CENTRAL HIGH CULINARY ARTS STUDENTS ‘WHIP’ THE
COMPETITION AT STATE-WIDE EVENT

Students from Central High’s Culinary Arts program – also known as ProStart – chopped, stirred and sautéed their way to a first place finish at the ProStart State Invitational event in Des Moines earlier this week. The event is sponsored by the Iowa Hospitality Association and Martin Brothers. The team now advances to the National ProStart Invitational in Orlando, Florida at the end of April.

In the culinary competition, teams had to demonstrate their creative abilities through the preparation of a multi-course meal. They also had to demonstrate their acumen of the restaurant and foodservice industry in a case study and by correctly answering questions in the “Quiz Bowl” competition. The students have been working since the beginning of the year on their skills. The Pro-Start program is a two-year curriculum.

Central has the advantage of working with a local professionally trained chef on an ongoing basis throughout the year. The chef helps them with menu selection, food preparation and presentation techniques – but students are on their own at the competition. More than 40,000 students nation-wide are enrolled in the Pro-Start program. Central Pro-Start students have sponsored lots of fundraisers throughout the year to raise money for the trip to Florida . . . bake sales, of course!

Media is invited to come into the kitchen as students begin working on their preparations for the national competition. It’s good experience for the students to work while under close scrutiny and to be ready with answers to questions. The benefit to media is that the food is GREAT! For more information, or to arrange a time to visit the Culinary Arts kitchen, please call Jill Akers, faculty advisor, at Central, 323-9900.