A Winning Recipe! SF 9-yr-old Wins 1st Lady's Healthy Lunchtime Challenge

California Winner of Michelle Obama's Healthy Lunchtime Challenge is SF's 9-Year-Old Aria Pelaez

First Lady Michelle Obama has for the last four years been the driving force behind the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, an event created to promote cooking and healthy eating among young people across the nation. The challenge invites children ages 8 to 12 years of age to join a parent or guardian in creating an original recipe that is healthy, affordable and delicious. On July 10 of this year, the 2015 winners were invited to attend a “State Dinner” at the White House. Fifty-five young chefs joined the First Lady for a healthy meal, featuring a selection of the winning recipes, followed by a visit to the White House Kitchen Garden.

Representing California at the White House was San Francisco resident Aria Pelaez, age 9, whose winning submission was a California Rainbow Taco with Mic-Kale Obama Slaw and Barack-amole (www.barackamole.com). Aria comments, “I was inspired to make this recipe because my family makes bland tacos. I took leftover BBQ pineapple, tomato, orange peppers, and red onions and made a taco with them. I added grilled fish and I made a guacamole yogurt sauce to give it a strong taste. This dish makes my mouth water. You rock, Mrs. Michelle Obama! P.S. This is gluten free! My granddad has Celiac so I try to eat gluten free, too, in his honor.”

On Friday, October 16 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., 9-year-old Aria will join Twenty Five Lusk chef Matthew Dolan in the restaurant's kitchen to prepare her winning recipe for the evenings' guests who order this dish. Chef Dolan, in the spirit of the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge, wants to honor Aria by highlighting her commitment to a worthy cause and to encourage her to continue to involve herself in the culinary arts.

Twenty Five Lusk is located at 25 Lusk Street, off Townsend Street, in San Francisco, California. The restaurant is open for dinner Monday to Thursday, 5:30 to 10:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 5:30 to 11:00 p.m., and on Sunday for brunch from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. Valet parking is offered during dinner service and Sunday brunch, there are four garages and pay lots in the neighborhood, and street parking is sometimes an option. More information can be found at www.twentyfivelusk.com. Reservations, also available through OpenTable.com, can be made by calling (415) 495-5875.