Last updated on August 1, 2018
Les Dames d’Escoffier International (“LDEI”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) believes in transparency and is committed to informing you, our website visitor (“you”, “your”, or “user”), about how we treat your personal data and the rights and options available to you with regard to your personal information.
We have prepared this Privacy Policy (the “Policy”), together with our website Terms of Use, and Cookies Policy, along with other documents referenced herein, to inform you of our privacy practices regarding the personal information that we collect, use, and share via this website, www.ldei.org (the “Website”).
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand how we treat your personal information and what choices and rights you have CONCERNING OUR PROCESSING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. If you do not agree with the terms and conditions of this PRIVACY Policy, you should not access or use the Website or our services.
The party responsible for processing data on this website is Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LEI), P.O. Box 4961, Louisville, KY 40204, United States of America, Telephone: 502.456.1851 x1, Fax: 502.456.1821, Email: info@ldei.org. LDEI acknowledges that it has certain responsibilities with regard to any personal data (any information that identifies or is identifiable to a natural person) that you provide to us through our Website or associated services.
If you are a user located in the European Union (the “EU”) or European Economic Area (“EEA”), LDEI generally considers itself to be the controller of the personal data, pursuant to the EU General Data Protection Regulation, 2016/679 (GDPR), that we collect from you for purpose of providing you with our online and offline services.
If you are a user located in Canada, we may collect “personal information” (which is substantially equivalent to “personal data”) from you in connection with certain commercial activities associated with your membership and do so consistent with the Privacy Act and the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
Whenever we disclose your personal data to our organizational affiliates, or vice versa, we will inform you of our lawful basis for doing so and honor your rights with respect to the processing of your personal data. We also will let you know if an entity other than LDEI is acting as a controller or processor of your data when you request a service from us.
We may collect or request anonymous or non-personally identifiable information from our Website users that cannot identify you as an individual unless combined with personally identifiable information. For example, we may collect aggregate website statistical information for a variety of audience and website performance-related purposes, such as calculating the percentage of website users who live in a particular region or to determine which Website pages are visited most frequently.
Specifically, we may collect, process, store, and transfer the following types of personal data from you, as identified by category below:
Identity and Contact Data includes first name, maiden name, last name, username or similar identifier, title, billing address, delivery address, email address, and/or telephone numbers.
Financial and Payment Data includes your bank account and other data necessary for processing payments and fraud prevention, including credit/debit card numbers, security code numbers and other related billing information. We generally process this type of data through a trusted third party processor, to whom you are directed by us.
Business Information includes information provided in the course of the contractual or client relationship between you or your organization and us, or otherwise voluntarily provided by you or your organization
Transaction Data includes details about payments to and from you and other details of products and services you have purchased from us.
Technical Data includes internet protocol (IP) address, your login data, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, and other technology on the devices you use to access this Website. To learn more about our use of cookies or similar technologies, please review our Cookies Policy;
Profile Data includes your username and password, purchases or orders made by you, your interests, preferences, and feedback.
Usage Data includes information about how you use our website, products and services.
Marketing and Communications Data includes your preferences in receiving marketing from us and our third parties and your communication preferences.
We do not collect any special categories of personal data about you (this includes details about your race or ethnicity, religious or philosophical beliefs, sex life, sexual orientation, political opinions, trade union membership, information about your health, and genetic and biometric data). Nor do we collect any information about criminal convictions and offences.
Where we need to collect personal data by law, or under the terms of a contract we have with you, and you fail to provide that data when requested, we may not be able to perform the contract we have or are trying to enter into with you (for example, to provide you with goods or services). In this case, we may have to cancel a product or service you have with us and will notify you if that occurs.
