
The scholarship’s namesake, award winning executive chef Denis Ellis, retired in 2004 from the University of Notre Dame Food Services after 17 years of preparing recipes and overseeing menus for some 20,000 meals served daily on campus. Ellis is a dedicated member of the American Culinary Federation (ACF) and is actively involved in the ACF South Bend Chefs and Cooks Association Apprenticeship Program—where over the years, he has proven to be an inspiration to many aspiring chefs.
Ellis' scholarship supports the non-profit ACF South Bend Chefs and Cooks Association’s mission, which is to make a positive difference for culinarians through education, apprenticeship and certification, while creating a fraternal bond of respect and integrity among culinarians everywhere.