Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 14, 2022
Media Contacts:
Emily Daunt
Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (517) 377-3933 |
Michael Odom or Adam O’Connor
Marx Layne & Company (734) 259-9060 Odom’s cell (248) 321-0586 O’Connor’s cell |
High School Students to Compete at Michigan ProStart Competition, Feb. 28 - March 1
Students from across state to demonstrate culinary knowledge, passion, teamwork
Students from across state to demonstrate culinary knowledge, passion, teamwork
LANSING, MICH. – A total of 31 teams representing 12 career and technical centers from across Michigan will face off at the Michigan ProStart® Competition, an annual culinary and management competition hosted by the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association Educational Foundation. The competition is being held on Feb. 28 and March 1 at the Crowne Plaza Lansing West, located at 925 S. Creyts Rd., Lansing, MI 48917.
On Mon., Feb. 28 from Noon to 4:30 p.m., students from across the state will compete in Nutrition Discipline, Knife Skills, ServeSafe® Knowledge Bowl and Tabletop Design. On Tues., March 1 beginning at 8 a.m., the students will compete in Culinary and Management with the competition drawing to a close at 2:30 p.m. The event is free to attend and open to the public.
“The Michigan ProStart Competition is a wonderful opportunity for the hundreds of ProStart students from across the state to demonstrate the invaluable skills and training they have learned,” said Justin Winslow, President & CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association. “Each year, we are inspired by the talent and commitment of these students—and we eagerly anticipate following their future achievements and contributions to the hospitality industry.”
ProStart students learn a wide array of kitchen skills, including food safety and knife cuts, menu development and marketing, and important management lessons. The annual state competition provides a hands-on opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills learned throughout the year and be judged by top industry professionals as well as leading college and university instructors observe and rate all portions of the competition.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry is the nation’s second largest private sector employer, providing career opportunities to one in ten working Americans. In Michigan, the restaurant industry is the state’s second largest private employer.
Competition Details
The schedule for the two-day competition is as follows:
Monday, February 28
Nutrition Discipline
Teams must create a meal, using only two butane burners for cooking, comprised of an entrée, side option and beverage that meet the National Restaurant Association’s Kids’ Live Well and USDA menu criteria. The students must provide recipes, menu price and nutritional analysis. The Nutrition competition is sponsored by United Healthcare.
Knife Skills
For the competition, each contestant will select four knife cut options from a list of eight, including Rondelle, Batonnet, Julienne, Large Dice, Medium Dice, Small Dice, Brunoise, and Chiffonade. The contestants will present to the judges what four cuts they selected to execute. The judges will randomly assign two of the knife cuts submitted by the team to each of the selected students for independent execution. All contestants will have 12-minutes to complete the Knife Skills competition. The fabrication will be judged on skill and technique, not on level of difficulty. Sanitation and safety will be strictly evaluated.
ServSafe® Knowledge Bowl
The Knowledge Bowl is hosted in a Jeopardy-style format with participants answering questions that demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry.
Table Top Design
Tabletop Design has four main components: development of a menu, development of a table setting, presentation of the table and the team’s ability to answer critical thinking questions regarding their table. The scenario provided to the teams competing in Tabletop Design is the “Campy” Pickup Picnic and is based on the finale event at the 2022 Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp, which will take place from June 26 – 29 at the Culinary Institute of Michigan – Port Huron. The four-day camp was created as a resourceful and education experience for high school ProStart students and the winning design will be recreated this summer at the 2022 Pickup Picnic.
Tuesday, March 1
Culinary
Teams must create a unique three-course meal consisting of a starter, entrée and dessert that demonstrates their culinary knowledge, skills and creative abilities. Teams are given 20 minutes to pre-set their station for the meal production (mise en place) prior to 60-minutes of cooking time using two butane burners in a 10’ x 10’ workspace. Teams must present recipes; recipe costing; a knife skills form detailing a minimum of four of 11 specified knife cuts; menu pricing worksheet; printed menu and photos of each plate which are compared to the plates presented to the judges. Teams are judged on product check in; knife skills; taste and finished product; safety and sanitation; team presentation, work skills and organization; menu and recipe presentation. The Culinary competition is sponsored by SYSCO.
Management
Team must demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing and presenting a new restaurant concept to a panel of judges. Teams choose from one of four scenarios: freestanding restaurant; airport restaurant; food truck or strip mall restaurant. Teams will present their concepts through verbal presentations, posters and a Q&A session with a panel of judges. The concept must include the type of establishment; floor plan; description of interior and décor; hours of operation; meals served; type of cuisine; menu featuring 12 items; recipes; costing for one menu item; menu pricing; photograph of a menu item; organizational chart; SWOT analysis; marketing tactics to launch the concept; poster with the menu and floorplan; poster displaying one marketing tactic; target market and the restaurant’s purpose and impact. The Management competition is sponsored by Gordon Food Service.
The winning teams in the Culinary and Management competitions will represent Michigan at the National ProStart® Invitational in Washington, D.C. May 6 – 8, 2022, where they will compete against students from across the country. More than $100,000 in scholarships will be shared by the Michigan winners to help the students pursue careers in the foodservice industry.
On Mon., Feb. 28 from Noon to 4:30 p.m., students from across the state will compete in Nutrition Discipline, Knife Skills, ServeSafe® Knowledge Bowl and Tabletop Design. On Tues., March 1 beginning at 8 a.m., the students will compete in Culinary and Management with the competition drawing to a close at 2:30 p.m. The event is free to attend and open to the public.
“The Michigan ProStart Competition is a wonderful opportunity for the hundreds of ProStart students from across the state to demonstrate the invaluable skills and training they have learned,” said Justin Winslow, President & CEO of the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association. “Each year, we are inspired by the talent and commitment of these students—and we eagerly anticipate following their future achievements and contributions to the hospitality industry.”