We generally collect data from and about you through the following means:
Category | Types of Data and Purpose |
Contact Information/ Feedback/ Inquiries | When you submit feedback to us, contact us for support, or ask us questions, we collect your name, email address, postal address, telephone number, and/or other contact information necessary to respond to your feedback, provide support, or answer your question. |
User Account Information | When you create a user account or become a member, we collect your contact information and ask if you would like to submit other identifying information (such as age or gender) and demographic information (e.g., geographic location) in addition to your username, your password, and registration information. We do this in order to provide you with password-protected access to the account you requested and allow you to maintain your account and membership profile and access certain interactive Website features. |
Business Information | When you seek services from us in the course of our contractual or customer relationships between you and/or your organization, we collect business contact information and other personal information in order to provide you with the services you have requested. |
Conference or Event Registration | When you register for a conference or other event hosted or organized by us, we collect your contact information and other details necessary for processing the registration, payment, and attendance details, when applicable. |
Cookies | When you visit our Website, we may collect cookies and use similar technologies to, among other things, provide you with a more personal and interactive experience on our Website, to improve our marketing efforts, and for website usage analytics. Please see our Cookies Policy for more information. If you choose to disable cookies and/or similar technologies, some areas and features of the Website may not work properly. |
Email Interconnectivity | If you receive email communications from us, we may use certain tools to capture data related to when you open our messages, click on hyperlinks or banners it may contain, and make purchases. We use this information to enhance and support our marketing operations. |
Employment | If you apply for employment through our Website, or become our employee, we collect personal information necessary to process your application or employment. This may include, among other things, your contact information, social security number, employment history, etc., in accordance with our legitimate interests. |
Mailing List, Newsletters, and Marketing | When you sign up for one of our mailing lists, newsletters, or other marketing lists, we collect your contact information, including your email address, phone number, and/or postal address, when necessary to contact you in the way(s) that you request. The data provided when registering for the newsletter will be used to distribute the newsletter until you cancel your subscription and then the data will be deleted. Data we have stored for other purposes (e.g. email addresses for the members area) remain unaffected. |
Surveys, Questionnaires, Social Media | When you submit a survey, questionnaire, or similar form by using the Website, social media, or other online survey tools and platforms accessible via our Website, we or third parties operating those tools, platforms, or social media websites may collect your social media handle or profile, or any other identifier that you use to be contacted online or offline. This information may also include personally identifiable and business information, but only to the extent that you voluntarily provide it. |
Sensitive Personal Information | We do not collect sensitive personal information from you. In the event we inadvertently receive sensitive personal information from you, without your consent or a lawful basis to store it, we will promptly delete it. |
*Note: The above list contains examples of information we may have concerning you and it does not necessarily mean that we do hold this information about you. |
In addition to the specific categories of data use above, we may with your express consent and/or under recognized legal grounds, also use your personal data for the following purposes:
To provide you with services you have requested and to manage our relationship with you, including administering your account, processing payments, accounting, auditing, billing and collection and taking other steps necessary to the performance of our business relationship with you;
To present and improve Website contact and functionality;
To determine user interests, needs, and preferences;
To provide notice of changes to our Website or the services we offer or provide through it;
To conduct research and analysis;
To develop new products and services;
To manage and maintain the security of our Website and services;
To market our services to you. We will only provide you with marketing-related information after you have, where legally required to do so, opted in to receive those communications and having provided you with the opportunity to opt-out of such communications at any time.
To comply with our legal and compliance obligations, including maintaining records, performing compliance audits, etc.
For insurance purposes;
To exercise and defend our legal rights, or to comply with court orders;
To respond to requests from public and government authorities;
For any other purpose related to and/or ancillary to any of the purposes and uses described in this Policy for which your personal information was provided to us;
In any other way we may describe when you provide the information; and
For any other purpose to which you have expressly consented.
With regard to consent, the form and means of the consent obtained may vary according to the sensitivity of the personal data, the reasons we are collecting it, and the reasonable expectations of the person from whom it is collected. When using personal data for a new purpose, we will document that new purpose and ask for consent again. We will not use your personal data without your consent unless it is either for the same purpose for which the information was originally collected or compiled, consistent with that purpose, or for a purpose that permits disclosure under applicable law. You may revoke your consent at any time with future effect.
We will process your personal data, and require our affiliates and any third parties to process your personal data, in connection with one or more of the following legal grounds:
because we have a necessary and legitimate interest in doing so to perform the services you have requested, to comply with your instructions or other contractual obligations between you and us;
to comply with our legal obligations as well as to keep records of our compliance processes;
because our legitimate interests, or those of a third party recipient of your personal information, makes the processing necessary, provided those interests are not overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms;
because you have chosen to publish or display your personal information on a public area of the Website, such as blog or comment area;
because it is necessary to protect your vital interests;
because it is necessary in the public interest; or
because you have expressly given us your consent to process your personal information in a particular manner.
We do not use your personal information for making any automated decisions affecting or creating profiles other than as described above and welcome your questions and feedback about the nature and lawful bases of our processing activities.
