The Women’s Food Alliance officially launched its second chapter in Coastal Georgia on June 26 on St. Simons Island.
Founder Leigh Cort has been leading the hospitality organization in Northeast Florida since 2013 to connect women in all careers that are associated with the food, beverage, event and hospitality industries. Now with 150 members throughout the North Florida region, it’s time to bring the excitement and networking opportunities to women throughout Coastal Georgia and beyond, according to Cort.
Memberships to the Coastal Georgia chapter are available directly through Cort.
From the Georgia “community” of hard-working, creative and passionate hospitality women, Cort has selected a talented and diverse Leadership Board from a vast pool of well-respected women, including Donna MacPherson (owner of Golden Isles Olive Oil Culinary Center on St. Simons Island), Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser (food writer, award-winning food blogger and TV personality in Savannah) and Barbara Ryan (publisher of St. Marys Magazine and founder of St. Marys Little Theater).
MacPherson’s passion for fresh food and flavorful meals began as a child cooking with grandma in the kitchen on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia where no matter whose house you went to visit, something was always brewing. Kitchen smells always permeated the air.
She spent hours in the field picking blueberries and bringing them back to grandma, and they would appear in pies, jams, dessert bars and blueberry pancakes. MacPherson’s lifelong dream was to own a business that enabled her to share her love for healthy, delicious food, cooking, wine and a commitment to the community.
She combined everything into an inviting establishment, buying Golden Isles Olive Oil in 2016. MacPherson traveled to Italy to become a Certified Olive Oil Sommelier and earned an Olive Oil Sensory Certification at UC Davis in California. After expanding into a demo kitchen, she invited guest chefs to thrill her clients. Her new island Culinary Center now offers classes, tastings and a knowledgeable, friendly staff in her full-service restaurant.
Rebekah Faulk Lingenfelser is author of the best-selling memoir, "Some Kinda Good" and is the creative force behind an award-winning food blog of the same name.
A culinary TV personality/food writer, she is the longtime Statesboro Herald food columnist and food contributor for Southern Soil, Discovering Bulloch and Effingham Living magazines. Featured in Forbes, on Food Network Star and ABC's “The Taste,” Lingenfelser earned her Bachelor of Science degree in public relations from Georgia Southern University. She also attended the Culinary Institute of Savannah and is a 5-star private chef.
Lingenfelser is currently writing her second book, titled "Unique Eats and Eateries of Savannah," as part of a national series with Reedy Press to be released in the spring of 2024. She is a proud member of Georgia Grown and invites everyone to have a seat at her table on SomeKindaGood.com, where she shares local, in-season recipes and encourages everyone to gather around the family table to share in the joy of cooking and eating together.
To learn more, go to rebekahlingenfelser.com or connect with Some Kinda Good on social media.
Barbara Ryan Harris is and has been a devoted supporter of women in the food and hospitality industry for more than four decades through her marketing and publishing companies in Florida and Georgia, and in her career as a writer. She’s the founder and publisher of St. Marys Magazine, the centerpiece of tourism and lifestyle in Southeast Georgia.
Harris is well-known in Camden County, Georgia, as the founder and chair of St. Marys Little Theatre where she writes, produces, directs and stars in numerous theatrical productions every season of the year.
Recognized throughout all of Georgia and the southeastern United States as the co-founder of Coastal Georgia Film Alliance, she works with film production companies that bring their feature films to St. Marys and Kingsland. Harris is the recipient of numerous awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Advertising Federation.
Careers represented by members of the Women’s Food Alliance include: restaurateurs, specialty foods creators, chefs, hospitality consultants, hotel specialists, unique venues, photographers, sommeliers, brewers, event planners, party rentals, country clubs, culinary schools, caterers, chocolatiers, floral designers, marketing and PR, food writers, farmers, wedding consultants and more.
The Women’s Food Alliance’s mission is to cultivate and advance networking, education and collaboration for women in the hospitality industry in Coastal Georgia/Northeast Florida.
