The future of the food industry is looking bright, as there are a solid number of young people who are up and coming and pursuing a career in food service.
The Rhode Island Hospitality Association’s Education Foundation hosted the 11th annual Rhode Island ProStart High School Culinary Arts, Foodservice & Hotel Management Competition on Feb. 7 at the Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick. As in past years, teams competed in culinary, food service management and hotel management projects and challenges. Teams were from the Chariho Career & Technical Center, known as CHARIHOtech; East Providence Career & Technical Center; Exeter Job Corps Center; Newport Area Career and Technical Center; William M. Davies, Jr. Career and Technical High School in Lincoln; and the Woonsocket Area Career and Technical Center.
Categories included Culinary Arts, Foodservice Management, and Hotel Management. In the Culinary Arts challenge, student teams’ technical skills were put to the test, including safe food transportation, knife skills and a cook-off in which a three-course meal was prepared using only two burners. Students were also judged on teamwork, professionalism, appearance and plate presentation. In the Foodservice Management challenge, students presented a comprehensive restaurant concept and business plan, while in the Hotel Management challenge, teams had to design and present a hotel property concept to the judges.
More than 50 local industry professionals judged the events. Seven colleges and universities pledged $500,000 in scholarship money to be shared among the winning teams.
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TOP CHEF: Henry Nguyen, a student at the Exeter Job Corps Center, prepares a dish during the 11th annual Rhode Island ProStart High School Culinary Arts, Foodservice & Hotel Management Competition on Feb. 7. The center’s team won first place in the Culinary Arts category.
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The Exeter team won the Culinary Arts portion of the competition, while the East Providence team won the Foodservice Management portion of the competition and the Chariho team won the Hotel Management portion of the competition. Exeter will go on to represent Rhode Island at the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s National ProStart Invitational competition in Washington, D.C., on May 2.
In addition, a recognition that began a year ago is continuing. Judges are adapting the student teams’ winning entries onto their menus to give a tangible, real-world aspect to the competition. Chef Kathryn Caine, a judge who is executive chef at Avvio Ristorante in Cranston, will feature an adaptation of the Exeter team’s winning dish on the restaurant’s menu: a pan-seared Tuscan-style veal chop served with mashed Yukon gold potatoes and sauteed root vegetables. Avvio is part of Newport Restaurant Group.
And proprietor, head baker and culinary judge Jennifer Luxmoore of Sin Desserts in Providence will feature a dessert created by the Davies team: a whipped white chocolate ganache with grapefruit curd.
Nearly 600 Rhode Island students are enrolled in ProStart, a two-year hospitality career-building program designed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. About another 100 Rhode Island students are enrolled in the Hospitality & Tourism Management program, the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute’s two-year, turnkey high school curriculum. As a past judge in this event, I find it impressive, encouraging and inspirational to see the level of enthusiasm and expertise from these students year after year.
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury” is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on WWRI 105.5 FM and 1450 AM. The show is also broadcast on radio stations in Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
