High School Culinary Teams Take Top Honors at Statewide Competition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 20, 2006

Sacramento, Calif. – March 8 and 9, students from La Quinta High School claimed victory at the sixth annual California ProStart® Culinary Competition, organized by the California Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (CRAEF) and the Kitchen Academy in Sacramento. The event, which is separated into two categories of competition, pitted 11 schools from across the state in a battle of skill and knowledge. Teams were awarded points on specific criteria including proper cooking procedures, safety and sanitation, presentation, product taste and teamwork.

The first-place winners in the culinary competition were Jennifer Aposhian, Francisco Calderon, Daira Gomez and Paulina Ferro from La Quinta High School in La Quinta. Second-place went to the Pacifica High School team members from Oxnard, Fiona Byrne, Zachary Chenoweth, Bianca Montesinos, Isaac Morales and alternate member Ian Santillano. Third-place winners were Mikayla Carpenter, Jennifer Crouchley, Zavien Fisher and Matt Rocha from San Juan High School in Sacramento.

“These students showed tremendous skill and expertise under pressure and should be proud of this great accomplishment,” said Wendy Armour, School-to-Career Manager for CRAEF. “The ProStart® curriculum, along with the support of family, teachers and mentors, is helping produce the next generation of restaurant and foodservice professionals.”

The La Quinta team will now represent California at the National ProStart® Student Invitational culinary competition, a rigorous battle among students who placed first in their respective states’ culinary competitions. State teams will showcase their skills through the preparation of a meal consisting of a salad, protein (such as meat, fish or fowl), a starch, a vegetable and a cold or flambé dessert. The competition is expected to intensify as judges from leading post-secondary colleges and universities across the country will rate the various contestants.

The national event is scheduled to take place in San Diego from Thursday, April 24 to Saturday, April 26, and will feature student teams from across the country.

To learn more about the culinary competition and the ProStart® program in California, please visit www.calrest.org or call 800.765.4842.