In the management competition, teams developed an original restaurant concept to present to industry judges and applied critical-thinking skills to address challenges restaurant managers face in day-to-day operations. The Rockwall team’s concept was The Grate American Grilled Cheese Factory, a quick-casual restaurant serving fresh, gourmet-quality grilled-cheese sandwiches with the slogan, Two GRATE Loves: Our Food & You!
“This national title and our back-to-back state champion titles are a true representation of dedication and hard work by my students,” said Cody Hayes, Culinary Arts chef-instructor at Rockwall High School. “They realize what a great opportunity they have to win scholarships through this wonderful program and are constantly motivated by that. My students will now be able to attend college because of this. Representing the great state of Texas at the National ProStart Invitational was a true honor, and we are all blessed to be a part of such a fantastic program supported by the Texas Restaurant Association and National Restaurant Association.”
The Byron Nelson High School culinary team also did an outstanding job, placing seventh in the culinary competition in which they had 60 minutes to prepare a three-course menu and were judged on knife skills, chicken fabrication and safety and sanitation. Their menu featured a seared diver scallop topped with a quail egg, Japanese-inspired crab salad, organic carrot-mango reduction, mosaic of avocado; dried-fruit-stuffed pork tenderloin, butternut-squash Israeli couscous, brown-butter Brussels sprouts, pork glacé and butternut-squash crisps; and a coconut-macadamia cake, pineapple vanilla compote, white-chocolate crème Anglaise and brûlée banana.
“It is inspiring to watch these talented students compete with the passion that we saw at this year’s Texas and National ProStart Invitational events,” said Richie Jackson, CEO, Texas Restaurant Association. “We know they will take the experience gained to propel their dreams and achieve rewarding careers in the restaurant industry.”