Two Hawaii women have received Les Dames d’Escoffier International Legacy awards, given to female culinary "rising stars" across the U.S.

Kathy Masunaga, operator of the Sweet Revenge food truck, which offers sweet and savory pies, was named one of two Culinary Legacy Award winners. Masunaga also caters to the film and television industry in Hawaii. As part of the award, Masunaga will spend a week with dame Gale Gand, executive pastry chef and partner of Tru Restaurant outside of Chicago.

Winner of the Entrepreneur — Specialty Foods Legacy Award is Gida Snyder, a graduate of Kapiolani Community College’s Culinary Institute of the Pacific. An advocate of Hawaii’s locavore movement, Snyder is currently developing her skills as an artisanal cheese maker at Naked Cow Dairy. Snyder will spend one week learning with dame Paula Lambert, president and founder of The Mozzarella Cheese Company in Dallas.

Lisa Asagi, who runs Asagi Hatchery and is a Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation farmers market manager, has partnered with Snyder in creating the Green Wheel Food Hub, a social enterprise that is establishing EBT (food assistance) acceptance in various farmers markets. She says Snyder’s culinary skills and creative marketing were key to moving Naked Cow Dairy "from the brink of hardship."

"She developed a cheese line as well as spearheaded a highly visible and successful fundraising campaign to pay for much-needed cheese-making equipment," Asagi said in a nomination letter to the organization. "Because of her efforts, the state of Hawaii now has for the first time cheese made with milk from local cows!

"In many ways, Gida has taken the chef-farmer partnership to a whole different level and created an entirely new model for how chefs can make a true and lasting impact on our local food systems," Asagi said.

Six awards in three categories — culinary, wine and entrepreneurship — were given out nationally.

The organization is a philanthropic society of female leaders in the fields of food, fine beverage and hospitality. Established in 2009, each Legacy Award offers winners a weeklong workplace experience under the direction of Les Dames members who are leaders in their fields.