Competition gives students taste of reality

PRO DAY: The Rhode Island team that went to the National ProStart Invitational in 2012. From left: Gary Braun, Cassie-lee Joseph, Justin McClintin and Krystal Straight. / COURTESY R.I. HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION
PRO DAY: The Rhode Island team that went to the National ProStart Invitational in 2012. From left: Gary Braun, Cassie-lee Joseph, Justin McClintin and Krystal Straight. / COURTESY R.I. HOSPITALITY ASSOCIATION

The description reads like a reality TV show. Teams of culinary students compete to open, manage and cook in their own restaurant. They will be judged by restaurant owners, chefs and culinary professionals. The winner receives cash and the chance to go on to a national competition to win more cash.
Its out-of-the-box format is similar to a brand-new NBC prime-time competition show now casting that according to the Internet casting call, “will put everyday home cooks up against professional chefs in a head-to-head showdown.” But this one has a distinctly local flavor.
This month seven teams of Rhode Island high school students will take to the kitchen for real in a no-holds barred, intense contest judged by some of the leading chefs, restaurateurs and professionals from the food-service industry.
The rules are set by ProStart, a two-year high school curriculum that was developed by the National Restaurant Association. Students who graduate from this program earn a nationally recognized certificate of achievement, are eligible to apply for thousands of dollars in scholarship money and earn collegiate credits at colleges and universities throughout the United States.
The ProStart Invitational pits teams of students from around the state in an all-day contest that tests their culinary prowess, as well as their management acumen. A total of 34 culinary arts students from Chariho Regional Career & Technical Center, Cranston Area Career & Technical Center, Exeter Job Corps Academy and William M. Davies Career & Technical High Schools have been preparing all winter for the match, which takes place on March 28 at the Radisson Hotel Providence Airport in Warwick.
Five teams are competing in the culinary-arts portion of the competition and two teams are competing in the management portion. The contest is coordinated by the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. “Because our winning team(s) will be representing Rhode Island at the national competition, we follow the National ProStart Invitational Rules,” said Heather R. Singleton, senior vice president of education for the association’s Rhode Island Hospitality Education Foundation. The rulebook rivals that of the NCAA.
In the Culinary Arts Competition, students will show off their skills in safety and sanitation, knife skills and fabrication – that is, general slicing and dicing plus the ability to turn whole poultry into portions – teamwork, culinary technique and menu-design skills.
Every facet of commercial meal preparation and service will be judged, from sourcing ingredients to proper sanitation procedures when meal preparation and service is completed.
In the Foodservice Management Competition, the teams must design a restaurant concept from the ground up, beginning with a business plan. The teams must present a written proposal as well as a verbal presentation. All facets of operating a successful restaurant will be judged.
This is no “ivory-tower” exercise based on utopian academic theories. The criteria are very much in the real world, from menu pricing, to promotional ideas to bringing in customers.
The teams will be tested on their critical-thinking skills by reacting to potential management challenges. For example, the teams will have to decide on how to handle social media both to attract customers and to deal with consumer perception and complaints.
The students’ performance during the event will be observed and rated by judges from the food-service industry. The panel of judges reads like a who’s who of the state’s restaurant scene. There are leading restaurateurs and executives, including Robert Bacon of Gregg’s Restaurants, Brian Casey of Company Picnic Co., Ken Cusson of Newport Harbor Corp., Christopher Phillips of The Capital Grille, Tobey Sanborn of Hemenway’s Restaurant and Bahjat Shariff of Panera Bread and Howley Bread Group. They will be joined by some of the top chefs in the state, such as Anthony Tarro of Siena Restaurant, Brian Ruffner of 22 Bowens and Kevin Thiele of the Hotel Viking. Prestigious names in the industry from US Foods to the Walt Disney Co. will also be represented, as will the R.I. Department of Health and the Rhode Island Hospitality Association. I am looking forward to joining this prestigious panel as a judge.
The teams will compete for over $100,000 collectively in scholarship dollars. The first-place teams win a trip to Baltimore to represent the state in the National ProStart Invitational later this year.
These students will take away more than scholarship money and prestige. They also will have had an opportunity to work in microcosm for some of the most prominent people who own and operate some of the most successful restaurants in Rhode Island. Hopefully we are seeing the state’s next generation of food-service professionals get a head start on a rewarding and successful career. Let’s wish them the very best. •


Bruce Newbury’s food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays locally on WPRV-AM 790, on radio throughout New England and on the TuneIn and iHeartRadio mobile applications. He can be reached by email at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.

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