The ProStart® program is a two-year curriculum designed to teach high school students the culinary and management skills needed for a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry. Students also have the opportunity to participate in paid internships where industry managers mentor them. The Hospitality Industry Education Foundation, which administers the ProStart Program in New Mexico, is supported in part by the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation through its ProStart Initiative. Each spring, New Mexico ProStart students compete to earn a chance to advance to the National ProStart Student Invitational and to win scholarships. For more information on the ProStart Program in New Mexico, or to support ProStart by sponsoring an aspect of the competition contact Tom Schuch at 505-343-9848 or education@nmrestaurants.org.
Requirements to be a ProStart School:
Attend teacher training (late fall semester)
Use Foundations of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts
Submit info to Westat Data Collection (Deadline is Fall semester)
Curriculum of FRMCA:
The ProStart program requires the Foundations of Restaurant Management and Culinary Arts curriculum. This curriculum is a set of two books and workbooks: level 1 and level 2.
The first year book begins with a history lesson and overview of the foodservice industry. “Keeping Food Safe,” “Stocks, Sauces, and Soups,” and “Management Essentials” are some of the chapters covered in the first year book.
Level two begins with nutrition and more information on controlling food costs. Level one tackles basics in the restaurant industry while level two goes more in-depth of how to manage a restaurant.
See if it’s a good fit for your school! Contact us to request a copy of the Foundations books for your review!
Benefits of Being a ProStart School:
HIEF Annual Teacher Training
HIEF Annual Bootcamp
Certificate of Achievement for ProStart Students
Scholarships HIEF and ProStart
Use of NMRA Classroom
Updates on Foundation books used for ProStart
NM ProStart student Culinary and Management Competitions, First place teams move to Nationals
National program recognition and support from NRA and NMRA
Educator Excellence award
Updates and information regarding Summer Institutes.
Discounts on NMRA Education classes
ProStart Schools in New Mexico:
Alamogordo High Atrisco Heritage Academy Belen High Carlsbad High School Centennial High Chaparral High Cibola High Cloudcroft High Clovis High Cuba High Deming High Eldorado High Gadsden High School Gallup High Grants High Kirtland Central High Laguna Acoma High Las Cruces High
Los Alamos High Lovington High School Mayfield High Miyamura High Rio Grande High School Rio Grande Preparatory Institute Rio Rancho High Roswell High Ruidoso High Sandia High Santa Fe High Santa Fe Indian High Santa Teresa High Silver City High Taos High Valley High West Mesa High
Ways to get involved in ProStart:
Offer tours of your business.
Be a guest speaker in the ProStart high schools.
Hire a ProStart student to work at your restaurant.
Provide a ProStart student scholarship in your company’s name.
Chef Demo or Management presentation for a ProStart school classroom
Mentor a ProStart Culinary or Management competition team
Please take a moment to view these videos as well to see the amazing things ProStart is doing for the future generation of the hospitality industry.
• Feeding Dreams: Learn how ProStart brings industry and the classroom together to give students a platform to discover new interests and talents and open doors for fulfilling careers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QaMSjDEVUbU
• Building Futures: America’s restaurants are an industry of opportunity – learn how ProStart is building a pipeline of talent to help fill the 1.3 million jobs the industry will add over the next decade. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxvmLlPhwKQ
