CHICAGO On Thursday night, some 600 adults paid $100 a head for a school lunch as the Healthy Schools Campaign hosted "Cooking Up Change." Held at Salvage One, the benefit comprised a V.I.P. reception with a cooking demo from Vie chef Paul Virant, a 50-lot silent auction, and passed hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. But "the centerpiece of the evening was the cooking contest," said volunteer co-chair Kelly Dettmann, adding that this aspect also "had the most moving parts." 

Involving 15 teams of five or six culinary students from local public high schools, the contest challenged participants to create two recipes—one for a school lunch and one for a cookie—that adhered to "strict health and nutrition guidelines that were developed by the Healthy Schools Campaign," Dettman said. The winning team's reward was a trip to Washington, D.C., where they'll work alongside the Obamas' personal chef to prepare a meal that will be served to members of the U.S. House of Representatives.

For about two months leading up to the event, competing teams worked with a mentor from the local culinary community, such as a catering company staffer, to develop recipes for the evening. On the day of the benefit, a team of judges that included everyone from chefs to a rep from the Illinois Department of Agriculture tasted the school lunches. At about 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, the results were tallied and the winning high school was announced: This year, students from Tilden Career Community High School will be traveling to the White House.

Along with coordinating setup and food prep for the 15 teams, who each cooked enough sample-size meals for all guests in attendance, planners had to work in adherence with a school-night schedule. "We had to be very respectful of the Chicago Public Schools' requests," Dettman said. "We had to make sure that the kids weren't kept up too late." Accordingly, the event wrapped up at 9 p.m.