Local Teams Take Fourth At State Culinary Skills Competition

Two local teams took fourth place medals at the Michigan ProStart Competition held in Lansing March 18-19.

Hosted by the Michigan Restaurant Association Educational Support Foundation 38 teams representing 15 career and technical centers from across Michigan.

Two teams from the South and West Washtenaw Consortium placed fourth. The program is hosted at .

The culinary team featured Mitchell Delot, Marissa Klinski and Cassie Pataro, of Saline High School; Megan McinTosh of Manchester High School, and Graeme Caldwell of Dexter High School. It was led by chef instructor Sam Musto of Saline High School and culinary technician Polly Brown, of Saline High School.

Also finishing fourth was the team in the management competition. The team included Saline High School students Maxwell Mortimer, Jordan Ross, Peter Sulkanen and Kelsey Strawbridge. It was led by chef instructor Sam Musto of Saline High School and culinary technician Polly Brown, of Saline High School.

“The ProStart Competition is an outstanding opportunity for high school hospitality students to demonstrate the skills they’ve learned through the ProStart program,” said Brian DeBano, Michigan Restaurant Association President and CEO. “ProStart students are learning to form a career path from their passion for the culinary arts. This competition represents the culmination of countless hours of preparation throughout the school year.”

The Competition kicked off with a “Jeopardy!” style knowledge bowl discipline on Sunday. The question-and-answer event tested the participants’ knowledge of the hospitality business, food safety, and sanitation issues. Evan Pinsonnault, award-winning news anchor from WLNS-TV in Lansing, was the celebrity moderator for the knowledge bowl. An ice cream social, sponsored by Ashby’s Sterling Ice Cream, took place following the knowledge bowl. The social featured speaker panel of ProStart Alumni who have successfully launched foodservice careers.  

The culinary discipline, sponsored by Sysco Food Services of Michigan, allowed teams to demonstrate their creative culinary abilities through the preparation of a meal consisting of a starter, entrée, and dessert. Teams have one hour to complete the preparation of this meal and use of only two butane burners.  

The management/entrepreneurship component was sponsored by Gordon Food Service. This component allows teams to demonstrate their knowledge of the industry by developing a restaurant proposal, delivering a verbal presentation, and applying critical thinking skills to challenges restaurant managers face in day-to-date operations. 

The winning teams in the culinary and management/entrepreneurship portions are sent to Balitmore from April 27-29, to compete against other teams from across the country at the 11th Annual National ProStart Invitational.