West Michigan’s Chef Jenna is Up for $20K Grant in Häagen-Dazs Initiative to Honor Women Entrepreneurs

After giving back so much, West Michigan's Chef Jenna is now up for an award for women who don't hold back!

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Chef Jenna Arcidiacono of Amore Trattoria Italiana in Comstock Park started Food Hugs in March 2020 to feed those on the frontlines, those who lost loved ones to COVID, and anyone in need. Since then the nonprofit has grown to help female-owned businesses get off the ground and award scholarships to aspiring chefs.

Chef Jenna's generosity does not end there! She's also surprised restaurant servers with more than $1,000 tips and has even given restaurant workers in need cars. 

Not only has she won Governor Whitmer's service award, but was also named Business Person of the Year by Michigan State University. In addition, Chef Jenna was recognized among the 50 Most Influential Women in West Michigan, awarded Chef of the Year by the American Culinary Institute, and honored as the Newsmaker of the Year in 2021.

Now she's one of 50 nominees for The Häagen-Dazs' Rose Project!

The ice cream company started The Rose Project last year, a global initiative with a $100,000 in funds to support #WomenWhoDon'tHoldBack, honoring its trailblazing co-founder Rose Mattus.

Häagen-Dazs says,

Reuben Mattus made ice cream but Rose Mattus made Häagen-Dazs. Whilst Reuben is widely celebrated for its creation, Rose's pioneering approach as its business and marketing whiz remained largely unrecognised. A real trailblazer, Rose's don't-hold-back attitude smashed glass ceilings in 1960s New York to make Häagen-Dazs a trendsetter prized by ice cream fanatics... Her unsung legacy will be honoured through the launch of 'The Rose Project' with a global rebrand acknowledging her contribution as a woman-founded business.

On what would have been Rose’s birthday on 23rd November 2023, The Häagen-Dazs Rose Project shared their shortlist of 50 trailblazing yet unsung #WomenWhoDontHoldBack from thousands of nominations across the globe.

An all-female global panel of judges will now pick five women to receive $20, 000 each. The winners will be announces on International Women’s Day, March 8, 2024.

You can follow The Rose Project on Instagram for updates.

We're rooting for you, Chef Jenna!