Elementary students cook up their favorite main dish in the 2025 Future Chefs Challenge

Five elementary school students in Lake Washington School District used their culinary skills to cook their favorite recipe for the 2025 Sodexo Future Chefs Challenge. Now in its fifteenth year, Future Chefs was designed to get students thinking about making healthy food choices while encouraging them to be active and creative in the kitchen.  

LWSD elementary students in grades 1-5 were invited to submit healthy recipes inspired by their favorite main dish in December. From there, five finalists were selected to participate in the district-wide finals event at Timberline Middle School on Thursday, March 6. Finalists prepared and presented their creations to a panel of district and community judges. Dishes were judged on their originality, taste, kid-friendliness and use of healthy ingredients.  

The chefs were supported by an audience filled with family, friends, school administrators and staff as they worked with an assigned adult “sous chef” to prepare a presentation plate for the judges and samples for the audience to try. 

This year’s judges were Associate Superintendent of Talent Strategy & Communications Dr. Joy Ross, Interim Director of Business Services Melissa DeVita, LWSD Board member Lindsey Yocum, Sodexo District Manager Galina Schweitzer, and Tony Scott of Redmond’s Woodblock and Spark Pizza. 

The winner of this year’s Future Chefs Challenge was Shanaya Gandhi for her creation, a veggie paneer grilled taco! 

Shanaya, a fourth grader at Clara Barton Elementary, shared "I have loved baking since I was five years old, and I enjoy baking something whenever I get the chance. I also love coding and dream of becoming a software engineer when I grow up. One day, I hope to open a small bakery alongside my primary job. When I’m not coding or baking, you’ll find me playing the guitar, participating in math competitions, trying out different sports or creating art and crafts. I am a kind and caring person who loves to learn and explore new things." 

Shanaya’s win qualifies her for the regional competition and the possibility to move forward to the national championships. 

Congratulations to all our Future Chefs competitors and good luck to Shanaya in the regional competition!