National Honey Board, Women Chefs & Restaurateurs Announce Award Honoring Chef/Beekeeper
The National Honey Board (NHB) and Women Chefs & Restaurateurs (WCR) have collaborated to establish the “Laurey Masterton Golden Amulet Award,” recognizing women entrepreneurs in the foodservice industry. Launching in 2015, the WCR award is a tribute chef and beekeeper Laurey Masterton, beloved WCR member and NHB spokeswoman, who lost a courageous battle with cancer in February.
A trailblazer and entrepreneur, Masterton is widely recognized for helping to establish downtown Asheville, N.C., as a vibrant farm-to-table food scene, starting with the launch of her eponymous “Laurey’s” Café-Catering-Comfort in 1987.
Announced by the NHB at the 2014 WCR Conference in March, the new WCR Women Who Inspire “Golden Amulet Award” gets its name from an amulet Masterton proudly wore around her neck, containing one-twelfth of a teaspoon of honey—the amount made by one worker bee in her lifetime. Masterton’s own life’s work touched many in the foodservice industry and beyond; she was an inspiration to all who met her.
“It is our pleasure to be able to honor Laurey Masterton and we were so happy to do so in partnership with WCR, a professional organization that meant so much to her,” said Catherine Barry, director of marketing for the NHB. “Laurey was such a joy to work with and we think she would have approved of this unique recognition that only she could have inspired.”
For more information on WCR and its “Women Who Inspire” awards program, visit www.womenchefs.org.