Eight high schools from around the state sent students to Durham on Monday to compete in the N.C. ProStart Invitational culinary category. The competition was sponsored by the N.C. Hospitality Education Foundation, Golden Corral, US Foods, among others, and also included a business management-focused competition that included eight teams.
All the students involved Monday are enrolled in ProStart classes. The national, two-year program teaches culinary and business skills to high school students.
Scholarship awards were available to the top three teams in each category. The winning teams will also travel to Minneapolis to compete in a national competition hosted by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.
“It’s a lot of chaos, but it’s a lot of fun,” Beth Wilsey, a ProStart teacher at Northside High School in Jacksonville, said of the competition.
Students in her class were in their first year of the two-part culinary program, she said, which teaches knife skills and the procedure for butchering a chicken. For the competition, they were preparing pan-seared salmon over couscous, a spinach and strawberry salad, and lemon parfait.
The competition teaches good sanitation practices and teamwork, she said.
“I think it’s important for the kids; they learn time management skills, which is important in any field,” she said.
Barry Oxendine, a culinary teacher at Hoke County High School, said his students started preparing in January for the competition. They had to find a meal that they could make with only two butane burners in one hour. While he said the team went over their time limit, he said the presentation looked good.
“I think it went well,” he said. “I’m happy they finished.”
