On Saturday, March 8, 2025, the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation will host the 25th annual Illinois ProStart® Invitational, a statewide high school competition where students are evaluated on their Culinary and management skills.
Sixteen different high schools with fourteen culinary teams and five restaurant management teams will compete in the upcoming competition. For many, this is the first time their school will compete! The culinary teams will prepare a three-course meal that will be judged on taste, creativity, safety, and sanitation. Four restaurant management teams will be judged on presentations that include restaurant concept, menu, organizational charts, restaurant layout and design, and marketing and cost analysis. Additionally, nine teams will compete in a new cupcake decorating competition in collaboration with Molly’s Cupcakes.
Students from the following High Schools are competing: Benito Juarez Community Academy, Chicago Vocational Academy, Christian Fenger Academy, Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Ellen H. Richards Career Academy, Neal F. Simeon Career Academy, North-Grand, Oswego East, Oswego, Ray Graham Training Center, Rich Township, Rolling Meadows, Southside Occupational Academy, Technology Center of DuPage, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Woodruff Career and Technical Center.
The first, second, and third-place teams will win prizes, such as scholarships from culinary and hospitality schools, knife kits, cooking utensils, gift cards, and more. The first-place team will also advance to the National ProStart® Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 2nd-4th, 2025, where they have the opportunity to win scholarships from top culinary and restaurant management programs in the country.
Chef Candace Williams, a graduate of both Le Cordon Bleu Chicago and Dunbar High School, has been named 2025 Teacher of the Year. After a career as a chef and kitchen manager, she returned to her alma mater, Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, to educate the next generation of culinary professionals.
Presented by Sysco, the competition will take place at Sysco Chicago (250 Wieboldt Dr, Des Plaines, IL 60016).
On Saturday, March 8, 2025, the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation will host the 25th annual Illinois ProStart® Invitational, a statewide high school competition where students are evaluated on their Culinary and management skills.
Sixteen different high schools with fourteen culinary teams and five restaurant management teams will compete in the upcoming competition. For many, this is the first time their school will compete! The culinary teams will prepare a three-course meal that will be judged on taste, creativity, safety, and sanitation. Four restaurant management teams will be judged on presentations that include restaurant concept, menu, organizational charts, restaurant layout and design, and marketing and cost analysis. Additionally, nine teams will compete in a new cupcake decorating competition in collaboration with Molly’s Cupcakes.
Students from the following High Schools are competing: Benito Juarez Community Academy, Chicago Vocational Academy, Christian Fenger Academy, Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, Ellen H. Richards Career Academy, Neal F. Simeon Career Academy, North-Grand, Oswego East, Oswego, Ray Graham Training Center, Rich Township, Rolling Meadows, Southside Occupational Academy, Technology Center of DuPage, Theodore Roosevelt, and the Woodruff Career and Technical Center.
The first, second, and third-place teams will win prizes, such as scholarships from culinary and hospitality schools, knife kits, cooking utensils, gift cards, and more. The first-place team will also advance to the National ProStart® Invitational in Baltimore, Maryland, on May 2nd-4th, 2025, where they have the opportunity to win scholarships from top culinary and restaurant management programs in the country.
Chef Candace Williams, a graduate of both Le Cordon Bleu Chicago and Dunbar High School, has been named 2025 Teacher of the Year. After a career as a chef and kitchen manager, she returned to her alma mater, Dunbar Vocational Career Academy, to educate the next generation of culinary professionals.
Presented by Sysco, the competition will take place at Sysco Chicago (250 Wieboldt Dr, Des Plaines, IL 60016).
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