Someone you should know… Leigh Cort, founder and president of the Women’s Food Alliance 🥗
Celebrating 40 years in New York’s hospitality industry, Leigh Cort is no stranger to galas punctuated with an ensemble of foreign diplomats, business leaders, Hollywood moguls, Broadway celebrities, fashionistas, pop culture icons and of course, the paparazzi.
Cort’s Big Apple experience served as the template for the Women’s Food Alliance now serving Florida and coastal Georgia. We spoke to Cort to uncover the how behind her amazing Alliance.
- How did you come up with the idea for the Women’s Food Alliance? The template dates to the 80’s when courageous women blazed the trail as owners of restaurants, bakeries, catering businesses, floral studios, staffing companies and more. Today’s Alliance is an expansive hospitality organization of hoteliers, chefs, farmers, event planners, cookbook authors, culinary leaders, vintners ~ even owners of event barns and other distinctive event venues.
2. What is the mission of the Women’s Food Alliance? To cultivate and advance education, collaboration and networking for women in the hospitality industry. It’s a haven for women to experience friendship first. We feature members and their venues ~ from barns to attractions, restaurants, theaters and beyond, spotlighting current successes ~ and challenges ~ with helping hands and positivity as the networking centerpiece.
3. How is this accomplished? By welcoming new members and cherishing the relationships that have flourished since 2013. Monthly dinners or lunches, cocktail mixers or hands-on culinary symposiums are never the same. Events circulate members through bakeries, restaurants, caterers and specialty-food hostings that are manufactured locally and in other regions. We visit aquaponic farms, attend cookbook and food-judging conferences and enjoy an occasional culinary competition. Each member offers something unique as we say, “Let us support, promote and mentor you by giving you a helping hand.”