We do not sell, rent, or lease your personally identifiable or business information to third parties. We may, however, share your personal data in the following contexts:
Disclosures Without Your Consent | We may disclose your personal data in response to subpoenas, warrants, court orders or other legal process, or to comply with relevant laws or regulatory investigations when we believe in good faith that applicable law requires it. We may also share your personal data in order to establish or exercise our legal rights, to defend against a legal claim, to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding possible illegal activities, suspected fraud, safety of person or property or a violation of our Website terms and conditions. |
Disclosures With Your Consent | We may ask if you would like us to share your personal information with other unaffiliated third parties who are not described elsewhere in this Policy. We will only disclose your personal information in this context with your specific and express consent. |
Job applications and Employment | If you apply for a job with us, we may disclose personal information necessary to process your application or employment. This may include, among other things, your contact information, your social security number, employment history, etc. in accordance with applicable law. |
Feedback / Support / Inquiries | If you provide us with feedback, contact us for support, or ask us questions via web form, telephone, email, or other method allowed by our Website, we will collect and may disclose your name, email address, other contact information and other information as needed to respond to your feedback, request for support, or answer your question. |
Employees, business affiliates, and intermediaries | We disclose your personally identifiable information to our affiliates, subsidiaries, or divisions and their respective officers, directors, employees, accountants, attorneys, and agents, or with our business partners, all of whom are bound by all of the confidentiality and other data processing protections and practices described in this Policy, use your information strictly to carry out their job duties on a need-to-know basis, and only do so as required by law and as required by our legitimate interests. |
Mailing List and Newsletters | When you sign up for one of our mailing lists or newsletters, we disclose your contact information, including your name, company name, email address, postal address, and telephone, as necessary to complete and process your sign up and manage your subscription. |
Service Providers | We may share your personal data with our Service Providers. Among other things, Service Providers may help us to administer the Website, support our provision of products and services requested by you, provide technical support, send marketing and promotions and communicate with you about our products and services, payment processing issues, and other legitimate purposes permitted by law. |
Corporate Change | We may sell, transfer or otherwise share some or all of our assets in connection with a merger, reorganization or sale of assets, or in the event of bankruptcy, without your permission. In such an event, personally identifiable information may among the assets transferred. |
Aggregated Data | We may disclose aggregated information about our website visitors, and information that does not identify any specific individual, such as groupings of demographic data and customer preferences, for new product and marketing development and website improvements. |
*Note: The above list contains examples of information we may have concerning you and it does not necessarily mean that we do hold or disclose this information about you. |
Our Website is developed and supported by third party vendors, who may, in the course of performing such services for us (such as hosting, developing, or updating our Website), have access to your personally identifiable information. We contractually require such vendors to maintain the confidentiality of your information, and take appropriate measures to keep it secure. We prohibit such vendors from using or sharing your information for any purpose other than in performing specific services for us required to maintain and update our Website.
Our vendors may periodically access our web server and/or employ analytics technologies during the course of their work that may automatically collect and store the following general information about you: the originating name of the domain from which you access the Internet; the date and time you access the Website; the pages of the Website you visit; the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to the Website; and the type of device, device ID, and browser you use to access the Website. This information is used to help us improve the Website by tabulating statistics about your use of our Website, such as error incidence and origin of referrers, that allow us to make the Website more useful to you.
One such third party vendor is Google Analytics and its related suite of services to collect information about the use of the Website. Google application programming interfaces are used to facilitate communication with Google Services. We use Google Analytics to gather information about how the Website is used in order to determine the best ways to improve the user experience, as further explained in our Cookies Policy.
In addition to aggregated data, we also may receive or disclose personal data about you from third parties, inside and outside of the EU/EAA, who are bound to obligations of confidentiality and required to perform processing with us or on behalf only for as long as a required by role and contract or business relationship with us. The types of personal data and third parties involved in these activities include: Contact, Financial, and Transaction Data with providers of technical, payment and delivery services, Usage Data with service providers who provide additional IT and system administration services, and Business Information and Transaction Data with professional advisers including, but limited to, lawyers and accountants who provide us with legal and accounting services. Please contact us with if you have any questions about the business and legal purposes for which we make such disclosures.
