DuPage culinary team advances to nationals

The culinary team at Technology Center of DuPage snagged first place at the Illinois Restaurant Association's ProStart Invitational. For their win, the four high school students received scholarships to culinary school and the opportunity to go toque-to-toque against teams from 47 states in Maryland in April.

It was a perfect dessert — Crepe Cake, Hazelnut Pizzelle, Orange Pomegranate Salad, Tempura Batter Fig and Pomegranate Sauce — that earned 20 out of 20 points and iced the competition. The Addison-based team faced 11 other schools at the 11th annual invitational Feb. 25 at Kendall College in Chicago. The event, hosted by the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation and sponsored by SYSCO Foodservice-Chicago, featured a culinary competition and a hospitality management competition.

In this year's culinary competition, 12 teams from across the state had 95 minutes to prepare two identical portions of a three-course meal consisting of a starter, entree and dessert. The students were judged on knife skills and poultry fabrication, method and technique, sanitation and safety, professionalism, presentation, recipe costing, organization and teamwork. Judges were leading chefs from restaurants and postsecondary schools as well as corporate professionals.

Technology Center of DuPage is the satellite high school career and technical education campus for 24 DuPage and Lyons Township high schools. The TCD culinary team members are high school seniors enrolled in TCD's Culinary, Pastry Arts & Hospitality Management program as an elective. They include Eddie Olisar of Darien (Hinsdale South High School), Jhoana Ruiz of Wood Dale (Fenton High School), Carolina Salgado of Addison (Addison Trail High School), and Kelly Wagner of Woodridge (Downers Grove South High School). The team from Elgin High School placed second place in the culinary competition.

The first-place win gives each student more than $46,000 in scholarship awards from eight postsecondary culinary schools and colleges, and the opportunity to compete at the National ProStart Invitational in Baltimore in April.

In the hospitality management category, students had 10 minutes to present a restaurant concept and plan and 10 minutes to answer critical thinking questions. Elgin High School's team placed second while the team from Aurora West High School came in third.

ProStart is a national school-to-career program that prepares high school students for careers in food service and hospitality management. ProStart in Illinois is administered by the Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation.