Three Pulaski County High School Culinary Arts students traveled to James Madison University last week to compete in the Virginia ProStart Invitational. The end result was a third-place finish that earned scholarship money to attend Culinary School for post-secondary education.
The competition was sponsored by the Virginia Restaurant Lodging and Travel Association Educational Foundation and the National Restaurant Association.
ProStart is the career building program for high school students who are interested in Culinary Arts and restaurant and foodservice management. Throughout a two-year period, they study in the classroom, participate in mentored work experiences, and test their skills in local and national competitions.
The PCHS students, seniors Alex Sealander, Alexis Vogel, and Isabella Altis, were given one hours to prepare a meal consisting of an appetizer, an entrée with two sides, and a dessert. The teams each create their own menus, and they also price it out for a menu using food costs and menu percentages.
For the Pulaski County students, the menu included a tomato salad appetizer using constellation tomatoes. The entrée was a ribeye steak with garlic green beans and rosemary roasted potatoes. For dessert, the students served strawberry crepes.
During preparation of the meal, very strict rules are applied. National Restaurant Association standards are kept during all phases. The only heat source provided in this competition was two butane burners. No electrical appliances were allowed. Each team is rated on creativity, presentation, skills, food safety and sanitation, costing accuracy, and finally teamwork skills.
The Cougars not only finished third, but also earned high honors on food safety and sanitation.
The judges for the event are all professional chefs who critique both the good and bad.
“They tell it like it is,” Pulaski County Culinary Arts Teacher Laura Norris said. “It’s very real world. They want you to think on your feet. Most of the teams made dishes that were common in their part of Virginia. Some of the other teams are taught or coached by retired professional chefs. The judges are very demanding and strict. You can get a penalty for starting too soon, ending too late, or any number of other things. I’m very proud of our students.”
Mrs. Norris was also pleased to thank some of the people that helped make the experience a great one for the students.
“Kegley Farms in Dublin donated the beef we used,” she said. “We have a strong connection with them and they are very supportive of our program. We also enjoyed a great dinner at O’Neils’ Grill in Harrisonburg, which is operated by Andy Anderson the brother of our Criminal Justice Program Advisor, Jenny Anderson. They really treated our students like rockstars and then topped it off by comping the meal for them. It was just a great experience for our students.”
Isabella Altis has been a student of the Culinary Arts program since her freshman year. She has worked as an intern for the School Nutrition Program for the past two years, including during the summer, has a restaurant job at Thai This in Radford, and also works at Hodge Podge Cookies. Her plans are to attend Virginia Western Community College to continue in the Culinary Arts Program there.
Alexis Vogel works at Food City in Pulaski and started in the PCHS Culinary Arts Program after moving to Pulaski County two years ago from Tazewell. She also plans to attend Virginia Western Community College to continue in the Culinary Arts Program. She is a member of the Lady Cougar Soccer team also.
Alex Sealander worked the competition with a slight disadvantage, as he had a hand wrapped thanks to an injury. He hurt his hand while playing goalkeeper for the Cougar Soccer team. He has been in the Culinary Arts Program since his freshman year. He plans to study a different subject in college, likely something involving forestry.
The National Competition will be held in Washington, D.C., May 6-8. This event hasn’t taken place recently due to COVID-19. Te last time this event was held in 2019, teams from Texas, Missouri, South Carolina, New Jersey, and Florida took the top five spots.
There are 130 schools with Culinary Arts Programs in the Commonwealth of Virginia.