Fifteen schools and 77 high school students put their culinary and management skills to the test in the ProStart® Student Invitational at the Wisconsin Restaurant Expo on Tuesday, March 14, 2006.

This competition for students participating in a ProStart program at their high school consists of two components: a Management Competition and a Culinary Competition. The Management Competition includes a case study competition and the Knowledge Bowl. For the Culinary Competition, students will be judged by foodservice industry professionals and college educators on teamwork, presentation, cooking procedures and sanitation.

Badger High School in Lake Geneva won first place in the Culinary Competition. The students on the first place team were Corey Copen, Joe Aitken, Caitlin Crowley and Heather Pecha. The team’s instructor is Russ Tronsen.

Sheboygan North High School won second place in the Culinary Competition. The students on the second place team were Nathan Bohn, Jamie Eirich, Cory Topel and Hannah Willis. The team’s instructor is Karen Sullivan.

Waukesha South won third place in the Culinary Competition. The students on the third place team were Mike Farina, Vernard Reuter, Kaila Schram and Anna Widup. The team’s instructor is Linda Valiga.

Wauwatosa East High School won first place in the Management Competition. The students on the first place team were Steve Constantine, Maelyn Geisthardt and Dan Wesley. The team’s instructor is Barbara Bruesewitz.

Sheboygan South High School won second place in the Management Competition. The students on the second place team were Danielle Bradford, Tony Gierke, Erin Losievsky and Cassie Sargent. The team’s instructor is Betty Price.

Preble High School in Green Bay won third place in the Management Competition. The students on the third place team were Joel McKeefry, Joey Peters, Brittany Thompson and Alex Wallace. The team’s instructor is Laurie Spence.

This competition is a showcase of the young talent in Wisconsin’s growing foodservice industry. Over a half a million dollars in scholarships were awarded to competitors. The winning team in each of the two competitions will go on to compete in the National ProStart Student Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina on May 1st.

Last year’s winners of the Wisconsin ProStart Student Invitational were from Sheboygan North High School and went on to win first place in the National ProStart Student Invitational Culinary Competition. Nicole Rudie, a member of the 2005 winning national team, returned to the competition as a judge. Rudie is a student at Kendall College and is studying pastry arts.

The ProStart program, administered by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) and state restaurant associations, is a two-year curriculum designed to teach high school students the skills needed for a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry. Students also have the opportunity to participate in paid internships where industry managers mentor them. When students meet academic standards, complete a checklist of competencies, and participate in at least 400 hours of a mentored work experience, they are awarded the ProStart National Certificate of Achievement that signifies they are well qualified to enter the industry workforce.

This year’s Wisconsin Restaurant Expo also hosts three Wisconsin’s American Culinary Federation Culinary Challenge competitions for professional chefs and the College Culinary competition for college students.

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The Wisconsin Restaurant Expo is presented by the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and features hundreds of exhibits, unique competitions, celebrated industry speakers and a variety of business seminars. Visit www.wirestaurant.org/expo for additional information.