We will retain your personal data for as long as needed to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected. We also will retain and use your personal data as long as necessary to comply with our business requirements, legal obligations, resolve disputes, protect our assets, provide our services, and enforce our agreements. When we no longer have a purpose to retain your personal data, we will security destroy your personal data in accordance with applicable law and our policies. In some circumstances we will anonymize your personal data (so that it can no longer be associated with you) for research or statistical purposes, in which case we may use this information indefinitely without further notice to you.
We try to respond to all legitimate requests within one month. Occasionally, it could take us longer than a month if your request is particularly complex or you have made a number of requests. In this case, we will notify you and keep you updated.
We maintain appropriate technical and organizational measures to prevent your personal information from being accidentally lost, used or accessed in an unauthorized manner, altered or disclosed during collection, storage, and processing. The level of safeguards used to protect personal information will depend on the sensitivity of the personal information, the amount, distribution and format of the information, and the method of storage.
While our security measures seek to protect your personal information in our possession, no security system is perfect and we cannot guarantee that your personal information will remain absolutely secure in all circumstances or that any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website cannot be circumvented.
The majority of communications on our Website, including any submissions through available forms, are sent through the standard HTTP protocol and may be delivered using regular e-mail. Information sent over HTTP is not encrypted. E-mail, while convenient, does pose some risks (e.g., e-mail is not a secure form of communication, is unreliable, can be forwarded, etc.). Any transmission of information that you make through our Website and services is at your own risk.
The safety and security of your personal information also depends on you. Where you use a password for access to restricted parts of the Website, you are responsible for keeping the password confidential. Do not share your password with anyone. If a security breach causes an unauthorized intrusion into our Website or systems that compromises your data, we will notify you and any applicable regulator when we are required to do so by applicable law.
If any of the personal information you have provided to us changes, please let us know. For instance, if your email changes, you wish to cancel any request you have made of us, or if you become aware of inaccurate personal information about you, please contact us to update your information. You may also edit your account details if you have a user account through our Website.
We are not responsible for any losses arising from any inaccurate, inauthentic, deficient or incomplete personal data that you provide to us.
Absent exceptional circumstances, we offer you reasonable access to and control over your personal data at any time, at no charge. Please inform your of your rights by reviewing the list below. You may use the “Contact Us” details at the end of this Policy to exercise your rights and choices.
Right of Access. You have the right to request a copy of the personal data that we hold about you, as well as inquire about the origin, recipients, and purposes of that data. There are certain exceptions to this right, however, so that we may deny access to you as required by law or to protect the legal rights of others.
Right to Portability. You have the right to request that some of your personal data is provided to you or an authorized third party in a commonly-used, machine-readable format. If you require the direct transfer of data to another responsible party, this will only be done to the extent technically feasible.
Accuracy. Our goal is to keep your personal information accurate, current and complete. Please contact us if you believe your information is not accurate or changes.
Right to Object. In certain circumstances, as permitted under applicable law, you have the right to object to processing of your personal information and to ask us to erase or restrict our use of your personal information. If you would like us to stop using your personal information, please contact us and we will let you know if are able to agree to your request.
Right to Erasure and Deletion of Your Personal Information. You may have a legal right (for instance, if you are located in the EU or EEA under the GDPR) to request that we delete your personal information when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected, or when, among other things, your personal information has been unlawfully processed. All deletion requests should be directed to us using the “Contact Us” section of this Policy.
We may decide to delete your personal information if we believe it is incomplete, inaccurate or that our continued storage of your personal information is contrary to our legal obligations or business objectives. When we delete personal information, it will be removed from our active servers and databases and our Website, but it may remain in our archives when it is not practical or possible to delete it. We may also retain your personal information as needed to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, or enforce any agreements.
Right to Withdraw Consent. If you have provided your consent to the collection, processing and transfer of your personal information, you have the right to fully or partially withdraw your consent. To withdraw your consent, please notify us as well as follow the opt-out links available in the marketing communications sent to you.
Once we have received notice that you have withdrawn your consent, we will no longer process your information for the purpose(s) to which you originally consented unless there are compelling legitimate grounds for further processing that override your interests, rights and freedoms or for the establishment, exercise or defense of legal claims.
Withdrawal of consent to receive marketing communications will not affect the processing of personal information for the provision of our services.
Right to Complain. If you believe that your rights relating to your personal information have been violated, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the applicable supervisory authority, or seek a remedy through the courts. We would, however, appreciate the chance to deal with your concerns before you submit a complaint to a third party, so please consider contacting us in the first instance. You may lodge a complaint with us by contacting us using the information provided in the “Contact Us” section of this Policy.
