NACTC Students Take Silver in ProStart Cooking Competition

Move over, Michael Symon. 

The students of the culinary arts team at the Newport Area Career and Technical Center impressed the judges at the fourth-annual Rhode Island ProStart cooking competition last week, taking home a second-place win and $27,000 each in college scholarship money.

The students were ready for prime time when they cooked up a three-course menu in under 60 minutes using just two butane burners. Those were the conditions of the culinary portion of the competition. A management competition required them to design a restaurant concept, prepare a business plan, create a menu, marketing plan, organization chart and location design.

“They really were cool under intense pressure and very professional,” said NACTC Chef Steve Kable.”We are all so proud. The judges were very impressed with NACTC students and gave them a lot of positive feedback.”

The contest was held at the Rhode Island Convention Center in Providence and the NACTC team was bested by Davies Career and Technical School by the thinnest of slices — just seven tenths of a point.

For an appetizer, the students cooked up an ahi bluefin tuna dish. The main course was seared scallops brochette and for dessert, the judges savored coconut pana cotta.

Is your mouth watering yet?

Judges considered taste in addition to plating and technique. They looked at their classic French vegetable cuts, how they deboned two chickens into six pieces and the finer points of their menu’s cohesiveness and structure. And how the team worked together played an important part, too.

ProStart is a two-year high school program that prepares students for careers in culinary arts and foodservice management. About 95,000 students are enrolled in ProStart schools across the country and about 300 are enrolled here in Rhode island.

Last year, Rhode Island students competed for more than $330,000 in scholarship money.

Photo Captions:

Picture 1: Tyler Carter, NACTC student from North Kingstown represents NACTC at the podium
Picture 2: Klaudia McCoy Olivera, of Newport dicing fruit for the desert Christina Kennedey
Picture 3: Klaudia McCoy Olivera (Newport) and Christina Kennedey (North Kingstown) working as a team
Picture 4: (Appetizer submission) Sesame Encrusted Tuna Wonton