Chicago-Area Chefs Compete to End Hunger

Our 2024 Healthy Chef Challenge was full of friendly competition, high spirits, and amazing support!

Chefs Nathan Cheatham, Sammy Demichael, and Rafat Alzein brought the heat in the kitchen by using items commonly found in our pantry to invent a creative and nutritious meal. Our mystery ingredient was Pan cornmeal, a newer item that can be found in our Latin Flavors grocery boxes that are full of culturally relevant foods for our Latin and Hispanic shoppers.

Our panel of judges, Dion Dawson, Phil Vettel, and Darien Marion-Burton, did not have an easy time crowning the Healthy Chef Champion, but were delighted to taste and score each dish that came their way. Congratulations to the winner of this year's competition, Nathan Cheatham!

That wasn't all. We had incredible catering from Boka, a once-in-a-lifetime silent auction featuring items such as a 4-night Michigan vacation, Margarita Master Kit, tickets to see Golden Girls on Broadway, and more. Participants enjoyed healthy snacks from our Health Ambassadors and Dietetic Interns, along with a short video about our unique Health Ambassador program.

Funds from this night raised enough to provide 175,000 meals to our communities! 

Thank you to all who participated, attended, donated, and supported this memorable event. We can't wait for next year.

Special thank you to our sponsors.

Photos courtesy of PhotosforFOOD, Photographers Corey Kessler and Marin Chalmers. More photos available here.