Healthy Chef Challenge Recap 2026
A big thank you to everyone who took part—participants, sponsors, volunteers, and members of the community—for helping make this year’s Healthy Chef Challenge such a success! The 2026 event was especially remarkable, reaching a milestone of more than 151,000 meals raised. We were also grateful to feature an outstanding lineup of chefs and judges, whose involvement made this year’s Healthy Chef Challenge even more memorable.
Competing chefs:
Sieger Bayer, bar Berria
Jose Marquez, Piacere Mio
Emily Schneman (2026 Winner), El Ideas
Participating Judges:
Kimberly Bolton, 2026 Raffle Winner
Javauneeka Jacobs, 2025 Healthy Chef Competitor, Sous Chef at Frontera Grill
Michele Zurakowski, Former CEO of Beyond Hunger
Andrew Zimmerman, Culinary Strategist & former Executive Chef at Michelin-Starred, Sepia
Check out videos from our 360 Photobooth courtesy of ChiLyfe360 and additional photos by Zachary James Johnston Photography
Video Gallery
Photo Gallery
