Date:
2/28/2012 12:00:00 AM
Title:
Missouri ProStart Competition gives students beef cooking confidence
Missouri
ProStart Competition gives students beef cooking confidence
Columbia,
MO - Visualize an Iron Chef competition happening in the middle of a large school
gymnasium with 31 high school culinary teams. In a nearby room, another
11 high school teams are involved in a restaurant industry management
competition.
That
was the Missouri State ProStart Competition, which took place at East Central
College in Union, Mo., on February 17 with approximately 130 high school
students from throughout the state.
The
annual competition, which is sponsored by the Missouri Restaurant Association
Educational Foundation and the Office of College and Career Readiness, Family
Consumer Sciences and Human Services, DESE, provides students the opportunity
to showcase their love for food and cooking and to develop restaurant management
skills.
As
a major sponsor, the Missouri Beef Industry Council provides these high school
culinary and management students, along with other students in Family and
Consumer Science (FACS) classes, the experience of cooking with lean beef.
Whitney
Wallace, Missouri Beef Industry Council director of consumer outreach, attended
this year’s culinary contest on behalf of the beef checkoff.
“We
sponsor the ProStart program because we want to encourage students to expand
their culinary skills,” Wallace said. “We’re thrilled to assist in teaching
these students the essentials of becoming top-notch chefs, as they learn how
versatile and delicious beef is as the center of their culinary creations.”
Wallace
said the students exhibited strong passion for what they’re learning in their
culinary arts and FACS classes. “These students are excited about food and
cooking, and it is rewarding to see how their involvement has provided them
with key life lessons in areas like team work, responsibility, time management,
and confidence,” she said.
At
the event, Wallace had many conversations about the importance of beef as part
of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle. Through these key connections with
young consumers and their instructors, the Missouri Beef Industry Council
builds relationships and leverages checkoff dollars to further the promotion of
beef resources in classrooms and the lives of future food industry
professionals.
Of
the 32 participating teams, 31 competed in the culinary contest where they were
responsible for preparing original recipes and creating attractive plated
presentations. Eleven teams competed in the management contest, which
focuses on creating restaurant plans, from the concept, menu items and pricing
all the way to restaurant layout, and other key logistical strategies for new restaurants.
Schools
are allowed to enter both the culinary and management divisions.
Judges
from the foodservice industry and leading colleges and universities selected
winning teams in the culinary and management contests. First-place teams in
each division, culinary and management, compete in the National ProStart
Competition, hosted by the National Restaurant Association. The national competition
will take place April 27-29, 2012, in Baltimore, Maryland.
Culinary Competition Results
First
Place
Herndon
Career Center in Raytown, Mo.
Instructor:
Jeff Qualls
Second
Place Team
South
Central Career Center in West Plains, Mo.
Instructor:
Bryan Hathcock
Third
Place Team
Staley
High School in Kansas City, Mo.
Instructor:
Sybil Schweighauser
Management Competition Results
First
Place Team
Warrenton
High School in Warrenton, Mo.
Instructor:
Lori Krug
Second
Place Team
Mark
Twain High School, in Center, Mo.
Instructor:
Linda Stinson
Third
Place Team
School
of the Osage High School in Osage Beach, Mo.
Instructor:
Parrie Bayles
###
The Beef Checkoff
Program was established as part of the 1985 Farm Bill. The checkoff assesses $1
per head on the sale of live domestic and imported cattle, in addition to a
comparable assessment on imported beef and beef products. States retain up to
50 cents on the dollar and forward the other 50 cents per head to the
Cattlemen's Beef Promotion and Research Board, which administers the national
checkoff program, subject to USDA approval.
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Photo 1:
Suggested caption - High school culinary teams showcase their culinary talents
at the Missouri ProStart Contest. MBIC is proud to sponsor this contest, as all
teams cook with beef!
Photo 2:
Suggested caption - This student chef from Glendale High School in Springfield
uses a meat thermometer to determine the internal temperature of the beef
tenderloin his team is preparing.