East Providence Career & Technical Students Win Competition

EAST PROVIDENCE, RI - From Rhode Island Hospitality Association: The RI Hospitality Education Foundation (RIHEF), in collaboration with ProStart®, recently hosted the 7th Annual Rhode Island ProStart® High School Culinary & Management Competition. Nearly 300 Rhode Island students are enrolled in ProStart®, a two-year hospitality career-building program designed by the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.

A culinary team from William M. Davies, Jr. Career & Technical High School from Lincoln, RI, won the Culinary Arts portion of the competition and a management team from East Providence Career & Technical Center in East Providence, RI, won the Food Service Management portion of the competition. The winning students will now represent Rhode Island at the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation’s ProStart® Invitational competition in Providence, RI, April 27-29, 2018.

More than 40 area hospitality professionals judged participating student teams who competed in two areas: the Culinary Arts Competition, which included challenges in food safety and sanitation, knife skills, a three-course meal cook-off using only two burners, teamwork/cooperation, professionalism/appearance, and plate presentation and the Food Service Management Competition, featuring the presentation of a restaurant concept and business plan including design boards, floor plans, marketing plans and menu design. As part of the competition awards, six different colleges and universities have pledged nearly $1 million in available scholarship money.

“I am so proud of all the dedicated students who have devoted themselves to months of practice and preparation for this event,” said Dale J. Venturini, President & CEO of the RI Hospitality Association and the RI Hospitality Education Foundation. “It’s because of talented students like these that Rhode Island is nationally recognized for its outstanding culinary scene. I look forward to watching our teams compete against hundreds of other students in the national competition in our own backyard!”

About the RI Hospitality Education Foundation
The RI Hospitality Education Foundation's mission is to develop, support, and promote career growth
opportunities within the hospitality industry to benefit students, organizations, and the economy. We
achieve this mission through our work with youth, unemployed adults, and incumbent employees. Our
focus is on career awareness providing work-readiness training, and offering occupational skills training.

About the RI Hospitality Association
With more than 750 foodservice and hospitality members in Rhode Island, the RI Hospitality Association
(RIHA) has been the voice of the hospitality industry in the state since 1982. For more information on
the RIHA, please call (401) 223-1120, or write to: RI Hospitality Association, 94 Sabra Street, Cranston,
RI, 02910, or visit www.rihospitality.org.

Photo courtesy of RI Hospitality Association