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High cchool students win state culinary arts and restaurant management competition
- Teams will now prepare for national competition, April 27 – 29
State College, Pa. – February 23, 2018 – ProStart teams from Milton Hershey School (Hershey) and Jefferson County-DuBois AVTS (Reynoldsville) placed first at the 2018 Pennsylvania ProStart Competition in culinary arts and restaurant management, respectively. Students competed February 23, in State College, Pa., to win more than $84,000 in scholarships and the opportunity to compete against the best teams from other states at the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s National ProStart Invitational, April 27 – 29, 2018, in Providence, R.I.
Twelve ProStart teams gathered from throughout Pennsylvania to compete in either the culinary arts or restaurant management divisions. Culinary teams prepare a three-course meal in 60 minutes, without access to running water or electricity using only two butane burners, and management teams present a business proposal for an original restaurant concept to a panel of industry judges.
“These students practice all year for this competition,” says Hope Sterner, director of education. “They come in early, afterschool and on weekends, because this is what they’re passionate about and they want to do their very best.”
The 2018 Pennsylvania ProStart Competition team winners are:
First Place Management: Jefferson County-DuBois AVTS
First Place Culinary: Milton Hershey School
Second Place Management: Central Westmoreland Career & Technology Center
Second Place Culinary: Monroe Career Technical Institute
Third Place Management: Monroe Career Technical Institute
Third Place Culinary: Jefferson County-DuBois AVTS
ProStart is a two-year career and technical education program focused on teaching culinary skills and restaurant management fundamentals. Administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, ProStart is available in all 50 states, Guam and Department of Defense Education Activity schools in Europe and Asia. Nearly 120,000 students are enrolled in the industry-driven program that offers a hands-on and group-learning based curriculum as a platform where students also learn employability skills such as teamwork, workplace communication, professionalism and time management.
“The students who compete here are determined,” says Sterner, “Determined to win, determined to succeed – and not just here in this moment, but for the rest of their lives. ProStart reinforces the relationship between industry and the classroom, resulting in a workforce who understands what the industry is about and all of the opportunities it has to offer.”
C.A. Curtze Company, a food service distributor headquartered in Erie, Pa., and the Hershey Company were the event’s platinum sponsors. Ecolab, Gordon Food Service, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers & Brews, UnitedHealthcare, Auntie Anne’s Inc., Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, Pepsico, SYSCO Pittsburg, Pittsburgh Technical College, Westmoreland County Community College, Gunter Wilhelm, Mercer Culinary, New Chef, and Utz Quality Foods were additional event sponsors.
For more information on the ProStart program, visit NRAEF.org/ProStart or find us on Twitter or Facebook.
About the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation
As the charitable arm of the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association, the PRLAEF supports the industry through education programs like ProStart and awards scholarships to students who are pursuing post-secondary degrees in the hospitality industry.
About the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation:
As the philanthropic foundation of the National Restaurant Association, the NRAEF exists to enhance the restaurant industry’s service to the public through education, community engagement and promotion of career opportunities. The NRAEF works to attract, develop and retain a career-oriented professional workforce for the restaurant industry. In 2015, the restaurant and foodservice industry is projected to comprise one million outlets and a workforce of 14 million employees, making it the nation’s second largest private sector employer. For more information on the NRAEF, visit NRAEF.org.
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Contact:
Stephanie Otterson
(717) 963-8369
[email protected]
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