ProStart is a national student program that prepares students for careers in the restaurant and food service industry. They gain valuable restaurant and food service skills through their academic and workplace experience.  

Every year, Texas ProStart hosts a State Invitational that brings together high school students from across the Lone Star State. This competition is an opportunity for students from across the great state of Texas to showcase their skills in a real-world setting.   

Frenship High School offers an extensive Culinary Arts program for students interested in learning about the food industry. This year FHS Culinary teacher Emily Hamons held tryouts for the Frenship ProStart team back in November.  

During tryouts, the students were given a recipe to comprehend and complete on their own within the class period. Five students were selected to be on the team, and they immediately started practicing weekly for the contest.  

The Culinary competition consists of four students and one team manager, who acts as the teacher to guide the team. They prepare a 3-course meal in under an hour including an appetizer, main dish with sides, and dessert. 

The students are only allowed to use two camping butane burners to cook everything, no battery or electric-powered equipment is allowed, and there is no running water. The judges of the contest are all world-renowned chefs and culinary instructors who walk around from school to school watching their technique and skills, safety and sanitation, and teamwork. 

When the hour cooking process is over, the students take their plates to a panel of judges who have 10 minutes to judge it based on plating/looks and overall taste. Students can make whatever they want, as long as they don’t copy something that was made in previous years. 

The Frenship team showed serious resolve at the Invitation as two of the five members were unable to attend the contest at the last minute. Hamons praised the students for their tenacity and work ethic.  

“These three students' work ethic and drive for the culinary industry amazed me,” said Hamons. “They picked up the slack from the two members we lost very quickly, even though we were only able to practice once after the last student dropped out, they still managed to keep up with other teams who were working with five students.” 

At the end of the contest, the Frenship team outcooked teams from across the state and earned 9th place. Congratulations, Tigers!