Led by Dan Giusti, the former Head Chef of Noma in Copenhagen, Brigaid is a group of chefs rethinking what it means to feed people. They recruit professionally trained chefs to lead school kitchens full-time with the goal of cooking delicious food from scratch. These meals simultaneously meet the strict budgetary and nutritional guidelines set by the National School Lunch Program and their own quality standards.
On June 2nd, Brigaid has invited ten world-class chefs from around the country to Brigaid's hub in New London to compete in their first ever $1.25 Throwdown. These chefs will be devising school lunches that fit within both the national school nutrition standards and their $1.25 budget. Brigaid will be holding five "lunch waves" in the Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School cafeteria, where the guest chefs will go head to head serving their school lunches to the public. Although they'll be battling it out to create the best meal, as judged by both students and a panel of respected food writers, we're hoping to add all of the meals served to the Brigaid lunch rotation.
Participating chefs include:
-Stuart Brioza, Chef/Owner of State Bird Provisions in San Francisco, CA and 2015 James Beard Award Winner for Best Chef: West
-Jessica Koslow, Chef/Owner of Sqirl in Los Angeles, CA and 2018 James Beard Award Finalist for Best Chef: West
-Jeremy Fox, Chef of Rustic Canyon Wine Bar and Seasonal Kitchen in Santa Monica, CA and 2018 James Beard Award Finalist for Best Chef: West
-Ghetto Gastro, a nomadic culinary collective based in the Bronx, NY
-Mei Lin, Chef at Nightshade in Los Angeles, CA, and Top Chef Season 12 Winner
-Nate Appleman, VP of Culinary at OTG Management in New York, NY and 2009 James Beard Award Winner for Rising Star Chef of the Year
-Jeremiah Langhorne, Chef/Owner of The Dabney in Washington D.C. and 2018 James Beard Award Finalist for Best Chef: Mid Atlantic
-James Wayman, Executive Chef at Oyster Club in Mystic, CT and 2016 Connecticut Restaurant Association Chef of the Year
-Brandon Rodgers, Executive Chef of In Situ at SFMOMA in San Francisco, CA and 2007 U.S> Commis for Bocuse d'Or Competition
-David Pose, Chef/Co-Owner of Elske in Chicago, IL and 2018 James Beard Award Finalist for Best Chef: Great Lakes
To purchase your ticket to the competition, the afterparty, or to bid on one of the many prizes donated by these esteemed chefs, please click here.