By Jasmine Cen

A student-designed healthy lunch option was on the menu at Chicago Public Schools on Wednesday.

The dishes were created by four George Washington High School student chefs who won the “Cooking Up Change” competition in Chicago this year. The annual contest encourages culinary students to develop tasty and healthy meals for their classmates.

The winning meal was prepared in the George Washington High School cafeteria, and community members were invited to attend and have lunch with the students.

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The contest promotes healthy options and has some strict rules: no sugar and no salt. The student chefs also had to create a lunch menu that meets federal nutrition standards and can be made for a dollar or less per plate.

The winning menu option included cajun chicken lettuce wraps, roasted corn relish and a peach and yogurt dessert.

The four chefs won out over 15 other attendees and will head to Washington, D.C. in June to compete for the national title.

Photo on top: Student chefs prepare the award-winning meal. (By Jasmine Cen/Medill).