A Look Inside a ProStart® Program Clearwater High School - Piedmont, Mo By: Bob Bonney, CEO - Missouri Restaurant Association - Certified Public Accountant
Your MRA dues investment benefits the foodservice and hospitality industry in many ways. Did you know that as a member of MRA you are also a supporter of the ProStart® School-to-Career Program? ProStart is a national career-building program for high school students interested in culinary arts and foodservice management. Developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation, and administered in Missouri by MRA’s Educational Foundation, a 501(c) (3) organization established to support the educational objectives of MRA, and the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Division of Family Consumer Sciences and Human Services, ProStart is a two-year high school program where future industry leaders get their start. Through this program, we are training the restaurant and hospitality workforce of tomorrow. In February of each year, top ProStart students from across the Show-Me state demonstrate their mastery of restaurant leadership skills — culinary and management — in a fastpaced competition to win their share of scholarships and the Ready to serve at a culinary event. By catering meals for the community, ProStart teams raise funds to support their program. opportunity to represent Missouri at the National ProStart Invitational, typically held in April. In 2017, the Missouri ProStart Invitational will be held February 17 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Oasis Convention Center in Springfield. The national competition is scheduled for April 28 – 30 in Charleston, SC. The culinary competition showcases each team’s creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course meal in 60 minutes using two butane burners. Teams are evaluated by professional chefs on taste, skill, teamwork, and safety & sanitation. In the management competition, teams develop a proposal for America’s next promising restaurant concept and present it to a panel of industry judges. The project includes menu design and costing, a floor plan, a marketing strategy and more. In the critical thinking portion of the contest, teams are tested on their problem-solving skills as they are presented with issues faced by restaurant managers daily. To facilitate an even greater appreciation of ProStart, MRA takes you behind the scenes for a closer look at one of our Missouri ProStart programs. Clearwater High School is located in Piedmont (population 1977).
Preparing the presentation folders for the 2016 management competition. 12
morestaurants.org | JANUARY 2017