The Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA), in partnership with HMSHost, is calling chefs – aspiring, connoisseur, or otherwise – from across the USA to enter a ‘Channel Your Inner Chef’ competition at O’Hare International Airport.
O’Hare’s Terminal 2 has been home to this live cooking competition for the past five years. Entrants are required to submit a video of themselves preparing their favourite original recipe. The deadline for entries is February 17, 2020.
Five finalists will be selected from the video entries and will receive a trip to compete in a live cook-off in front of an audience and a panel of judges at O’Hare on March 24, 2020.
During the unscripted, 30-minute cook-off, finalists will be asked to create an original recipe from a selection of ingredients available at the start of the event.
The winning dish will be featured on the menu of an O’Hare restaurant. The grand prize winner will also receive a VIP experience for two to the James Beard Awards Gala in Chicago on May 4, 2020, and two roundtrip airline tickets for a flight within the continental USA.
Over the years, the competition has helped launch the careers of a diverse group of ambitious, up-and-coming chefs – from a homemaker and culinary arts student to a local food blogger.
![[Left to right] George Drivas, founder and managing director, Airport Retail Group Australia; DJ McCready, co-founder and head brewer, Mountain Culture Beer Co; Simon Hickey, WSI CEO; and Mark Barton, chairperson, Business Bl, stand in front of a Mountain Culture brewery bar, with grafitti-style art on the exposed brickwork wall behind them.](https://www.passengerterminaltoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/rsz_wsi_mountain_culture-e1782232241128-450x252.jpeg "Mountain Culture brewery to open at Western Sydney International")