| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: | Victoria Martinez, Executive Dir. | |
| 3/22/13 | 505-343-9848 | ||
| education@nmrestaurants.org |
18 New Mexico High School Teams Compete for $552,000 in Culinary and Restaurant Management Scholarships
(Albuquerque, NM) Come watch teen chefs unveil their restaurant concepts and create tantalizing dishes at the New Mexico ProStart Invitational at the Albuquerque Convention Center in the Northeast Exhibit Hall on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The event’s headline sponsor is Ben E. Keith Foods. Eighteen New Mexico high school culinary and management teams will vie for scholarships and the opportunity to represent the state at the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland.
The ProStart Invitational consists of two competitions: culinary and management. Teams participating in the culinary competition must demonstrate their creative abilities through the preparation of a three-course gourmet meal in only 60 minutes. Teams participating in the management competition demonstrate their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by developing a restaurant concept proposal, delivering a verbal presentation, and applying critical thinking skills to challenges restaurant managers face in day-to-day operations.
Their performance is observed and rated by judges from leading colleges, universities and industry professionals.
The culinary competition fires up at 9:00am. Restaurant concepts from the management competition will be presented beginning at 10:30am. Optimal video and photo opportunities are available from 9:00-11:00am for the cook-off and 10:30-2:00pm for the restaurant concept presentations. Awards for the competition will be presented at 3:00 PM.
Competing schools include: Alamogordo High, Cloudcroft High, Clovis High, Gadsden High, Las Cruces High, Pojoaque Valley High, Rio Rancho High, Sandia High, Silver High, Taos High, and Valley High.
New Mexico ProStart students from Pojoaque High were honored to serve guests at the NM Governor’s Residence recently for a reception honoring New Mexico True, New Mexico Department of Tourism’s marketing campaign. Hosted by the New Mexico Tourism Coalition, the event was attended by prominent members of the hospitality community in New Mexico as well as many state legislators and political leaders. It was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the ProStart Program in New Mexico and to stress the importance of additional funding for education in the hospitality industry. The Pojoaque High students that served will be competing in the Invitational.
Students from Pojoaque and Santa Fe High ProStart Programs served at the Governor’s Residence in January for the New Mexico True Reception.
l-r: Molly Lithgow, ProStart Educator Santa Fe High; Aide Veleta, Santa Fe High; Gabriel Sigala, Pojoaque High; Governor Susana Martinez; Jessica Segovia, Pojoaque High; Edith Astorga-Juarez, Santa Fe High.
The New Mexico ProStart Invitational is hosted by the Hospitality Industry Education Foundation of the New Mexico Restaurant Association and Ben E. Keith Foods. $552,000 in scholarships for winning teams in the national competition provided by: The International Culinary Schools at The Art Institutes, Johnson and Wales University, Louisiana Culinary Institute, and New England Culinary Institute.
The Hospitality Industry Education Foundation (HIEF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling the educational mission of the New Mexico Restaurant Association. In addition to administering the ProStart Program, HIEF awards scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the hospitality industry. To learn more about HIEF programs call 1-800-432-0740 .
The Hospitality Industry Education Foundation (HIEF) is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to fulfilling the educational mission of the New Mexico Restaurant Association. In addition to administering the ProStart Program, HIEF awards scholarships to students pursuing a degree in the hospitality industry. To learn more about HIEF programs call 1-800-432-0740.
