The 2012 South Dakota ProStart Competition is slated for Tuesday, March 20 at Mitchell Technical Institute. The winning teams will advance to the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore in April of 2012.
2011 South Dakota ProStart Competition:
Congratulations to the culinary and management teams from Sioux Falls CTE Academy, who won the 2011 South Dakota ProStart Competition, held March 22 at Mitchell Technical Institute. The two teams went on to compete in the National ProStart Invitational in Overland Park, KS in early May. The teams are instructed by Lisa Wilber. (Click here for information on all the award winners from the 2011 South Dakota ProStart Competition).
You can help sponsor this great program, which gives high school students a head start in becoming future business leaders. Click here for details on sponsorship, or contact SDRA at 1-800-658-5545 and ask for Seanna.
SDRA thanks the 2012 sponsors of ProStart South Dakota:
South Dakota Chapter of the American Culinary Federation
Institutions Services, Inc.
Sysco
Wrangler Inn & Windjammer Lounge, Mobridge
Food Services of America
Dr. Lee Frantz, South Dakota ProStart Committee
Casa del Rey, Sioux Falls, SD
Target
Mitchell Technical Institute
Chef Randy Doescher of Mitchell
Chef Don Smith of Casa del Rey in Sioux Falls
Chef Clark Braun & Alpine Inn of Hill City
In South Dakota and around the nation, high school students are receiving an excellent foundation for careers in the foodservice industry through the ProStart® program.
ProStart® - administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) - is a two-year high school management curriculum focused on restaurant and foodservice courses. The program blends classroom learning and mentored work experience. Nationwide, 60,000 high school students at more than 1,600 schools in 47 states and territories are enrolled in the program. In 2007, the South Dakota Retailers Association agreed to establish and coordinate the ProStart® program in South Dakota.
Through this school to work program, students learn an amazing array of information that is essential to operating a good business, and they develop impressive skills. Even those students who ultimately don’t choose a career in the foodservice industry become better prepared to become leaders in the workplace.
The curriculum covers topics such as:
- Business math
- Career opportunities in foodservice
- Cost planning
- Controlling food costs and labor costs
- Customer service: what is it, why is it important
- Diversity in the workplace
- Focusing on the menu
- Food safety
- Inventory control
- Job interviews
- Nutrition
- Training and evaluation of employees
- Weights and measures
- Working with people
- Workplace safety
In addition to classroom learning and job experience, another key element of ProStart® is competition: through state and national competitions, students put their culinary abilities and management knowledge and skills to the test.
For more information on ProStart®, please select any of the following links.
South Dakota Public Radio feature on ProStart
If your school is interested in offering the ProStart® program and would like to learn more, call the South Dakota Retailers Association at 1-800-658-5545, or contact us via email.
Sponsorsorship opportunities are available for the South Dakota ProStart® Competition. If you would like to help sponsor this exciting event, call the South Dakota Retailers Association at 1-800-658-5545 and ask for Seanna, or contact us via email.