It was a sight to behold: 500 chefs from 37 states in blazing white coats gathered on the South Lawn of the White House to hear First Lady Michelle Obama and White House Assistant Chef and Food Initiative Coordinator Sam Kass for the launch of the "Chefs Move to Schools" program, a part of Obama's anti-childhood obesity "Let's Move" campaign.

Among the esteemed culinary talent on hand were Houston's Monica Pope, Randy Evans, Michael Kramer, Kiran Verma, Barbara McKnight and Peter Garcia, representing Recipe For Success alongside board members Bob Cavnar, Steph Walker, Melanie Wilson-Lawson and Lucia Hamilton and founder Gracie Cavnar.

Recipe for Success chefs earned prestigious placement because, essentially, the program started by Cavnar does exactly what Michelle Obama wants to do on a national scale — bring top local chefs into schools.

The RFS contingent had seats for the First Lady's address in the coveted second row, behind the likes of Tom Colicchio and Cat Cora, while she delivered an address on the importance of chefs getting involved in the community to teach kids to make healthy choices.

"Each of you has so much to offer when it comes to helping our children make healthy choices. You know more about food than almost anyone — other than the grandmas — and you’ve got the visibility and the enthusiasm to match that knowledge. That's really what’s key. Just watching you guys in action will — it excites me, let alone my little girls who can’t stay out of the kitchen when Sam is cooking.

"You can make a salad bar fun — now, that’s something — and delicious. You can teach kids to cook something that tastes good and is good for them; and share your passion for food in a way that’s truly contagious," Michelle Obama said.

After the speech and some photo ops, the chefs headed to the White House garden, where they harvested, washed and chopped veggies alongside kids from Hollin Meadows Elementary School.

Members of the RFS delegation also attended a kickoff breakfast, a relaxed lunch at Rasika post-event and, as Monica Pope tweeted, had drinks on Thursday night at the Sofitel Hotel bar with the President's chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel.

"It was an honor to be there," Pope told CultureMap. "I don't take for granted all the steps that the First Family is doing, planting the vegetable garden and making the fight against childhood obesity a priority. It's an interest that is really close to home with me ever since I had my daughter, and in the five or six years since Gracie created Recipe for Success we have seen success through the program.

"I hope the other chefs that came from around the country were inspired and will have resources to take the program and implement it."