in partnership with
Congratulations to our 2025 Winners
Lucas Tran and Binh Trinh!
This dynamic duo wowed the judges and audience alike with their culinary creativity. Binh impressed with a mouthwatering entrée of grilled catfish with tomato cream sauce, cauliflower rice with brown butter, and sweet potato fries with rosemary salt. Lucas followed with a show-stopping dessert of beignets with crème anglaise and pears that sealed the victory.
What a feast for the senses. Bravo to our winners!
Livestream Replay
Missed the action? Don’t worry. You can still enjoy all the delicious action! Replay the full Cooking for a Cause competition on YouTube.
Get ready to tantalize your taste buds!
Join us for an epic culinary showdown at Cooking for a Cause 2025, presented in partnership with the incredible Agnes Restaurant and Cheesery in Pasadena. This vibrant and flavorful evening promises to shed light on the pressing issue of food insecurity in our local community, all while raising crucial funds for Friends In Deed’s Food Pantry.
Watch as talented up-and-coming chefs work their magic, crafting delectable dishes using pantry staples and surprise “mystery” ingredients sourced from our very own FID Food Pantry. After an intense hour of culinary creativity, our panel of expert chef judges will crown the champion of Cooking for a Cause 2025!
We did it!
Thanks to the incredible generosity of our donors, we didn’t just meet our $10,000 Cooking for a Cause Crowdfunding Challenge; we exceeded it!
This means hundreds of families who visit our Food Pantry each week will continue to have access to fresh, nourishing food and the dignity of knowing their community cares. Together, we turned plates into possibilities and showed just how powerful compassion can be.
Meet our 2025 Competitor Teams
Team 1
Diana Ramirez
Diana dreams of becoming an executive chef and restaurant owner, drawing inspiration from her grandmother and blending her love of French pastries with the comforting flavors of Mexican cuisine.
Lorenzo DeScala
Guided by a goal of one day competing on Top Chef, Lorenzo DeScala creates globally inspired comfort food rooted in his Italian heritage, which he describes as “a warm hug from the inside out.”
Team 2
Lucas Tran
Inspired by the thrill of culinary competitions, Lucas Tran hopes to one day open his own restaurant or bakery, while celebrating the Chinese and Vietnamese flavors he grew up with alongside new global influences.
Binh Trinh
With aspirations of working in a test kitchen, Binh Trinh is passionate about Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine and loves the creativity of developing and refining recipes.
Team 3
Annika Olsen
As she nears the end of culinary school, Annika Olsen is eager to gain diverse kitchen experience, with a special passion for Italian cuisine and the artistry of making fresh pasta from scratch.
Sam Newman
Sam Newman aims to build his own restaurant group, starting with elevated casual dining, and is inspired by the bold flavors of Italian, Asian, and Indian cuisine.
Meet our 2025 Chef Judges
Chef Onil Chibás
Le Cordon Bleu–trained Chef Onil Chibás has over two decades of culinary experience, including his tenure as chef-owner of Elements Café and Kitchen. At Deluxe 1717 in Northeast Pasadena, his menus showcase New American cuisine distinguished by Cuban roots, seasonal and local produce.
Chef Anthony Greco
Anthony Greco is a Regional Executive Chef at Porto’s Bakery who combines the creativity of fine dining with the innovation and precision of large-scale bakery operations. He’s known for transforming kitchens into high performing, people first cultures, championing mentorship, turning quality into a shared standard, and developing leaders who inspire long after service ends.
Ximón Wood
Ximón is a Los Angeles–based arts marketing leader and culinary creative. After studying Culinary Arts at Pasadena City College, where they earned a Boone Foundation Award and won the 2024 Cooking For A Cause competition, they gained experience with Panda Restaurant Group before returning to lead marketing at East West Players. Beyond the stage and kitchen, Ximón explores the art of drinks through their non-alcoholic beverage project, @sipashrub.
2025 Cooking for a Cause
Sponsorship & Support Levels
We are incredibly grateful to our 2025 Cooking for a Cause Sponsors
Chef de Cuisine
Ernest and Gunde Posey
Anonymous
Pastry Chef
Ursula Hyman
Mishele and Ben Myers
Jennifer and John Robinson
Pasadena Methodist Foundation/First United Methodist Church of Pasadena
Vegetable Chef
Anonymous
Courtney Construction Inc.
Leslie and John White
Sauté Chef
Pam Marx and Mark Goldstein
Susan and Douglas Rogers
Grill Chef
Scott and Leslie Carpenter
Sally Follett
Susan Matthies
Elliot and Marcia Sainer
Betsey Tyler
Junior Chef
Aimee Kreston
Lisa and Scott Nelson
Tammy Silver
Steve Stroud