Winning student-designed meal served in CPS

Students across the city had the chance to try a meal Wednesday designed by their peers that won first place in a healthy cooking contest in October.

More than 400,000 Chicago Public Schools students lined up for the lunch designed by four students from George Washington High School who competed in the citywide Cooking Up Change contest.

Culinary arts students Marshawn Gibson, 17; Jalize Harmonponcedeleon, 18; Neidy Mejia, 17; and Natalie Ruiz, 18, had to cook up a meal that followed district nutrition guidelines and used ingredients commonly found in a school kitchen.

The group beat 15 other city school teams with a Cajun chicken lettuce wrap, roasted corn relish and peach and yogurt pizza for dessert. The meal will become part of the school lunch menu for CPS.

The students will travel to Washington, D.C., in June to compete nationally against teams from other cities.