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Jan-18-2008 09:35printcomments

2008 State High School Culinary Championships Scheduled For Feb 23rd

Stakes are high; the first-place winning teams will be flown, all expenses paid, to San Diego to represent Oregon at the National ProStart Student Invitational in April.


Salem-News.com

(PORTLAND, Ore.) - On Saturday, February 23rd 2008, several hundred high school student chefs will converge in the Oregon Convention Center in Portland to compete in the state high school culinary championships.

Thousands of people will be on hand to watch as teams from 33 state high schools from all across Oregon pour their heart and soul into creating culinary delights that will "wow" judges, and impress industry leaders with their know-how in management concepts.

In a splashy show of culinary technique and prowess, these students, in their chef coats and with their pans a-sautéing, will delight audiences with a spectacular show. Many previous attendees have come away from the event completely mesmerized at the high level of skill these ProStart students have exhibited under the extreme pressure of these state championships.

Presented by Boyd Coffee Company and Western Culinary Institute, this competition is a shining example of how business and education can partner together successfully and help work towards training the future hospitality industry workforce.

This year, 40 industry leaders and many Oregon celebrities, including KOIN's "Fresh Ideas with Leigh Ann" host Leigh Ann Hieronymus. The panels will be providing feedback on the teams, who have spent the better part of the 2007 school year preparing for this event.

The stakes are high; the first-place winning teams of the Boyds Coffee Culinary Cup and Western Culinary Institute Management Challenge will be flown, all expenses paid, to San Diego, CA to represent Oregon at the National ProStart Student Invitational April 24th-26th, 2008.

Oregon has a lot to crow about. At the national contest, two national titles and a third place finish belong to the Beaver state. In 2002, Taft High School in Lincoln City captured first place in the national culinary competition, and in 2005, Bend High School shocked the competition by blasting into a first place win in the management competition. Not to be outdone, they roared back in 2006 and 2007 to win both the Oregon state championships, and brought home another top finish, placing first in Management at nationals.

Both events are grueling contests, with culinary competitors having to create a complete meal from scratch in one hour, without the ability of using pre-prepared ingredients or battery/operated equipment. The true challenge is creating the starter, entrée and dessert only using two butane stoves.

The watchful judges will be critiquing their every move, and students will need to produce two identical meals so the tasting judges can review one set and the other set goes out for display to the public.

Management students run through a battery of tests of their culinary management knowledge, from a written test, case study presentation and finally, for the lucky eight teams, a chance at competing in the Knowledge Quiz Bowl.

Visit us on the web: oregonprostart.org for updated schedules, registration information and to see which industry members are showing that they support ProStart and the development of the future workforce.

Source: Press release from




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