ProStart students learn a wide array of kitchen skills, including food safety and knife cuts, menu development and marketing, and important management lessons. The annual state competition provides a hands-on opportunity for students to demonstrate the skills learned throughout the year and be judged by top industry professionals as well as leading college and university instructors observe and rate all portions of the competition.
According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry is the nation’s second largest private sector employer, providing career opportunities to one in ten working Americans. In Michigan, the restaurant industry is the state’s second largest private employer.
Competition Details
The schedule for the two-day competition is as follows:
Monday, February 28
Nutrition Discipline
Teams must create a meal, using only two butane burners for cooking, comprised of an entrée, side option and beverage that meet the National Restaurant Association’s Kids’ Live Well and USDA menu criteria. The students must provide recipes, menu price and nutritional analysis. The Nutrition competition is sponsored by United Healthcare.
Knife Skills
For the competition, each contestant will select four knife cut options from a list of eight, including Rondelle, Batonnet, Julienne, Large Dice, Medium Dice, Small Dice, Brunoise, and Chiffonade. The contestants will present to the judges what four cuts they selected to execute. The judges will randomly assign two of the knife cuts submitted by the team to each of the selected students for independent execution. All contestants will have 12-minutes to complete the Knife Skills competition. The fabrication will be judged on skill and technique, not on level of difficulty. Sanitation and safety will be strictly evaluated.
ServSafe® Knowledge Bowl
The Knowledge Bowl is hosted in a Jeopardy-style format with participants answering questions that demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry.
Table Top Design
Tabletop Design has four main components: development of a menu, development of a table setting, presentation of the table and the team’s ability to answer critical thinking questions regarding their table. The scenario provided to the teams competing in Tabletop Design is the “Campy” Pickup Picnic and is based on the finale event at the 2022 Nate Santelli ProStart Summer Camp, which will take place from June 26 – 29 at the Culinary Institute of Michigan – Port Huron. The four-day camp was created as a resourceful and education experience for high school ProStart students and the winning design will be recreated this summer at the 2022 Pickup Picnic.
Tuesday, March 1
Culinary
Teams must create a unique three-course meal consisting of a starter, entrée and dessert that demonstrates their culinary knowledge, skills and creative abilities. Teams are given 20 minutes to pre-set their station for the meal production (mise en place) prior to 60-minutes of cooking time using two butane burners in a 10’ x 10’ workspace. Teams must present recipes; recipe costing; a knife skills form detailing a minimum of four of 11 specified knife cuts; menu pricing worksheet; printed menu and photos of each plate which are compared to the plates presented to the judges. Teams are judged on product check in; knife skills; taste and finished product; safety and sanitation; team presentation, work skills and organization; menu and recipe presentation. The Culinary competition is sponsored by SYSCO.
Management
Team must demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing and presenting a new restaurant concept to a panel of judges. Teams choose from one of four scenarios: freestanding restaurant; airport restaurant; food truck or strip mall restaurant. Teams will present their concepts through verbal presentations, posters and a Q&A session with a panel of judges. The concept must include the type of establishment; floor plan; description of interior and décor; hours of operation; meals served; type of cuisine; menu featuring 12 items; recipes; costing for one menu item; menu pricing; photograph of a menu item; organizational chart; SWOT analysis; marketing tactics to launch the concept; poster with the menu and floorplan; poster displaying one marketing tactic; target market and the restaurant’s purpose and impact. The Management competition is sponsored by Gordon Food Service.
The winning teams in the Culinary and Management competitions will represent Michigan at the National ProStart® Invitational in Washington, D.C. May 6 – 8, 2022, where they will compete against students from across the country. More than $100,000 in scholarships will be shared by the Michigan winners to help the students pursue careers in the foodservice industry.
About ProStart
ProStart is a nationwide, two-year high school program that unites the classroom and industry to develop the best and brightest talent into tomorrow’s restaurant and foodservice leaders. In Michigan, 69 high schools and career centers use the ProStart curriculum with more than 5,000 students participating. For more information about ProStart, contact Amanda Smith at 800-968-9668, visit mraesf.org/events and follow ProStart on social media at twitter.com/ProStartMich, instagram.com/miprostart and facebook.com/MichiganProStart.
ProStart is a nationwide, two-year high school program that unites the classroom and industry to develop the best and brightest talent into tomorrow’s restaurant and foodservice leaders. In Michigan, 69 high schools and career centers use the ProStart curriculum with more than 5,000 students participating. For more information about ProStart, contact Amanda Smith at 800-968-9668, visit mraesf.org/events and follow ProStart on social media at twitter.com/ProStartMich, instagram.com/miprostart and facebook.com/MichiganProStart.
About the Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association
Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA) is the recognized leader of Michigan's hospitality industry, providing essential services to the foodservice and lodging community. Founded in 1921 as the Michigan Restaurant Association and now known as the MRLA, the Association represents over 5,000 Michigan foodservice and lodging establishments. The industry plays an integral role in Michigan's economy, employing more than 595,000 people and creating nearly $40 billion in annual sales. For more information, visit www.mrla.org and www.detroitrla.org.
Michigan Restaurant & Lodging Association (MRLA) is the recognized leader of Michigan's hospitality industry, providing essential services to the foodservice and lodging community. Founded in 1921 as the Michigan Restaurant Association and now known as the MRLA, the Association represents over 5,000 Michigan foodservice and lodging establishments. The industry plays an integral role in Michigan's economy, employing more than 595,000 people and creating nearly $40 billion in annual sales. For more information, visit www.mrla.org and www.detroitrla.org.
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