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RSFC Past Events

From local events to a national competition, chefs participate in the Real School Food Challenge to make a delicious new school food recipe for just $1.25 per serving.

National Restaurant Edition

The Program

To educate and inform the public about the importance of serving our children healthy, scratch-cooked meals in school, we host culinary challenges with community partners. This year we are taking it national with our supporters in the restaurant space.


The Challenge

Local, regional, and chain restaurants created a USDA-compliant school meal to feature on their restaurant menu during the month of October 2019 (National School Lunch Week falls in October). Proceeds from the item were donated to the Chef Ann Foundation to support making real change to the food our children eat at school.


The Event

Five recipes from our supporting chefs were selected based on creativity and scalability, to travel to Brooklyn to make their meal at StarChefs International Congress on Monday, October 28th 2019. Competitors took over the food carts during the Congress Cocktail Party and attendees voted alongside a jury of school food operators for the winning dish.

  • Chef Daniel Asher | River & Woods, Boulder
  • Chef Hosea Rosenberg | Santo, Boulder
  • Chef Alon Shaya | Safta, Denver
  • Chef Charleen Badman | FnB, Scottsdale
  • Chef Stephen Williams | Bouquet Restaurant, Ohio Valley
  • Chef Erik Bruner Yang | &pizza, Astor Place and Nomad locations, NYC
  • Chef Toni Elkhouri | Cedar’s Café, Melbourne, FL
  • Chef Gayle Pirie | Foreign Cinema, San Francisco
  • Chef Mihoko Obunai | Hosted by Brush, Atlanta
  • Chef Brandon Rosen | Hosted by CWC The Restaurant, Cincinnati, OH
  • Chef Nathanial Zimet | Boucherie, New Orleans
  • Chef Leonard Hollander | Arbor, Chicago

The Finalists

Chef Daniel Asher

Asian chicken sliders with pickled vegetables and kale

River & Woods, Boulder

Chef Stephen Williams

Beef and zucchini meatballs with spinach and tomato sauce over rye bread

Bouquet Restaurant, Ohio Valley

Chef Erik Bruner Yang

Garlic ricotta calzone

&pizza, Astor Place and Nomad locations, NYC

Chef Mihoko Obunai

Japanese chicken curry rice

Hosted by Brush, Atlanta

Chef Nathanial Zimet

Red beans and brown rice, with turkey andouille and green beans

Boucherie, New Orleans

WINNER: Chef Mihoko Obunai!

Boulder Natural Foods Edition

Local natural food industry executives and their sous chefs will battle to see if they have what it takes to make real school food. Each chef must prepare an inspiring school lunch that meets USDA guidelines on an average school budget of $1.25 per meal.

Boulder Natural Foods Edition

Local natural food industry executives and their sous chefs will battle to see if they have what it takes to make real school food. Each chef must prepare an inspiring school lunch that meets USDA guidelines on an average school budget of $1.25 per meal.

Discover More

Photo Gallery

Check out Real School Food photos.

Competing

A step-by-step guide for competing in a Real School Food Challenge. The guide provides links to guidelines and resources to help you create your school lunch recipe.

Resources

These tools and resources will help you plan and compete in a Real School Food challenge!

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