Earlier this month, teams of high-schoolers from Michigan and Connecticut were crowned winners of the 2023 National ProStart Invitational in Washington, D.C.
The event consists of competitions for culinary and restaurant management students. Culinary teams had 60 minutes to prepare a three-course fine-dining menu, using two butane burners and no running water. Management teams pitched restaurant businesses to a panel of judges.
The winning culinary team, from Plymouth Canton Educational Park in Canton, Mich., beat 45 other teams with its menu of soy-marinated tuna, strip steak and braised short rib with potato dauphinoise and puree, plus coconut Bavarian with orange-almond cake for dessert.
The winning management team, from Wilbur Cross High School in New Haven, Conn., also beat 45 other teams with its Nafas Kitchen concept, a casual West Asian restaurant envisioned as “a place for advocacy, change, and community with dishes from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and the Levant region,” according to a press release.
All competitors got to the national competition by winning their state-level ProStart Invitational competitions.
ProStart is the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation’s nationwide career and technical education program, reaching nearly 165,000 students at almost 1,850 schools.
“This year’s National ProStart Invitational winners delivered exciting results when they brought creativity, passion, and initiative to the table,” said Michelle Korsmo, president and CEO of the National Restaurant Association and CEO of the NRAEF. “The individuality of the students shines through in each culinary submission. And throughout the management competitions, we saw students with strong business acumen design thriving restaurant organizations. These competitors are the best of the best, and I know they will inspire other students to take a chance, create something new, and be part of this amazing restaurant community.”
“The passion and talent displayed by this week’s National ProStart Invitational competitors was truly awe-inspiring, giving us a front row seat to the next generation that will shape our industry,” said NRAEF president Rob Gifford. “Thanks to the daily work of our educators, ProStart is equipping these students with crucial career-building skills that will enhance their lives in the industry, or wherever their futures take them.”
Click through the gallery to see pictures from the competition.
