Dan Giusti's Hosting A Chef Competition For School Lunches

What can a James Beard award-winning chef whip up with just $1.25? Former Noma chef Dan Giusti and his nutritional school lunch initiative, Brigaid, are about to find out.

On a mission to cook better-tasting, healthier food on a public school budget, Brigaid has tapped 13 award-winning chefs from all over the country to compete in the first ever $1.25 Throwdown on June 2 in the organization's headquarters of New London, Connecticut. Chefs will create lunches that fit the the national school nutrition standards for under $2 per meal, which will then be judged by students and a panel of esteemed food writers. Guest chefs include the group Ghetto Gastro, Jessica Koslow, Stuart Brioza, Brandon Rodgers, Mei Lin, Nate Appleman, Jeremy Fox, Jeremiah Langhorne, James Wayman and David Posey. There's no one winner, per se, as all the dishes made will ideally be added to the organization's meal rotation.

Brigaid launched an IndieGoGo campaign to raise $150,000, which would then be donated back to the New London Public School district. The funds will also help fund recipe research and development, training, kitchen/cafeteria design and more. Rewards for donating include tickets to the Throwdown as well as after party entry with hors d'oeuvres and drinks, signed cookbooks by Brioza, Koslow and Fox, dinner experiences and more.

Tickets and more information can be found here. And take a listen to Giusti's mission on this episode of our podcast.