Global Culinary Initiative (GCI)

The Global Culinary Initiative (GCI) of the LDEI St. Louis Chapter embraces diversity through food, recognizing that food is a thread that connects cultures and its people within our communities, nation, and world.  Our GCI activities provide a “rich table” to learn, engage and nourish cultural diversity … to bridge cultural barriers … and help us serve as advocates within our community … with food and foodways as our focus and connection.

An annual highlight, GCI’s “Passport to …” is a philanthropic culinary event, celebrating the foods, flavors, and traditions of cultures in a different part of the world each year. Traditional food and beverages, ethnic music, dance, and ambiance, and attendance gifts with a cultural twist make “Passport to …” a much-anticipated public and member event. These recent culinary “journeys” have taken guests and their tastebuds to India, Peru, and Provence in France.  In 2022, “Passport to …” will travel to Morocco!  As a fund-raising event open to the public, “Passport to…” provides financial support for culinary scholarships for young women and for St. Louis area community outreach, raising over $33,000 to date.