Bowl of beet gnocchi topped with mushrooms, cheese, and herbs, next to a small bowl of sliced mushrooms and cutlery on a napkin over a light gray surface.

Cook for Change! Challenge: Where Innovation Meets Sustainability

Innovative Cooking for a Better Tomorrow

The Cook for Change! Challenge celebrates culinary innovation, passion and Sodexo’s commitment to sustainable eating. Each year, hundreds of chefs from North America compete in a unique, plant-based culinary competition to inspire change in food services. Each chef creates a zero-waste dish that reduces carbon emissions and uses sustainable, nutrient-rich ingredients. Finalists are selected based on creativity, flavor, and a dedication to responsible cooking, culminating in an exciting global finale in Paris. This challenge is an opportunity for Sodexo’s top talent to redefine responsible dining by showcasing sustainable recipes that will be featured across Sodexo restaurants worldwide.

Chef Perspectives: Cook for Change! 

  • Group of chefs in white uniforms and tall hats standing in a kitchen with ovens and stoves in the background.

    How Our Chefs Cook for Change!

    Read the blog to see how our chefs inspire sustainable dining.
  • Person in a black chef's uniform with red piping and 'Sodexo' and 'Sam Blackburn' logos, standing indoors with blurred people in the background.

    Chef Sam on Sustainable Dining

    Get Chef Sam Blackburn's insights on Cook for Change!
  • Sodexo’s Sustainability Culinary Competition Crowns Its Winner

    The Cook for Change! Finale

    Read more about the culmination of the challenge in Paris.

How Our Chefs Cook for Change!

Read the blog to see how our chefs inspire sustainable dining.
Get Chef Sam Blackburn's insights on Cook for Change!
Read more about the culmination of the challenge in Paris.

Meet the 2024 Global Finalists

The Cook for Change! Challenge celebrates Sodexo’s talented chefs worldwide, giving them a chance to showcase their skills on a global stage. These eight eco-conscious superstars have impressed judges at the regional heats and been named the best sustainable chef in their region.

Person in a white chef's uniform with 'Sodexo' logo standing in a commercial kitchen with metal racks and trays in the background.

Chef Ryan Hickey

Sodexo USA 

Secret Ingredient: “Innovation! Fresh perspective on classical techniques always results in fun outcomes.” 
Person in a white chef's jacket with 'Sodexo' logo and 'Selin' on the sleeve, standing in front of gray brick walls.

Chef Nabila Kerbout

Sodexo UAE

Secret Ingredient: “My passion for cooking and my creative ability to combine different cuisines together.”
Person in a white chef's coat with an embroidered patch on the sleeve, standing outdoors with blurred buildings and greenery in the background.

Chef Christopher Paredes 

Sodexo Chile

Secret Ingredient: “Precision cooking. It’s the skill I’ve been improving the most lately.” 
Person in a white chef's jacket with red accents, featuring 'John Oliveira' and 'Sodexo' logos, standing in front of white panels with diagonal lines.

Chef John Oliveira Da Conceição 

Sodexo Brazil

Secret Ingredient: “My creativity, combined with my boldness in using ingredients.”
Person in a white chef's coat and black apron standing with arms crossed in a kitchen.

Chef Adam Collison

Sodexo UK & Ireland

Secret Ingredient: “My love of competitions. I got the bug from competing in the Sodexo Chef of the Year, that I won in 2018.” 
Woman in a white chef's jacket smiling.

Chef Sandrine Leriche 

Sodexo France

Secret Ingredient: “Wild plants. They provide me with a wide range of sensational flavors to work with.”
Person in a blue chef's uniform standing with arms crossed in front of a wall with 'ASPRETTO' signage in a cafe or restaurant.

Chef Gaurav Pawar

Sodexo India

Secret Ingredient: “A roasted mix of millet and legume flour with spices. It’s an inspiration from my mother and a deep connection to my roots.” 
Person in a white chef's jacket with red accents and 'Sodexo' logos, standing in front of white panels with diagonal lines.

Chef MichaŁ Fabiszewski 

Sodexo Poland

Secret Ingredient: “Telling a Story. I’ve learned that every dish can tell a story about people, cultures and emotions.”
Delicius salmon with vegetables on a blue plate.

Chefs competed from around the world.

350

Sodexo is committed to one-third of our menus being 100% plant-based by 2025.

 1/3

Cook for Change! Has made a huge impact in a short amount of time.

2022

Assorted fresh produce including halved grapefruit, purple and yellow cauliflower, carrots with greens, and leafy greens arranged in a colorful display.

The threshold set by Sodexo for each chef's low-carbon meal.

> 0.9 kg CO2e 

global cook for change! finalists.

8

of our main dishes to be low carbon by 2030.

70%

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