Crook County students win state ProStart culinary championship; team headed to nationals

The Crook County School Board recognized the district's culinary arts team for winning the state ProStart championship and heard students describe the competition-winning menu.

During opening remarks, Chair (board chair) invited the winning students and their instructor to the dais for recognition. Superintendent (name not specified) and staff told the board the team won the state title in Salem, which qualifies them to represent Oregon at the national ProStart championships in Baltimore in May.

Why it matters: ProStart is a hospitality-industry curriculum supported by the National Restaurant Association; winning the state competition qualifies the students for the national event and highlights the district's Career and Technical Education (CTE) program.

What the students did

Students described the one-hour timed competition: they were inspected for uniforms and food labeling, then prepared three dishes that were judged for sanitation, communication, and culinary quality. Team members described their dishes:

- Bridal (student, Crook County culinary team) said she made the appetizer: an ancho-chile-rubbed white shrimp with roasted sweet corn, caramelized carrots, an avocado garnish, pink-fried tortillas, queso fresco and a spicy chipotle-mango sauce.

- Carter (student) described the entrée as rolled sockeye salmon with a ground-coriander crust, purple potato salad with creme fraiche, wilted spinach and an orange-butter sauce.

- Era (student) said she prepared a pistachio-chocolate-crusted cheesecake with mango coulis and lime curd for dessert.

- Wyatt (student) described his role producing accompaniments: tempered white chocolate accents, toasted coconut, honeycomb under the cheesecake, bacon for the wilted spinach and purple tortilla chips for the appetizer.

Next steps and funding

Board members asked how the trip to Baltimore will be funded. Staff and the superintendent said the district will support fundraising efforts and work with families to raise travel funds; the students will also participate in fundraising. One board member suggested the district consider fronting costs with an agreement that would be reconciled if the team brought home a national title; staff said they will work on logistics and fundraising plans.

Board recognition

The board gave the students a round of applause and invited parents to be photographed with the team. The superintendent noted this was the team's second state title in three years and praised the students' commitment to CTE and future careers in the hospitality industry.

Ending

The board celebrated the team and asked staff to provide updates on fundraising and travel logistics ahead of the national ProStart competition in May.