(Chicago, Ill.)  National Restaurant Association Solutions announced today that 37 states will be sending ProStart high school students to compete at the seventh annual National ProStart Invitational from April 24-26th, 2008 at the Town and Country Resort & Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.  At this fast-paced competition, teams of students that won first place in their state culinary and/or management competitions compete for the national title, as well as scholarships to continue their education at colleges and universities across the country.  In 2007, $1.3 million in scholarships were awarded to winning students.

“This event is the culmination of many months of hard work and dedication for these students, who represent the top tier of ProStart students nationwide.  At the competition, they have the opportunity to network with leaders of our industry and demonstrate their mastery of the culinary and management skills needed to build a successful career in the industry,” said Bill Nolan, director of ProStart, National Restaurant Association Solutions.  “These outstanding students are competing not only for scholarships and awards, but for the admiration of their future colleagues.”

The National ProStart Invitational consists of two competitions: culinary and management.  Teams participating in the culinary competition will demonstrate their creative abilities through the preparation of a meal consisting of a starter, entrée and dessert in 60 minutes.  The management competition will highlight a team’s knowledge of the restaurant and foodservice industry by competing in a case study, where students are tested on their communication skills and ability to apply their industry knowledge to practical situations, as well as a question-and-answer “game show”-style event.  The National ProStart Invitational is also a learning opportunity for the students, as they meet with the judges for valuable feedback on the culinary and case study events.

More than 4,200 students across the globe will compete at the state level to earn the chance to advance to the national competition, with only 300 students moving on to the National ProStart Invitational.  This year, three states are participating in the National ProStart Invitational for the first time – Montana, New Jersey and South Dakota.  The complete roster of states and territories sending teams of students to participate in the culinary and/or management competitions includes: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Washington D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

The Coca-Cola Company is the premier sponsor of the National ProStart Invitational, awarding scholarships to pursue a college education to the first through fifth place teams in both the culinary and management competitions.  The top three winning teams from each competition will also be awarded medals.  Additional sponsors include Coach’s Low Country Brands, Culinary Arts Academy, Darden Restaurants, QSR Magazine, The Art Institutes, The Culinary Institute of America, Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America, Chef Works, Golden Corral, The J.M. Smucker Company, Mercer Cutlery, Professional Culinary Institute, The Walt Disney Company and Whole Foods.

The ProStart program encompasses approximately 60,000 students and 1,600 teachers in 47 states, territories and districts.  The career-building program was developed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and is managed nationally by National Restaurant Association Solutions in conjunction with state restaurant associations.  This partnership brings restaurant and foodservice operators, educators, and government officials together to coordinate the program in each state.  The restaurant and foodservice industry is one of the largest employers in the U.S. with 13.1 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.

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.  When students pass two national exams, 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.  For more information on the ProStart program and National ProStart Invitational, please visit http://www.weareprostart.org/.

About the Yum-o! Organization
Yum-o! is Rachael Ray’s nonprofit organization that empowers kids and their families to develop healthy relationships with food and cooking. By providing the tools to create easy, affordable and delicious meals, Yum-o! is changing the way America eats.      Yum-o!’s three work areas include educating kids and their families about cooking, feeding hungry American kids and funding cooking education and scholarships. For more information about the Yum-o! organization, please visit http://www.yum-o.org/.
 
About Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray is the author of more than a dozen cookbooks, including Just in Time and Rachael Ray 2-4-6-8: Cooking for Couples or Crowds, and host of the wildly popular “30 Minute Meals” and “Tasty Travels” shows on the Food Network. She is also the Editor-In-Chief of her own food and lifestyle magazine, Every Day With Rachael Ray. Additionally, Ray has a line of knives, cookware and bedding. In September 2006, “Rachael Ray,” a nationally syndicated daytime show produced by CBS Television Distribution and Harpo Productions, launched as the highest rated syndicated show launch since 2002.