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THE BAJA POST
NEWSROOM
SOURCE: PR NEWSMEDIA
The culinary team from the Caesar Rodney High School from Camden, Del., and restaurant management team from Orange County School of the Arts from Santa Ana, Calif., captured the championship titles Sunday evening in the 2024 National ProStart Invitational.
Teams from 48 states battled in a weekend-long showdown that featured more than 400 students and a roster of top restaurant and foodservice industry judges.
The National ProStart Invitational is the nation’s largest high school culinary and restaurant management contest. A fusion of «Chopped» and «Shark Tank,» it provides a platform for the students to compete for a share of scholarships totaling $200,000.
Hosted by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront on April 26-28, the National ProStart Invitational was a high stakes competition of the country’s best student culinary and restaurant management teams, each of whom earned the right to compete after winning their state-level competitions.
The culinary teams prepared, plated, and presented a three-course dining menu without access to electricity or running water, and using just two butane burners.
They were assessed by judges on several factors, including food safety and sanitation, costing, preparation, and plating/presentation. Simultaneously, 48 restaurant management teams presented and defended original restaurant concepts across hour-long interactive Q&A periods with a panel of restaurant and foodservice industry judges.
Orange County School of the Arts management team’s winning restaurant concept brought sports and breakfast together as a satisfying answer to chaotic schedules and unpredictable cravings.
The restaurant, called Teddy’s, is a quick casual restaurant designed to be a community destination for people who want to enjoy breakfast while catching their favorite sports matchup.
The students created a full business plan including budget, restaurant design, and marketing plans, and then pitched their proposals to industry professionals.