Online Tracking. We do not currently respond to browser “Do Not Track” signals as they apply a standard that remains under development.
California Residents. California Civil Code Section § 1798.83 permits users of the Website who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personally identifiable information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. If you are a California resident and would like a copy of such notice, please submit a written request to us using the information in the “Contact Us” section of this Privacy Policy.
European Union or European Economic Area Residents. If you are located in the EU or EEA and believe we have not processed your personal information in accordance with applicable provisions of the EU GDPR, you may lodge a complaint with your local data protection or supervisory authority.
Canadian Residents. If you are located in Canada and believe we have not processed your personal information in accordance with applicable provisions of the PIPEDA, you may lodge a complaint with your local data protection or supervisory authority, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada at https://www.priv.gc.ca/en/report-a-concern/file-a-formal-privacy-complaint/file-a-complaint-about-a-business/file-a-complaint-under-pipeda.
We have appointed a Data Protection Officer (DPO) who is responsible for overseeing questions in relation to this Privacy Policy. If you have a question or wish to exercise your legal rights, please contact the DPO using the details below.
[Insert Contact Name and Information]
We are located and established in the United States and therefore, your personal information may be transferred to, stored or processed in the United States. While the data protection, privacy and other laws of the United States might not be as comprehensive as those in your country, we take necessary and appropriate steps to protect the security and privacy of your personal information. By using our Website or requesting services from us, you understand and consent to the collection, storage, processing and transfer of your personal information to our facilities in the United States and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this Privacy Policy.
Residents of the EU / EEA. We rely on recognized legal bases to lawfully conduct cross-border transfers of personal information outside of the European Union (EU) and European Economic Area (EEA), such as your express informed consent (as noted above), when transfer is necessary for us to deliver services pursuant to an agreement or contract for services between us and you, or when the transfer is subject to safeguards that assure the protection of your personal information, such as the European Commission’s approved standard contractual clauses.
This Website may contain links to, and media and other content from, third party websites. These links are to external websites and third parties with which we have no relationship. If you click on an embedded third-party link, you will be redirected away from this Website to the external third-party website. You can check the URL to confirm that you have left this Website.
We cannot and do not (i) guarantee the adequacy of privacy, security, practice content or media provided by third parties or their websites, (ii) control third parties’ independent collection or use or your personal information, or (iii) endorse any third party information, products, services or websites that may be reached through embedded links on this Website.
Any personal information provided by you or automatically collected from you by a third party will be governed by that party’s privacy policy and terms of use.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), as well as other data privacy regulations, restrict the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information from and about children on the internet. Our Website and the services are not directed to children aged 18 or younger, nor is information knowingly collected from children under the age of 18. No one under the age of 18 may access, browse, or use the Website or provide any information to or on the Website. If you are under 18, please do not use or provide any information on this Website. If we learn that we have collected or received personal information from a child under the age of 18 without a parent’s or legal guardian’s consent, we will take steps to stop collecting that information and delete it.
For more information about COPPA, please visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website at: https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/childrens-online-privacy-protection-rule.
We reserve the right to update and change this Privacy Policy from time to time in order to reflect any changes to the way in which we treat your personal information or in response to changes in law. We will post any changes we make to this Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to how we treat your personal information, we will notify you through a notice on the Website’s home page and through email communication, when appropriate. The date this Privacy Policy was last revised is identified in its header.
This Privacy Policy and any disputes related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Kentucky, exclusive of its choice of law rules.
If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, wish to access personal information we hold about you, believe the personal information we have about you is incorrect, or wish to lodge a complaint with us about how we have handled your personal information, please use the contact details below and we will do our best to assist you:
Les Dames d’Escoffier International (LDEI), LLC
P.O. Box 4961
Louisville, KY 40204
Telephone: 502.456.1851 x1
Fax: 502.456.1821
Email: info@ldei.org
Each vetted LDNY member is a respected professional in her area of specialization, from longstanding thought leaders to rising stars and change-makers. As our membership, collective expertise and inclusivity continue to grow, our organization embodies the many professions and skills of today’s culinary industry as a whole.
Copyright Les Dames d’Escoffier © 2025 I All Rights Reserverd I Designed By Primitive.