Chicago, IL - The National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation (NRAEF) announced today the winners of the sixth annual National ProStart Student Invitational, held April 20- 22, 2007 at The Westin in Charlotte, NC.  Among the field of more than 270 student competitors from 34 states, territories and districts, the teams from Colorado and Oregon won top honors in the culinary and management competitions, respectively.  The winning students took home medals, prizes and scholarships, including scholarships from the NRAEF and The Coca-Cola Company, the premier sponsor of the event.

"It was exciting to witness the talent, dedication and passion the students displayed during this intense three-day competition," said Mary M. Adolf, president and chief operating officer of the NRAEF.  "All competing students should be proud of their performance and the leadership they displayed during the competition.  These future leaders of our industry put in a lot of hours and hard work to prepare for the competition and proved to everyone in attendance that our industry will be well-served by them as they advance in their education and careers." 

More than 700 people were on hand to witness these future stars of the industry in action, including competitors, teachers, mentors, state ProStart coordinators, judges, sponsors, industry representatives and friends and family.  The National ProStart Student Invitational showcased the culinary and management talents of ProStart students from 34 states, territories and districts as they competed in two contests: the culinary and management competitions.  To qualify for the national competition, teams won first place in their state competitions held this year by their individual state restaurant associations.

The first place culinary competition team from Battle Mountain High School in Colorado prepared a winning menu featuring a wild mushroom, fennel and pancetta salad, followed by sautéed Colorado striped bass and ending with a rustic buttermilk pancake with caramelized apple.  Newport Harbor High School of California earned second place honors, and Lorain County JVS of Ohio came in third place.  Fourth place honors were awarded to Fruitport High School of Michigan and Howard County Research and Applications Laboratory of Maryland took home fifth place.  In the culinary competition, teams prepared a starter, entrée and dessert within 60 minutes and were judged on categories including taste, presentation, safety, sanitation and teamwork.
 
In the equally exciting management competition, Bend High School in Oregon took top honors above second place Moapa Valley High School of Nevada.  The team from Eastside High School in Florida won third place.  Fourth and fifth places were awarded to the Southern Adirondack Education Center of New York and La Quinta High School in California, respectively.  To conquer this event, teams demonstrated their knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by competing in a case study – where competitors were tested on their communication skills and ability to apply their knowledge of the industry to practical situations – and in a question-and-answer “game show”-style event. 

At the Awards Ceremony on Sunday evening, $1.3 million in scholarships were awarded to the top teams in the culinary and management competitions.  The NRAEF and The Coca-Cola Company distributed $110,000 in scholarships to the first through fifth place winning students and awards to their high schools’ ProStart programs.  In addition, winning students were offered scholarships from The Art Institutes, Conrad N. Hilton College, Culinary Arts Academy, The Culinary Institute of America, Johnson & Wales University, Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America, New England Culinary Institute, Orlando Culinary Academy, Paul Smith’s College and Professional Culinary Institute.

The Coca-Cola Company is the premier sponsor of the National ProStart Student Invitational.  Additional sponsors include Coach's Low Country Brands, Johnson & Wales University, Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America, Culinary Arts Academy, Darden Restaurants, The Art Institutes, Golden Corral, Harris Teeter, J.M. Smucker's, Mercer Tool Corporation, Professional Culinary Institutes, and Walt Disney World.

The ProStart program is a two-year curriculum designed to teach high school students the management skills needed for a career in the restaurant and foodservice industry.  ProStart currently serves more than 54,000 students in 47 states, territories and districts. The restaurant and foodservice industry is one of the largest employers in the U.S. with 12.8 million employees, and an additional 2 million positions will be added over the next decade.  To help meet that challenge, ProStart is building a pipeline of qualified individuals ready to take leadership roles within the industry.  For more information on the ProStart program and National ProStart Student Invitational, please visit http://www.weareprostart.org/.

	2007 National ProStart Student Invitational Culinary Champions Battle Mountain High School – Colorado Ian King Colby Lefebvre Cam Lewis Ryan Walker Teacher – Sharon Wible
	2007 National ProStart Student Invitational Culinary Champions Bend High School – Oregon Jordan Good Kimber Mattox Valerie Sutton Taelor Trueblood Teacher – Louise Markland