WILMINGTON — The Emeril Lagasse Foundation has granted the Girls Leadership Academy of Wilmington (GLOW), $500,000 to support the school’s culinary classroom and curriculum.
GLOW’s teaching kitchen will now be called the Emeril Lagasse Foundation Culinary Lab. The grant will cover the cost of culinary faculty, food and operations for three years.
The lab is a commercial kitchen that allows students to learn the essentials of the field like kitchen management, menu planning and preparation. Lagasse will visit the campus on Feb. 9 to unveil a new sign with his foundation’s name.
On Feb. 10 he will join fellow culinary celebrity Rachael Ray at the annual GLOW Chef Event. Tickets for the breakfast are $250 and include a champagne breakfast in theater-style seating for the culinary demonstration, fireside chat and question and answer session with Lagasse and Ray.
“Alden ( Lagasse’s wife) and I are so excited for our foundation to invest in the culinary lab at GLOW and to support the vision of our longtime friend Judy Girard,” he said in a press release.
Girard founded GLOW and was president of the Food Network from 1994 to 2004. Earlier this year the foundation gave $40,000 to GLOW for transitioning a middle school classroom into one that supports an introduction to the school’s culinary program. Lagasse was the first celebrity chef to host what have become established fundraisers for GLOW, each featuring a Food Network star.
“Like so many things related to GLOW, our culinary program grew organically in a way that we never planned, Todd Godbey, CEO of Glow’s supporting foundation Beacon Education, said. “Emeril’s generosity and involvement in our first major fundraiser set the tone for a what has become a signature program on campus and in the community. We are humbled by his support and legacy.”
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