Culinary Innovation Challenge

A unique competition that aims to connect and inspire Sodexo and Entegra chefs who understand the power of food.

Culinary
Innovation
Challenge

This contest tells the stories of inventive and hardworking chefs who understand the power of food not only as a source of health and well-being but also as a key component of hospitality.

2022 finalist Claudia cooking at the life event

An invitation from Acqua Panna & S.Pellegrino

Always supporting the culinary industry and standing by its values.

How it works

We invite you to celebrate authentic and delicious global flavors by creating and presenting an innovative dish with personal meaning.

Submission
window opens!

Sodexo and Entegra participants will have five weeks to submit their recipe.

June 9th
Submission
window closes!

Participants must complete their submissions by this date in order to be elegible.

July 11th
Evaluation & selection
of top finalists

An internal committee will evaluate and vote to choose one finalist from Entegra and one finalist from Sodexo.

Mid July
Finalist
announced!

Finalists will then build upon their initial submission for a live final round.

End of July
Live final
round!

A judging committee will vote and choose one winner during the final live event.

September 19th - 20th
Winner
announced!

Overall winner announced.

September 23rd

Meet the judges

First round Online

Brett M. Cunningham

Director, Culinary Services

Brett Cunningham is director of culinary services at Entegra North America, located in Ashland, VA. In his current role, he is responsible for Entegra’s client’s menus and recipe development in the healthcare and senior segments.

Brett has over 25 years of experience in the food service industry working in several different environments. He has been employed at Entegra/Sodexo for the past eighteen years. His previous role was the director of culinary development for Sodexo Tech & Services North America. Brett resides in Gloucester, Virginia and has his MBA from The Citadel. His undergraduate degrees are in business management and culinary arts/food service management from Johnson & Wales University.
Bryan K. Chichester

Senior Director of Culinary Strategy.

As Senior Director of Culinary Strategy, Bryan has spent over 30 years working in various culinary and leadership positions in the industry.

Bryan served 27 years in the United States Air Force in multiple food service and support services leadership roles throughout his military career, retiring in 2017. Bryan’s teams key focus areas are menu & recipe development, product testing and food photography for North America.
Lisa M. Feldman

Senior Director of Recipe Management.

Lisa began her career with Sodexo in 2002 and has since held a variety of leadership roles across the organization. From 2002 to 2017, she served in positions including Research & Development Chef (Transversal Marketing), Executive Chef (Campus), Centralized Menu Manager (Campus & Schools), Director of Culinary & DPP (Schools), and Director of Culinary Development (Culinary Solutions).

In 2017, Lisa took on the role of Director of Culinary Systems, leading the Menu Management Team for the Food Platform. Her work culminated in the development of a framework to integrate Sustainable Eating Targets across all Sodexo menus. In recognition of this achievement, she was promoted in 2023 to Senior Director of Menu Systems & CSR.

In her current role, Lisa oversees Culinary Systems for Sodexo North America and leads the Sustainable Eating strategy for the NORAM Culinary Offer. Her team is responsible for managing recipe data, menu architecture, and nutrition services, while also supporting ingredient selection and culinary development across all market segments. Collectively, they manage and deliver over 180 menus annually across the organization.

A recognized authority in food systems and sustainability, Lisa is frequently invited to contribute to industry publications, conferences, and training programs. Lisa is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and brings over 30 years of experience in all aspects of food service management. A Certified Research Chef, she specializes in product and concept development. She also serves on the Culinary Advisory Board of the ClA's Healthy Kids Collaborative, is a member of the ClA's Healthy Menus R&D Collaborative and the Food Lab at Google and is a founding board member of the Food for Climate League, a women-led nonprofit focused on food and climate communication.
Nick Scarnaty

Director of Culinary, Hospitality and Leisure

Nick is a director of culinary services overseeing the hospitality and leisure segment. Nick developed his craft working in fine dining Michelin restaurants such as Per Se, Torrissi Italian Specialties, and Carbone after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America. Most recently he served as a corporate culinary director at Meta, bringing his fine dining background and applying it into scalable corporate systems. Nick brings a passion for culinary excellence, strategic leadership and scalable innovation with him. Proficient in culinary systems such as meez and galley.