Students from Fruitport, Scottville and Coldwater victorious atMichigan ProStart® Student Invitational in Lansing

National Competition in San Diego Is Next Stop for State Champs

LANSING – A team of culinary students from Fruitport High School, a team of hospitality management students from the Mason Lake Intermediate School District in Scottville, and a team of hospitality marketing students from the Branch Area Careers Center in Coldwater each took first place in their respective competitions at the Michigan ProStart® Student Invitational, presented by the Michigan Restaurant Association (MRA) Educational Support Foundation at the Sheraton Hotel in Lansing. The culinary and management competitions were contests featuring 18 teams in culinary and management competition while the marketing competition was a first-of-its kind event in the country featuring two teams.

The Michigan ProStart® Student Invitational is an annual competition that features teams of students from across Michigan testing their skills in culinary creation and situation management. The 2008 Michigan ProStart® Student Invitational took place on March 9 and 10.

The Fruitport culinary team demonstrated their creative abilities through the preparation of an entire meal, including appetizer, entrée and dessert. Their performance during the practical section was observed and rated by judges from the industry as well as leading post-secondary colleges and universities.

The Branch Area marketing team won their competition which consisted of the teams submitting a marketing plan for the judges’ review prior to the event.  In addition, each team was presented with a business scenario at the competition and given four hours to draft a new marketing plan specific to the scenario.

Following their first place finish in the Michigan ProStart® Student Invitational, the culinary team from Fruitport and the management team from Mason Lake will now head to San Diego, CA to compete against other teams across the country at the National ProStart® Student Invitational taking place April 24-26, 2008. The winning Michigan teams will compete for the national title, as well as scholarships. In 2007, $1.3 million in scholarships were awarded to winning students. As the marketing competition only took place in Michigan, there will not be a national competition.

As the winning teams, each member received college scholarships from some of the top culinary schools and programs in the country – including the Culinary Institute of America, Ferris State University, Johnson and Wales University, Kendall College and the Orlando Culinary Academy – as well as the MRA Educational Support Foundation and the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation. The winners also received other prizes.

Taking second place in the culinary competition was the Branch Area Career Center. The team from Howell High School took third. In the management competition, the team from the Calhoun Area Career Center in Battle Creek took second while the team from the Lenawee VOTECH Center, Adrian took third. In the marketing competition, the Mason Lake team took second place.

The culinary competition was sponsored by SYSCO, the management competition was sponsored by Gordon Food Service, and the marketing competition was possible thanks to a grant from the Coca Cola Foundation.