and individuals help assures the longevity of this fellowship. For more information or to make a donation, contact: Dames Debby Fortune and Roberta Klugman, 2011-12 Scholarship Chairs